Spark!Lab

Included with museum admission

Ticket Information

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! Spark!Lab believes that:
  • 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:
  • Design a Mars Habitat
    Plan your Mars habitat. Think about how many rooms you will have, where to place the rooms and what activities will occur in the different spaces.
  • Invent-A-Vehicle
    Sketch and build a vehicle to be used on another planet. Vehicles are made from reusable materials and components are in a scale that encourages collaboration and imaginative play.
  • Sketch It An important part of the invention process is sketching ideas before building prototypes. Sketch your ideas about traveling on different planets.
  • Soundscapes Use different blocks and musical/noise-making elements to create music and sound pathways for marbles.
  • 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.
Come and be an inventor with us!


Click here for more information about Spark!lab.

 

STEAM Literature Series (SLS)

  • November 9 – STEAM!
    Join us for themed stories and crafts in honor of International STEM Day (Nov. 10).

  • November 16 – Wind
    Do other planets have wind?  Which planet is the windiest?  Join us for themed stories and crafts.

  • November 30 – Nocturnal Animals
    Why can some animals see in the dark and others can’t?  Does the Moon help them navigate or is it something else?  Join us for themed stories and crafts.

Content of schedule subject to change