Registration Deadline: October 4th @ 3pm
Build a New World…On Mars!: What will it take to design habitats for people to live, work, eat, and play on Mars? Investigate the types of shapes and structures that can stand up to the violent dust storms and thin atmosphere on the Red Planet. Get warmed up to build with minute-to-win-it challenges. Discover the difficulty of communicating and working with a team of engineers while wearing your astronaut gear and following directions from Mission Control on Earth!
Ages 5-7 Astronauts: Astronauts are living in space! Join us for an astronaut challenge as students learn about the special tools and equipment used aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Young explorers end the class by designing their own space gear to take home!
Ages 8-11 Life in Space: Students discover the social and physiological challenges posed by extended stays in space, and see the systems used to sustain life aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Young astronauts work as a team to complete a challenge that simulates the conditions experienced during a spacewalk and learn about current scientific experiments taking place in space.
Ages 12-14 Mission to Space: Investigate how aerospace engineers use rockets and space planes to tackle the challenges of reaching space in the 21st century! Students apply their knowledge of Newton’s Laws of Motion while working within time and budget constraints to design successful space vehicles.
These classes fulfill the following NGSS: K-LS1-1, 1-LS1-1, 2-PS1-3, K-2-ETS1-1, ETS1.A, 3-PS2-2, 3-5-ETS1-1, 4-ESS2.E, 4-PS3-4, 5-PS2-1, MS-PS2-1, MS-PS2-2, MS-PS3-5, MS-ESS1-3
Registration Deadline: November 1st @ 3pm
Sports Science: Train for the Games: What do athletes have to do to train for baseball, swimming, volleyball, archery, or any other sport? Investigate the science behind hand-eye coordination, center of gravity and balance, lung capacity, and much more. Continue your training under extreme conditions by experiencing the effects of weightlessness as you practice for a future of sports in space!
Ages 5-7 Ocean Odyssey: Examine marine aquatic ecosystems, including coral reefs and the deep sea, and learn about the inhabitants that call them “home”. Using realistic marine puppets, children visualize and experience the biodiversity and adaptations of these unique ocean animals. Ocean-themed music will get the kids moving as they conclude the class with an oceanic craft project.
Ages 8-11 Getting Into Grasshoppers: Grasshoppers have organ systems that function very much like those of humans. Budding biologists will dissect grasshoppers to examine the external and internal organs that support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.
Ages 12-14 Getting Into Grasshoppers: Grasshoppers have organ systems that function very much like those of humans. Budding biologists will dissect grasshoppers to examine the external and internal organs that support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.
These classes fulfill the following NGSS: LS1.C, LS2.A, LS2.D, LS4.C, K-LS1-1, K-ESS3-1, K-PS3-1, 2-LS4-1, 3-LS4-2, 4-LS1-1, LS1.A, MS-LS1-3
Registration Deadline: November 29th @ 3pm
Science Rocks!: Learn to experiment with geology in the kitchen with Devin Dennie on the Geology Kitchen YouTube channel. Watch The Hungry Geologist create the three types of rocks, volcanoes, plate tectonics and different types of minerals. Do try this at home!
Ages 5-7 Mineral Detective: Oh no! We dropped a box of sorted minerals on the floor and we need your help figuring out what each mineral is and getting it back into the correct bin. Students will learn about mineral classification and then help classify minerals based on the Mohs’ Hardness Scale and other mineral tests.
Ages 8-11 Dynamic Earth: Children reveal Michigan history by digging out “fossils” and learn to interpret map data in this hands-on class. Observe simulated glacial movements that re-create the formation of the Great Lakes. Alter the landscape in our 5-foot stream table model to prevent water erosion and flooding!
Ages 12-14 Earth Scientists: Use the law of superposition to create a model of the Earth’s crust and underground resources, then use geoscientific processes to deform and change the landscape. Explore how energy from the Sun interacts with the hydrosphere, causes state changes, and drives the water cycle that supports life on Earth.
These classes fulfill the following NGSS: 2-PS1-1, 2-PS1-2, 2-ESS1-1, 2-ESS2-1, 3-LS4-1, 4-ESS1-1 MI, ESS2.A, LS4.A, MS-ESS2-1, MS-ESS2-4, MS-ESS3-1
Registration Deadline: January 31st @ 3pm
Open Cockpits: We will have a few airplanes open in both the Main Campus and East Campus for you to climb on in and see the cockpit panels and controls. A great photo op!
Ages 5-7 Aviation Materials Science: Which materials have the properties best suited to achieving and maintaining flight? Young engineers will classify materials based on texture, hardness, and flexibility, explore the effects of friction, and test their designs under a variety of extreme conditions.
Ages 8-11 Aviation Materials Science: Which materials have the properties best suited to achieving and maintaining flight? Test and modify a variety of materials including metals, polymers, ceramics, and composites while exploring how matter behaves under the extreme temperature and pressure changes experienced by aircraft.
Ages 12-14 Aircraft Restoration: What happens to an aircraft after it’s been lying at the bottom of Lake Michigan for 68 years? Discover how thermal energy, pressure, and other extreme conditions modify natural and synthetic materials while you help restore a World War II airplane at the Aircraft Restoration Center (Air Zoo East Campus).
These classes fulfill the following NGSS: 2-PS1-1, 2-PS1-2, 2-PS1-4, 5-PS1-1, 5-PS1-3, 5-PS1-4, MS-PS1-3, MS-PS1-4
Registration Deadline: February 28th @ 3pm
Fizz, Boom, Soar: Get blown away by erupting liquids, a booming cannon, and soaring machines in this ultra-high energy demonstration of physics, chemistry, and flight science that will get everyone out of their seats!
Ages 5-7 Weather Explorers: Children encounter air pressure at work with a large, puppet version of the “Cat in the Hat”, and explore the question, “What is weather, and why is it important to us?” Kids learn about and utilize the vocabulary of weather, view instruments used to measure our changing atmosphere, and create tools to measure wind direction in this wacky weather workshop.
Ages 8-11 Storm Chasers: Young meteorologists make weather observations, use weather map skills, and operate weather instruments while learning the science behind our changing atmosphere. Students study natural hazards like tornadoes and floods by interacting with a dry ice tornado and a 5-foot stream table model.
Ages 12-14 Weather Watchers: You know what they say about weather in Michigan, “If you don’t like the weather, wait a few minutes!” Weather is very difficult to predict, especially near large bodies of water such as the Great Lakes. Explore the motions and complex interactions of air masses that result in changes in weather conditions. Use a model to describe how patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation determine regional climates.
These classes fulfill the following NGSS: K-PS3-1, PS3.B, K-ESS2-1, K-ESS3-2, ESS2.D, 3-ESS2-1, 3-ESS3-1, 3-PS2-2, MS-ESS2-5, MS-ESS2-6
Registration Deadline: May 2nd @ 3pm
The Greatest Show on Earth: Experience the thrills and chills of a lifetime while testing the true power of energy, the laws of physics, and forces in motion. Audience members demonstrate amazing feats of strength and agility using their scientific knowledge and skill against Thor’s Hammer, the Strongman Hammer Challenge, and the Air Zoo Bumper Car extravaganza!
Ages 5-7 Motion Madness: Do you have what it takes to design the best amusement park ride ever? Learn what it takes to get things moving by experimenting with forces and motion as you design a ride for a ping-pong ball full of ramps, spirals, cups, and whatever else you can get the ball to ride on. Fasten your seat belts!
Ages 8-11 Rockin’ Roller Coasters: Young physicists learn how speed, mass, g-force, and potential energy affect the design of the most popular thrill rides on the planet! Students use engineering principles to cooperatively build and test their own large-scale roller coasters in this popular class experience!
Ages 12-14 Kinetic Coasters: Young physicists learn how acceleration, the Law of Conservation of Energy, and potential and kinetic energy affect the design of the most popular thrill rides on the planet! Students use engineering principles to cooperatively build and test their own roller coasters.
These classes fulfill the following NGSS: K-PS2-1, K-PS2-2, 3-PS2-1, 3-PS2-2, 4-PS3-4, 5-PS2-1, 3-5-ETS1-2, 3-5-ETS1-3, MS-PS3-1, MS-PS3-5, MS-ETS1-2, MS-ETS1-3, MS-ETS1-4