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Hands-on, discovery-based Science for Grades K-3

Three-week programs, 10 AM - 4 PM

Fall:

Robotics - Sep 25, Oct 2, 9

Sports Science - Oct 16, 23, 30

Music & Science - Nov 6, 13, 20

Art & Science - Dec 4, 11, 18

Winter:

Magic & Science - Jan 8, 15, 22

Inventions - Jan 29, Feb 5, 12

Spring:

Dinosaurs - Mar 5, 12, 19

Sun, Moon & Stars - Mar 26, Apr 9, 16

Rocketry - Apr 30, May 7, 14

It's A Bug's Life - May 21, Jun 4, 11

Cost: $180 Members, $200 non-members per 3-week topic

Where: Talcott Mountain Science Center, Avon - Transportation will be arranged from Avon or West Hartford

Robotics

Students will work with a variety of robots - from simple hand-built models, to LEGO Logo contraptions, to building and programming LEGO Mindstorms, and will learn and train our Sony AIBO artificial intelligence robots as well! This provides hands-on experience with the state of the art in everyday robots. Students will get a glimpse of the FIRST robotics competition and the TMSC robots from years past.

Sport Science

How does a curveball curve? What's the best way to kick a soccer ball? Is there a best time of day to train? A football? How fast can you pitch? (our computerized baseball can tell you). How high can you jump? How long can you hang in the air? Can Michael Jordan *really* defy gravity? We'll use our labs, computers and video capture equipment to help you find out how to make your game better through science!

Music & Science!

Ever wonder how an instrument makes its sound? Are bird songs really songs? How about whale songs? We'll look at everything from bat navigation to the music of the stars, we'll make pianos and wind chimes, and we'll make you the star of your own show with Apple's Garageband and iLife software!

iMovie Magic

Students will have a chance to design, shoot, edit, and publish their own short films using Digital Video cameras and Apple's new iMovie software on state-of-the-art computers and lap-tops. Students will storyboard their work, and, using the extended collector's edition of "A Bug's Life" will learn to make a movie from the ground up. The final product will be available either on CD or videotape as desired.

Magic & Science

When a magician makes you say "WOW!" - is it magic, or cleverly disguised science? And why does so much technology look like magic to us? How can you tell the difference? What do detectives, scientists, lawyers, and magicians have in common? Students will earn to use math and science to make some pretty impressive 'tricks'. Their work will be put on a video Magic Show that will be available on CD or tape when finished.

Inventions!

This course focuses on simple machines and the new world of electronics, and how they power everything from toys to spacecraft. By building new machines and contraptions from LEGO and other kits, they will learn how to use the power of simple machines to solve problems. There will be weekly contests to let students practice their engineering and invention skills, and we'll even perform a "Furby Surgery" to find out how complex toys can be made of simple parts. Students are encouraged to bring a broken mechanical or electronic toy to use in our detective work.

Dinosaurs

How did dinosaurs disappear? Or DID they? Are their relatives walking around us today? Who was the biggest? How did they get along? What did they eat? How can you tell? Could they run fast, or were they lumbering giants? Using dinosaur fossils and footprints and a lot of detective work, students will step back in time to find out just what scientists know and need to find out about these amazing creatures. Make you own dinosaur footprints that will be yours to keep!

It's A Bug's Life

Spring will be here, and so will the bugs! How did they survive the winter? Do they really all come out at once like it seems? Which bugs do you WANT around your house and why? How many different ones can you collect in one day? How can you keep a collection preserved? Students will use the science center's forests, fields and ponds to find these creatures and find out what makes them tick!

Rocketry!

Reach for the stars! Students will study, design and launch their own rockets as part of this adventure. Using our planetarium and computer labs, students will see the history of rockets, and be able to follow every program from Mercury to the Space Station and beyond. Learn to chart your way through the stars in the Alan Bean Planetarium, and watch Alan Bean as a gymnast spin around the insides of the Skylab Space Station! The third day will include a rocket launch open to friends and relatives!

Sun, Moon & Stars

Reach for the stars!  Way up, past your rocket's reach, is the rest of the solar system, the galaxy, and the universe! In our "Hypospherium", you will help create a planetarium show that travels to these places, and use our telescopes and computers to see sunspots, storms, the planets, and the farthest reaches of space! You'll have your very own planetarium and telescope pictures published on the web!