Family Science Saturdays

Schedule:

Explore concepts like balance, center of gravity, weight distribution––while building a simple child's spinning toy. Challenge Saturday, the last Saturday of each month, will culminate in two visitor contests––a tops death match in our battling dome of doom, and a solo endurance competition––whose top will spin longest? Activities included with admission.

The dissection of found objects (patrons welcome to bring their own), emphasizing the importance of analysis and the development of the valuable skill of reverse engineering. Challenge Saturday, the last Saturday of each month, will culminate in two visitor contests––the first to successfully evaluate the use of parts from the original objects in the new constructions, and the second to draw diagrams/llustrations of the operations of either the original discarded objects or the new and improved creations. Activities included with admission. 

How does modern man harness the power of the wind? Investigate the mechanics of air movement, and learn how wind power contributes to the production of energy and the advancement of new technologies. Challenge Saturday, the last Saturday of each month, will culminate in two visitor contests––the first to create amazing vehicles for a wind powered race (for which our fan will provide the wind, and the other to write essays on the creative new uses of wind power for the future. Activities included with admission.

Tinkering Studio Coordinator Bruce Gemmell is an architect who will share his knowledge of building bridges. Learn the fascinating history and nature of bridges, the integral concepts underlying their construction, and the various types of bridges in common uses today. Challenge Saturday, the last Saturday of each month, will culminate in two visitor contests––build bridges to cross our challenging chasm––first an ultimate strength challenge to see whose bridge will support the most weight, second to explore the ratio of strength to load-bearing capability, or whose bridge can support the most times its own weight. Activities included with admission.