Traveling Science Workshops Description and Fees

 "Every bit of hands-on experience was useful. Getting the chance to see and feel how matter can change was truly priceless. Words and pictures can't do this lesson justice."
Physical Changes of Matter 1, 3rd grade, Countryside Elementary, Newton, MA
 
"The kids were mesmerized! ...This presentation really helped prepare us for our end of unit assessment!"
Rocks and Minerals, 4th grade, Freeman Centennial School, Norfolk, MA
 
"This (workshop) continues to be one of my favorites year after year."
Magnets, 2nd grade, South Elementary, Bellingham, MA
 

Traveling Science Workshops are offered to students in Grades K-8. These highly interactive, 45 minute hands-on experiences are shared with up to 25 students at one time and presented directly in the classroom. Up to five, 45 minute sessions may be presented on a single day.

The program fee for up to two sessions per day (25 students/session) is $395. Each additional session held on the same day is $80/session. Material fees are specific to each topic and listed below with each description. Mileage fees may also apply. 

Choose your topic: 

WORKSHOP

GRADE

DESCRIPTION

MATERIALS

NEW! GREEN ENERGY

3rd - 8th

Ever been stuck on an imaginary planet with extreme night and day temperature fluctuations? Think you are up to the task of designing and building a protective shelter made from everyday materials that will keep you and your team from overheating or freezing?

In this workshop, cooperative groups of students are faced with an energy conservation challenge that engages them in thoughtful consideration of how design and engineering choices relate to energy conservation. Drawing on skills of engineering and design and using some specialized equipment including hand-held infra-red camera and thermometers, students test the efficacy of everyday materials as insulators, and investigate how different substances and designs change the passage of light and heat in a building. Students will apply ideas explored in this workshop to real life design and engineering considerations regarding energy conservation and sustainability.

This workshop is also available on-site as a Science and Engineering Field Trip or you may elect to skip the workshop and simply explore our new Dream Green exhibit space with a Science Explorer during an Explorations Field Trip. Click here to learn more.

$25/workshop

BUBBLES

PreK-2

How long does a bubble last?  What shape do bubbles form? Can you put your hand through a giant "bubble window"? Challenge what you think you know about bubbles. **Requires easy access to running water

$25/workshop

DINOSAUR

PreK-2

Read a good fossil lately? Explore how fossils tell a story about plants and animals that lived long ago. Together we will match-up dinosaur babies to their parents, noticing how the babies closely resemble them. We will discover how the shape of a dinosaur's body compares to the shape of its skeleton. Finally, we will become paleontologists practicing simple tool identification and using these special tools while excavating a mock paleontology dig site.

$25/workshop

SOUND

K-5

What is sound? How is it made? Experiment with vibrating tuning forks, water, Slinky® toys and familiar household materials. Make and take some sound toys to test your own ideas.

$25/workshop

LIGHT & COLOR

K-3

What is light? How do we see color? Discover some properties of light and color using flashlights, prisms, and colored acetates. Mix colors with spinning tops and try separating colors through chromatography. Decipher a secret message with your new color knowledge. **Requires a darkened room

$25/workshop

MAGNETS

1-3

What are magnets used for? What does the force around a magnet look like? Are size and strength of a magnet proportional? Explore the many sides of magnets. Take home magnets and your own magnetic field viewing chamber.

$45/workshop

ELECTROMAGNETS

3-6

Discover the connection between magnetic and electrical energy. Following an opportunity to explore with and review basic magnetism, work in teams to build simple electromagnets. Test the strength of the electromagnets, graph your results, and learn how electricity can be used to create a strong magnet.

$25/workshop

STATIC ELECTRICITY

1-4

What do a plastic slide, a wool sweater, and a clothes dryer have to do with static? Let’s make some static and find out! Experiment with a variety of materials including a static generating machine. It’s a hair-raising experience!

$25/workshop

LIGHT & LASERS

2-8

Compare white light and laser light. Experiment with a laser, flashlights, mirrors, and prisms. Create a laser light show using the Museum’s special mirror board right in the classroom! **Requires a darkened room

$25/workshop

PHYSICAL CHANGES OF MATTER 

2-8

Investigate the physical properties of solids, liquids and gasses. Dry ice and liquid nitrogen make learning the five changes of state very dramatic. Shatter flowers and rubber balls, use a banana as a hammer, and even shrink solid metal in just a few seconds! **Requires direct access to running warm water

$195/day

PHYSICAL CHANGES OF MATTER  LEVEL II

6-8

PCM Level II adds student exploration stations to the general introductory workshop.
*This is an hour long workshop. Multiple workshops must be held in the same room throughout the day. We also require the full participation of the classroom teacher and at least one parent or school volunteer during each workshop. *Special one hour program fees apply. **Requires direct access to running warm water.

$195/day

 

KITCHEN CHEMISTRY

3-6

What is a chemical reaction? How is it different from a phase change? Discover the fun of conducting safe chemical reactions as we test the pH of various household liquids using everyday materials as indicators.

$25/workshop

FLIGHT

3-8

What makes a flying object fly? Discover the properties of flight (thrust, drag, gravity and lift) as you work with Ping-Pong® balls, paper, and air. Apply your knowledge as you design and test your own paper flying toys.

$25/workshop

MICROSCOPES & MAGNIFICATION

3-6

What did the first magnifying lens look like?  Make one and find out. With a variety of lenses and hand-held microscopes uncover the microscopic universe in your classroom.

$25/workshop

ROCKS & MINERALS

4-6

What is the difference between a rock and a mineral? How do rocks and minerals form? Handle several large specimens representing the three basic rock types. Grow your own crystals and make a sedimentation chamber. **Requires direct access to running water

$35/workshop

SIMPLE MACHINES: THE LEVER

3-6

How can the smallest child in class lift the teacher without straining a muscle? Build a lever and see and feel how a lever helps accomplish work. Check out how levers impact the everyday world and take the lever challenge to design simple solutions to getting the ball rolling!
*This is an hour long INTRODUCTORY Simple Machines workshop using “the lever” as a focus. Students work in teams solving challenges and gaining an understanding of what simple machines are, how and why they are used and how mechanical advantage works. The workshop must be set-up in one classroom and multiple workshops must be held in the same room throughout the day. *Special one hour fees apply.

To request a copy of the Simple Machines Teacher Guide please email Jill Foster.

$25/workshop

WEATHER

1-5

Engaging experiments that reinforce understanding about the role of temperature, humidity, air pressure and the water cycle in making weather. Students create a weather instrument and mini weather system to take home. **Requires easy access to running water

$25/workshop

 

 

*Special Hour Long Programs and Rates:

Any program can be extended from 45 minutes to one hour for a special fee. Simple Machines: The Lever and Physical Changes of Matter 2 require a full one hour for each session. One hour programs are $475 for up to two sessions presented in a single day plus $95 for each additional session held on that same day.

 

Traveling Science Workshops are generously sponsored by MathWorks,
with additional support from the Biogen Idec Foundation.