Outreach at your school
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Hands on workshops and Big Science Shows are available onsite at your school starting at $275. Looking to book an in-person field trip to Great Lake Science Center? Click here!
Please review What to Know About Outreach Programing
Register online: our reservations team will follow up with you directly.
Hands-on Workshops
All of our hands-on workshops are available to be booked as a field trip or outreach to your school (unless otherwise noted).
Pre-K/Kindergaten
- The Three Little Pigs: Engineering Challenge: Students will listen to this classic story and become engineers as they perform hands-on experiments exploring which materials can withstand the big, bad wolf.
- Buzzin’ Bee-Bots: Students will use a bee-shaped robot to learn the fundamentals of programming by coding them to collect “pollen” and return to the hive.
Grades 1-2
- States of Matter: Ice Cream Science: Can we turn chocolate milk into ice cream within minutes? Explore the properties of solids, liquids and gases in this tasty experience. Students with dairy/chocolate allergies will be offered an alternative treat.
- Owl Pellets Dissection Students: dissect an owl pellet to learn about owl biology, use a chart to identify what they find, and discuss what it tells them about the owl’s diet and habitat. Duration 45 - 60 minutes. Added material fee: $25
- Skyscrapers: Engineering Challenge: Students practice engineering skills when they are challenged to build a tower that can hold weight using just simple paper. Duration 45-60 minutes.
Grades 3-5
- Rescue Mission: Engineering Challenge: Students work in small groups using the engineering design process to build a trampoline capable of launching supplies over a “raging river” to a town in need. They also practice budgeting skills to buy extra materials to complete their mission.
- DNA Investigations Lab Students: Participate in fun challenges while investigating what makes up their DNA and where it is found. The workshop culminates with the extraction and viewing of their own DNA in a test tube.
- Jumping Jitterbugs Circuitry Science: Students explore how circuits and electricity work together while designing and creating their own Jumping Jitterbug “bot” to take home, and discuss renewable and non-renewable energy sources. Added material fee: $50
- Cow Eye Dissection Students: will examine the complex structure of an eye and how it functions by cutting into and dissecting a cow eye. Duration 45 - 60 minutes. Added material fee: $50 Note: Reservations for this program must be made at least four weeks in advance.
Grades 6-12
- Electricity Investigators: Students investigate circuits and electricity as they use the engineering design process to design and create their own working flashlights from common items.
- Pig Heart Dissection: Students will discover the structure and function of a pig heart as they cut into the heart to reveal the four chambers, peer into the aorta and inspect blood vessels up close. Added material fee: $100 Note: Reservations for this program must be made at least four weeks in advance.
- Encryption Escape Room: Students will learn how encryption can keep information safe and use iPads to scan a series of QR codes while racing to solve a series of puzzles revealing a hidden message.
Outreach Big Science Shows
We bring our larger than life science experiments to your school! Choose from the following themes. Each show ends with time for questions and answers. Please note that a space of at least 20 x 20 feet is required along with a high ceiling. Auditoriums, cafeterias and gymnasiums are usually great spaces. Space requirements will be confirmed after booking.
$400 per show.
Duration: approximately 30-45 minutes.
- Bubblemania - Bubbles come alive while we become “Bubbleologists” and investigate molecules, shapes and colors.
- Fire & Ice - Experimentation with temperature is taken to the extreme when we battle fire and liquid nitrogen in an explosive demonstration of physics and chemistry.
- Magic of Matter - We experiment with chemistry and liquid nitrogen to uncover the “magic” behind why some materials behave in unexpected ways.
- Math in Space - Explore the stages of human flight outside Earth’s orbit and the mathematics that make it possible.
What to know about Outreach Programming at Your School:
- Payment: Payment for outreach experiences is due 14 days prior to the program date. Acceptable forms of payment include credit card, check, purchase orders and cash (cash payments must be made in person at the Science Center).
- Cancellation Policy: Please let us know in writing at least 7 days in advance if you need to cancel. Payments are non-refundable and payments made towards a canceled program will be held as a credit towards a future program.
- Outreach Extended Mileage Fee: Up to 40 miles from the Science Center is included in the program fee. A mileage fee of $2 per mile will be charged for any additional mileage beyond the initial 40 miles. Max distance we can serve is 120 miles from the Science Center.