August Programs

Tuesday, August 2

Messy Masterpiece: Paint Like Seurat!

Drop-in 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM Children’s Discovery

Explore some of George Seurat’s masterpieces and then try your hand at creating your own work of art inspired by pointillism using potato-stamps.

Wednesday, August 3

Water Wednesday: Floating & Sinking

Drop-in 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM Children’s Discovery

Search the natural world to find objects to test in our experiment station. Will it float? Will it sink? You’ll have to wait and see!

Water Wednesday: FETCH!™ Rescue Mission

Drop-in 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM Science Discovery

Can you meet Ruff Ruffman’s challenge? Design hooks that can grab different capsules out of the water. Sponsored by Middlesex Savings Bank, with additional support from Red Hat, Inc. © 2011 WGBH Educational Foundation.

Thursday, August 4

Meet Bessie the Dinosaur!

10:00 AM Children’s Discovery

Come meet Bessie, the dinosaur mascot of The Discovery Museums. She’s loves to give high-fives and hugs! *Bessie is a costumed museum staff member.

Thursday’s Tales

11:00 AM Children’s Discovery

Sing some songs and sample some stories; we’ll bring the books and you bring your imagination!

Summer Tree Walk

1:00 PM Science Discovery

Trees provide refreshing summer shade! Learn about these massive plants as you walk around the museum grounds with science teacher Frank Meehan. Make a mini collection of leaves, find ways to preserve them, and learn how to identify trees in your own backyard. Outdoor program, rain or shine. Note: The walk is not handicap accessible.

Friday, August 5

FETCH!™ Thrill Ride

Drop-in 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM Science Discovery Museum

Join with others and build a variety of roller coaster marble runs in our education room. Create tracks with tubes, cardboard, and wooden pieces to add to a community marble run inspired by Ruff Ruffman! Sponsored by Middlesex Savings Bank, with additional support from Red Hat, Inc. © 2011 WGBH Educational Foundation.

Saturday, August 6

FETCH!™ Motion Picture

Drop-in 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM Children’s Discovery

Create a thaumatrope (wonder turner) – an optical illusion toy that makes two pictures look like one. A preschool-level adaptation of this popular FETCH!™activity. Sponsored by Middlesex Savings Bank, with additional support from Red Hat, Inc. © 2011 WGBH Educational Foundation.

Especially for Me! Free Evening at The Discovery Museums for Families with Children on the Autism Spectrum

5:30 to 8:30 PM at Children’s Discovery and Science Discovery

Come join in all the fun during this special free evening for families with children on the autism spectrum sponsored by the Autism Alliance of MetroWest and HMEA's Autism Resource Center of Central Massachusetts. Please contact Amy Spencer at aspencer@discoverymuseums.org or 978-264-4200 ext. 28 for more information or to register for the event. Additional support provided by the Foundation for MetroWest, Morgan Stanley, Nypro, and Not Your Average Joe’s.

Sunday, August 7

Face Painting Fun!

Drop-in 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM Children’s Discovery

Use your cheek or hand as a canvas for a colorful painting. What design will you choose?

Magic Show with Rupayan Neogy

12:00 PM Science Discovery Museum

Join us as local young magician Rupayan Neogy shares his talents with us! Showcasing a variety of tricks, he will confound and amaze in an interactive performance geared toward family audiences. For more information about Rupayan’s magic, visit his Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/rneogymagic

FETCH!™ Kaleid-O-Mania

Drop-in 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM Science Discovery Museum

Kaleid-O-Mania! See Ruff like you’ve never seen him before- look at his picture with special kaleidoscopes and make your own FETCH! kaleidoscope to create unique designs at home! Sponsored by Middlesex Savings Bank, with additional support from Red Hat, Inc. © 2011 WGBH Educational Foundation.

Monday, August 8

Nature Walk

10:00 AM Children’s Discovery Museum

Explore the nature in a section of woods adjacent to the Museum perfectly sized for young children. Use your senses to listen to the wind and the birds calling from the trees, watch for wildlife (birds, squirrels, and chipmunks), and feel the wide variety of plant life. You’ll also make a tree rubbing during your adventure.

SMART Gals: The Wonderful World of Honeybees

Drop-in 12:00 PM to 2:30 PM Science Discovery Museum

Come and learn about the wonderful world of honeybees! The Barefoot Bee's Beekeeper joins us with a live observation hive where you and your family can view all the stages of a honeybee’s life. You'll learn what a beekeeper does in helping to keep a colony healthy and strong. An on-site beeswax candle making craft will be available to purchase as well. www.thebarefootbee.com SMART Gals (Science Math ART) is funded by The Ramsey McCluskey Family Foundation.

Wednesday, August 10

Water Wednesday: Messy Mixtures

Drop-in 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM Children’s Discovery

Use your fingers to explore the physical reactions produced by mixing water with different substances. What a mess!

Water Wednesday: FETCH!™ Potion Commotion

Drop-in 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM Science Discovery Museum

Water and oil don’t mix. But watch what happens when you add the fizz factor! Double, double, toil and trouble. Sponsored by Middlesex Savings Bank, with additional support from Red Hat, Inc. © 2011 WGBH Educational Foundation.

Thursday, August 11

Thursday’s Tales

11:00 AM Children’s Discovery

Sing some songs and sample some stories; we’ll bring the books and you bring your imagination!

FETCH!™ Crazy About Kites

Drop-in 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM Science Discovery Museum

Challenge yourself to build a kite that’s different from one that you’ve ever seen before. What changes can you make so that it flies even better? Up, up, and away! Sponsored by Middlesex Savings Bank, with additional support from Red Hat, Inc. © 2011 WGBH Educational Foundation.

Friday, August 12

Music and Movement with Miss Carolyn

10:00 AM Children’s Discovery

Come explore sound through singing and playing. Move, make music, listen, learn, and get a multi-sensory workout! Music improves your child’s memory, cognitive development, learning skills, and ability to express emotion. Plus, it’s fun! Miss Carolyn is a professional musician, serves as a faculty member at Indian Hill Music School, and has been a licensed Kindermusik Educator for 5 years.

Reaction Station: Adventures for Young Chemists

Drop-in 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM Science Discovery

Imagine yourself a chemist and use real laboratory tools to do experiments. Try your hand at doing wet chemistry in a model glove box and learn why some chemists use glove boxes and hoods. Reaction Station is funded by The Camille & Henry Dreyfus Foundation.

Saturday, August 13

Face Painting Fun!

Drop-in 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM Children’s Discovery

Use your cheek or hand as a canvas for a colorful painting. What design will you choose?

FETCH!™ Rescue Mission

Drop-in 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM Science Discovery Museum

Sunday, August 14

Dinosaur Discoveries

Drop-in 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM Children’s Discovery

Come touch a real dinosaur fossil and pretend to be a paleontologist digging for dinosaur bones in our mock excavation site!

Tuesday, August 16

Meet the Police

10:00 AM Children’s Discovery

Do you want to be a police officer when you grow up? In celebration of our local heroes, come meet an Acton Police Officer. See a police cruiser and learn all about what police officers do.

FETCH!™ Kaleid-O-Mania

Drop-in 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM Science Discovery Museum

Wednesday, August 17

Water Wednesday: Beany Baby Necklaces

Drop-in 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM Children’s Discovery

Make your own special living necklace that uses water and the warmth from your body to sprout a mung or pinto bean!

Water Wednesday: Capture the Rain!

Drop-in 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM Science Discovery Museum

Find out how harvesting rain water in rain barrels can help capture this valuable source of fresh water. Learn how using water that’s ‘in the barrel’ for gardens and lawns helps conserve precious drinking water and replenish aquifers. ‘Rain’ on models of house roofs and learn how to calculate how much water you can collect in your own backyard. Outdoor program.

Thursday, August 18

Messy Masterpiece

Drop-in 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM Children’s Discovery

Use special sun-sensitive printing paper to create a photographic image without a camera!

Thursday’s Tales

11:00 AM Children’s Discovery

Sing some songs and sample some stories; we’ll bring the books and you bring your imagination!

Lost in Lexicon: An Adventure in Words and Numbers

Pre-registration Class 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM Science Discovery Museum

In this Lexicon Villages event, children and parents work together through a series of interactive stations representing math and language concepts from this award-winning book that combines learning and adventure. Feed synonyms to a thesaurus, create sentences out of flower petals, discover pi, measure the museum in paces, make up your own words using Greek and Latin roots, try your hand at puzzling Tangrams, do a maze in a mirror, and more!

Meet the book's author, celebrate the book’s second release by Scarletta Press, and leave with an autographed copy of the book and a packet of even more activities to try at home.

Instructor: Penny Noyce

Ages: 8 to 12

Fee: $10 for members; $12 for non-members

Pre-registration required by August or 15; call 978-264-4200 x 10

Friday, August 19

Big Yellow School Bus

10:00 AM Children’s Discovery

Have you ever been inside a big yellow school bus? You have seen them drive by. Now is your chance to climb aboard and take a closer look!

Mercedes the Therapy Dog

11:00 AM Science Discovery

Come meet Mercedes and her handler Christine Macdonald from the Pets & People Foundation. Learn about people therapy through pets and all about Mercedes’ role in the organization. Mercedes is a black Standard Poodle and she’s ready to greet you! For more information on the Pets & People Foundation, please visit www.petsandpeoplefoundation.org.

Saturday, August 20

Children’s Concert Featuring Dale Freeman

11:00 AM Children’s Discovery

Children have a natural curiosity about the world surrounding them and a tendency to want to move within it. In his music, Dale encourages all of this while providing a great beat and different musical styles to go along with their exploration. At his shows, children have fun singing along and dancing to the music. For more information, please visit www.dalefreeman.com. Weather permitting.

Sunday, August 21

Meet Bessie the Dinosaur!

10:00 AM & 11:00 AM Children’s Discovery

Come meet Bessie, the dinosaur mascot of The Discovery Museums. She’s loves to give high-fives and hugs! *Bessie is a costumed museum staff member.

FETCH!™ Thrill Ride

Drop-in 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM Science Discovery Museum

Monday, August 22

FETCH!™ Toy Chemistry

Drop-in 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM Children’s Discovery

Listen to a reading of Dr. Seuss’s Bartholomew and the Oobleck to learn about a wacky concoction called oobleck. Mix cornstarch and water together to form this unusual substance that acts like a liquid and a solid. This is chemistry at its craziest! A preschool-level adaptation of this popular FETCH!™activity. Sponsored by Middlesex Savings Bank, with additional support from Red Hat, Inc. © 2011 WGBH Educational Foundation.

FETCH!™ Train Your Brain

Drop-in 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM Science Discovery Museum

Performance by The American Travelling Morrice

3:30 PM Children’s Discovery

Join us for a special performance by The American Travelling Morrice. Morris dancing is an English country tradition, with roots in medieval street theatre. For hundreds of years, teams of white-clad men have capered and stepped through the intricate patterns of dance, clashing wooden sticks, and waving handkerchiefs in time to lively traditional tunes. For more information, please visit www.americantravellingmorrice.org.

Tuesday, August 23

Reaction Station: Adventures for Young Chemists

Drop-in 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM Science Discovery

Wednesday, August 24

Water Wednesday: Bessie Needs a Bath!

Drop-in 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM Children’s Discovery

Decorate Bessie with colorful chalk designs and then wash her clean. Don’t’ forget in between her toes!

Water Wednesday: Groundwater Wonders

11:00 AM Science Discovery Museum

Where does the rain go? Why do streams continue flowing even after a long dry spell? Join hydrologist Denis LeBlanc, from the US Geological Survey, for a hands-on exploration of ground water. Learn how hydrologists ‘see’ and measure ground water. Use an aquifer model to see how pollution can move into wells and drinking water and try your skills at cleaning it up.

Thursday, August 25

Thursday’s Tales

11:00 AM Children’s Discovery

Sing some songs and sample some stories; we’ll bring the books and you bring your imagination!

Reaction Station: Adventures for Young Chemists

Drop-in 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM Science Discovery

Friday, August 26

Music and Movement with Miss Carolyn

10:00 AM Children’s Discovery

Lego Zone

Drop-in ALL DAY Science Discovery Museum

Join Lego lovers of all ages in community building projects. Design structures, spaceships, and more. Add your creation to our community board for display at the Museum.

Saturday, August 27

Build It!

Drop-in 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM Children’s Discovery

LEGO building for toddlers! Bring your imagination to build, stack, and sort using our enormous collection of DUPLOS. Construct your own architectural wonder or work together to build a museum-community sculpture.

Lego Zone

Drop-in 1:00 PM to 4:30 PM Science Discovery Museum

Join Lego lovers of all ages in community building projects. Design structures, spaceships, and more. Add your creation to our community board for display at the Museum.

Sunday, August 28

Build It!

Drop-in 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM Children’s Discovery

Lego Zone

Drop-in ALL DAY Science Discovery Museum

Join Lego lovers of all ages in community building projects. Design structures, spaceships, and more. Add your creation to our community board for display at the Museum.

Monday, August 29

FETCH!™ Crazy About Kites

Drop-in 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM Science Discovery Museum

Tuesday, August 30

Dinosaur Discoveries

Drop-in 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM Children’s Discovery

Come touch a real dinosaur fossil and pretend to be a paleontologist digging for dinosaur bones in our mock excavation site!

Take Aparts

Drop-in 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM Science Discovery Museum

Are you curious about what’s inside telephones and computers? Discover resistors and capacitors as you uncover the inner workings of everyday objects. Sponsored by Analog Devices, Inc.

Wednesday, August 31

Water Wednesday: Bewildering Bubbles

Drop-in 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM Children’s Discovery

Drop raisins, corn kernels, pasta, and rice into your special brew to make them “dance.” What role do the bubbles play in this magical mischief?

Water Wednesday: Reaction Station: Mystery Liquids

Drop-in 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM Science Discovery

There’s a spill . . . is it vinegar, water or ammonia? Clear liquids can all look alike, but they can be very different! Learn chemistry techniques and use real laboratory glassware to identify the pH of different liquids. Do wet chemistry in a model glove box and learn why some chemists use glove boxes and hoods. Reaction Station is funded by The Camille & Henry Dreyfus Foundation.