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Spark!Lab

Included with museum admission

Ticket Information

 
Spark!Lab will be closed Monday, June 5 through Thursday, June 8
 
Spark!Lab is an interactive space for visitors 6 – 12 and their adults to become inventors as they create, design, and invent together. Hands-on activities inspire all ages to use critical thinking skills to solve unique challenges.   Developed by the Smithsonian Institution’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovations, Spark!Lab includes an ever-changing array of themes and activities focusing on science, technology, engineering, and math as well as art, history, and innovation to create unique inventions!   

Spark!Lab is open daily 9:00 am – 4:00 pm.   

Spark!Lab Activities

  • Spark!Lab Jr (5 and under) – Inventive thinking and problem-solving skills develop at a young age. Blocks, numbers, shapes, and books are among the activities to explore. 
  • Teeter Table - Because they’re always trying to solve new problems, inventors are constantly learning new skills and rules. The Towering Table challenges visitors to use blocks to build structures under challenging – and unstable – circumstances. To build towers, buildings, and other structures, visitors have to be creative in how they use the building space and balance their structures – especially since they may not be the only inventors hard at work!
  • Orbiting Objects -Every object in space exerts a gravitational pull on every other object. Across the entire universe, any object with mass exerts a gravitation pull. This activity lets you play with gravity and observe the way objects can revolve around other objects. 
  • Shaping Space – Using straws and connectors students build structures as well as mechanical and robotic mechanisms. Use your imagination! Can you shape a space that is round? How would you shape a space for a year-round, indoor dog park? 
  • STEAM Literature Series (SLS)  –  Tuesdays 10:30 a.m. - Join us for a weekly story hour devoted to a specific STEAM topic story read by our staff.

 


Click here for more information about Spark!lab.

 

STEAM Literature Series (SLS)

  • Tuesday, May 30, 2023: Design a parachute to land an astronaut safely
  • Tuesday, June 6, 2023: Learn about the phases of the Moon and eclipses
  • Tuesday, June 13, 2023: Planet Party
  • Tuesday, June 20, 2023: Animal Astronauts
  • Tuesday, June 27, 2023: Let's get colorful with ROY G BIV!
  • Tuesday, July 4, 2023: Paper Rockets
  • Tuesday, July 11, 2023: Insect story time, activities, crafts Entomology & Astronomy
  • Tuesday, July 18, 2023: Celebrate the first Moon landing with a Moon-themed storytime!
  • Tuesday, July 25, 2023: Structures & Construction

Content of schedule subject to change
 

Maker Mondays

  • May 29, 2023: Military Inventions Celebrate the U.S. Army Redstone rocket that paved the way for NASA human space exploration. Build and launch your own paper Army Redstone rocket.
  • June 19, 2023: African Americans in STEM Civil Rights and Civil Engineering: Celebrate civil rights and civil engineering with activities about African Americans in STEM. Discover the hands-on field of civil engineering. Dream big and build bridges for the future and towers of skyscraping opportunity.
  • September 4, 2023: Simple Machines Simple machines make labor easier to do! What is a simple machine? Explore, build, and test the types of simple machines that make labor easier.
  • October 9, 2023: Native Americans in STEM Celebrate Native Americans in STEM: From prehistoric to modern times, Native American people have engineered and built tools and cities, explored outer space, and created art and a cultural heritage that is a foundation of the Americas. Explore a history of the Native American people and astronauts though hands-on astronomy stories.

Content of schedule subject to change