Color Mixing
Grades Pre-K and up — 30-45 min
Nothing is more fun for beginning scientists than pouring, mixing, and making things change before their eyes. This lab is all about colors, mixing, pouring, and analysis. Students will get to do their own filling, pouring, and mixing as we start with the primary colors and create the full rainbow spectrum.
Density Bubble Tube
Grades Pre-K and up — 30-45 min
Density is a hard idea to grasp, until you see it in action. We use oil and water to make our own lava lamps. Sealing baby soda bottles, oil, water, and color tabs make this lab colorful and safe. Students can do almost all of it entirely on their own, with a little help from adults.
Slime
Grades K and up — 45 -60 min
Mixing, measuring, and following instructions are foundational parts of chemistry. Students can start to learn these skills (and have some ‘gross’ fun) by making slime. This glue/borax slime is guaranteed to be a hit with all ages. For older students (3rd+, ask about the magnetic slime option).
Grass Heads
Grades 2nd and up — 45min+
Dig into biology with this hands on lab focusing on plants. Each student will make a personalized encompassed ‘head’ that grows grass for hair. The fun will continue at home as the students take care of the plant and watch the grass grow into hair.
Stomp Rockets
Grades 2nd and up –60 min+
Learn about beginning rocketry as we build and launch these simple cardstock rockets. Students will decorate and LAUNCH their rockets, watching the fun fly! After the lab, ask about plans for the launch pad to keep the fun going!
Soda Can Catapult
Grades 3rd and up — 45-60 min
Construct a soda can and rubber band resistance catapult. Students will learn to follow instructions and engineering as they build these old fashioned war machines. Afterwards participants divide into warring parties and battle it out!
Cartesian Squid Diver
Grades 3rd and up — 45-60 min
Pressure, that squeezing force, becomes a fun pet in this lab. Cartesian divers utilize air pressure to show a vessel sinking or floating in a sealed plastic bottle. We will turn the vessel into a squid, making this lab a fun fake pet that students can control.
Glitter Blood
Grades 3rd and up — 30-45 min
Blood, our bodies’ life force is a very interesting fluid. In this lab we will dissect and discuss the different parts and kinds of blood. For those who are squeamish, no real blood will be spilled in the making of this lab, we will use glitter instead.
Flashlight
Grades 3rd and up — 45-60 min
Basic circuitry can be very simple; power source, LED, and conductor, all built in a closed circle- flowing path. With this lab, students will make a working flashlight out of a Popsicle stick, button battery, tin foil, and other office supplies.
Light-up LED Flower
Grades 3rd and up –45+min
Similar to the flashlight, students will use batteries, conductive tape, and an LED to make a glowing flower. This is a simple way to see the way a circuit works!
Periscope
Grades 3rd and up — 45-60 min
Seeing around corners, or above walls with no video equipment is easier than you might believe! In this activity students create two tubes with angled mirrors to create a light and image bending periscope.
NASA Mallow-naut Spacesuits
Grades 4th and up — 45-60+min
We have a piece of an actual NASA spacesuit; the different layers are imperative to keep astronauts safe in space. With this lab we will discuss space, vacuums, and spacesuits. Students will then create spacesuits to keep our marshmallow astronauts safe in a vacuum.
Spectroscopes
Grades 4th and up — 45-60min
How can scientists identify the composition of a star — or the gas inside of a street light — by looking at its light? In this lab, we’ll build a spectroscope, a device that breaks up light into component colors. Students examine at least two “stars” to see if they can determine the elements that make them shine.
Rube Goldberg
Grades 4th and up — 60-90 min
Rube Goldberg, an engineer, was made famous for his zany cartoons of cause/effect inventions. This lab offers students a chance to help engineer from scratch a marble path that utilizes and highlights following instructions and the cause/effect process.
DNA
Grades 5th and up — 45-60 min
What is DNA? Where is DNA? We will discuss this and harvest our own. No blood, don’t worry…but there is a little spit and elbow grease involved. We will use common household items to pull DNA from our dead cheek cells. Students even get to keep small vials of their DNA.