Included with museum admission

Spark!Lab is a hands-on invention workspace where children and their families and friends can learn about and engage in the history and process of invention. It is a space to engage the entire family while presenting challenges ranging from simple to complex and allowing all visitors to recognize their inner Inventor!

  • Invention is a process.
  • Everyone is inventive.
  • Invention and innovation have been – and continue to be – an important part of the American Experience.

History, science, engineering, and art are incorporated throughout the lab.

Activities:

  • Invent-A-Vehicle Build a vehicle to be used on another planet. Vehicles are made from reusable materials, and components are on a scale that encourages collaboration and imaginative play.
  • Soundscapes Use different parts and pieces to create music and pathways for marbles. See what sounds are made with different configurations.
  • Marble Run Learn about geometric shapes, engineering, physics, magnets, number counting, and architectural and structural design while building a marble run.
  • Hex Bugs and Kapla Blocks Design a maze for the Hex Bugs. It needs to have 3 beginnings/ending points.
  • Spark!Lab Jr Read a book, measure the distance between two objects, examine bugs under a magnifying glass are just a few of the activities awaiting our younger guests.
  • STEM Stencils STEM is everywhere! The Solar System. A Cheese Pizza. Music.  Animals. Using the various stencils provided, create a new game. Draw a Flow Chart to describe your day. Plan your next vacation. The Universe is the limit!

Spark!Lab History Month Theme: International Space Station

December: Great Observatories
Bulletin Board 1:  James Webb & Hubble Space Telescopes
Bulletin Board 2: Stars & Constellations

Spark!Lab Hands on Learning Activities

Location/Times: Spark Lab (Each event is within Spark!Lab hours of operation 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.)

  • [Daily]- Ornament Design – Get ready to deck the halls! In this festive, hands-on activity, guests will unleash their creativity to design and build unique holiday ornaments.
  • [Mondays]- Jingle Bells in Space! On December 16, 1965, Gemini 6 astronauts Wally Schirra and Tom Stafford completed the first-ever space rendezvous. After successfully demonstrating their orbital maneuvers, the crew surprised Mission Control by playing the first song ever broadcast live from space: “Jingle Bells,” using a harmonica and a set of miniature sleigh bells! Build your very own Gemini jingle bells and learn why there is no sound outside the capsule in the vacuum of space!
  • Dec. 17th- Wright Brother’s Flight – Celebrate the anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ historic December 17th flight by combining aviation history with modern aerospace engineering! In this activity, guests will honor the pioneers of flight by building their own unique NASA ring-wing gliders.
  • Dec. 23rd- James Webb Space Telescope (Pack a Space Telescope) – Space telescopes can offer us clearer views of the universe, but getting these large, delicate pieces of equipment into orbit is tricky. Participants learn the challenges faced by engineers in designing and building complicated tools that can fold to fit inside a spacecraft and then unfold again when they deploy in orbit. Guests will design, build, pack, and deploy their own James Webb Telescope models in this activity.

Heroes of Exploration

Bulletin Board 1:  Remembering Challenger STS 51-L (40th Anniversary)
Bulletin Board 2: NASA Exploration Heros (Apollo 1, Challenger, and Columbia)

Spark!Lab Hands on Learning Activities

  • [Daily] Snowflake Geometry! Discover the shapes and radial symmetry of the snowflake and explore why every intricate design is unique.
  • [Mondays] Building the Future – Building the future of space exploration through interactive hands-on tools and simple machines.
  • January 28: 40th Anniversary Challenger STS 51-L: Honoring the brave explorers and their missions that paved the way for deep space exploration.
  • January 29: NASA’s Day of Remembrance: Honoring the brave explorers and their missions that paved the way for deep space exploration.
  • January 31: Explorer I Day! Celebrating the achievements of America’s first artificial satellite launch this day in 1958.
  • January 31: 55th Anniversary launch of Apollo 14: Honoring the brave explorers and their missions that paved the way for deep space exploration.

books in the Spark!Lab

STEAM Literature Series (SLS)

Click here for more information about our SLS program.

Join us Thursdays at 10:00 for stories and hands-on activities!

Content of schedule subject to change