Calendar of Events

In The Shop, hands-on gets serious. During Open Build, take your pick from a variety of materials and use real tools to design and build nearly anything you can imagine. Best of all, what you create is yours to keep! Please note: The Shop offers access to real tools and materials that can be dangerous if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to help young tinkerers use the tools and materials safely in this space.

With fossil fuels in high demand and short supply, can you invent a vehicle that uses an alternate form of power? Not batteries, but wind! Using a variety of materials, invent a vehicle that harnesses wind power to transport people or parcels to-and-fro. Please note: This activity includes access to tools and materials that can be dangerous if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to help young inventors use the tools and materials safely.

Back by popular demand, paint or draw on the Clear Canvas in Da Vinci’s Corner and then watch as the canvas is washed clean to prepare for the next amazing works of art.

With fossil fuels in high demand and short supply, can you invent a vehicle that uses an alternate form of power? Not batteries, but wind! Using a variety of materials, invent a vehicle that harnesses wind power to transport people or parcels to-and-fro. Please note: This activity includes access to tools and materials that can be dangerous if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to help young inventors use the tools and materials safely.

Visit The Shop to create a beautiful and functional device to harness the power of the sun. Using wax paper, tissue paper, and a variety of other materials, you can create a sun catcher that looks like stained glass. Please note: The Shop offers access to real tools and materials that can be dangerous if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to help young tinkerers use the tools and materials safely in this space.

The future of transportation is in your hands! Visit The Shop to use available tools and materials to create a miniature car that uses a rubber band for power. Experiment with a variety of rubber bands to see which will make your car move faster, slower or travel farther? Please note: The Shop offers access to real tools and materials that can be dangerous if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to help young tinkerers use the tools and materials safely…

Hands-on gets serious in The Shop! In this material-specific session of Open Build, you’ll use real tools to build nearly anything you can imagine out of a variety of plastics. Best of all, what you create is yours to keep! Please note: The Shop offers access to real tools and materials that can be dangerous if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to help young tinkerers use the tools and materials safely in this space.

Visit Spark!Lab Smithsonian to invent your own flying machine! Using a variety of materials, you can invent a contraption that will take a human into the sky. This challenging STEAM activity requires inventors to consider key concepts of flight including lift, weight, thrust, and drag. Best of all, what you invent is yours to keep! Please note: This activity includes access to tools and materials that can be dangerous if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to help young inventors use the tools and…

Visit Spark!Lab Smithsonian to invent your own flying machine! Using a variety of materials, you can invent a contraption that will take a human into the sky. This challenging STEAM activity requires inventors to consider key concepts of flight including lift, weight, thrust, and drag. Best of all, what you invent is yours to keep! Please note: This activity includes access to tools and materials that can be dangerous if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to help young inventors use the tools and…

The future of transportation is in your hands! Visit The Shop to use available tools and materials to create a miniature car that uses a rubber band for power. Experiment with a variety of rubber bands to see which will make your car move faster, slower or travel farther? Please note: The Shop offers access to real tools and materials that can be dangerous if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to help young tinkerers use the tools and materials safely…

Visit Spark!Lab Smithsonian to invent your own flying machine! Using a variety of materials, you can invent a contraption that will take a human into the sky. This challenging STEAM activity requires inventors to consider key concepts of flight including lift, weight, thrust, and drag. Best of all, what you invent is yours to keep! Please note: This activity includes access to tools and materials that can be dangerous if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to help young inventors use the tools and…

Visit Spark!Lab Smithsonian and use the process of invention to build a car that’ll protect its precious cargo. Using available materials and the invention process, you can create a vehicle that will protect a plastic egg in the event of a crash. Even if your egg breaks, you can tweak your design and test it again, and again, and again! Please note: Spark!Lab Smithsonian offers access to tools and materials that can be dangerous if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to…

Visit Spark!Lab Smithsonian and use the process of invention to build a car that’ll protect its precious cargo. Using available materials and the invention process, you can create a vehicle that will protect a plastic egg in the event of a crash. Even if your egg breaks, you can tweak your design and test it again, and again, and again! Please note: Spark!Lab Smithsonian offers access to tools and materials that can be dangerous if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to…

Visit Spark!Lab Smithsonian and use the process of invention to build a car that’ll protect its precious cargo. Using available materials and the invention process, you can create a vehicle that will protect a plastic egg in the event of a crash. Even if your egg breaks, you can tweak your design and test it again, and again, and again! Please note: Spark!Lab Smithsonian offers access to tools and materials that can be dangerous if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to…

Visit Spark!Lab Smithsonian and use the process of invention to build a car that’ll protect its precious cargo. Using available materials and the invention process, you can create a vehicle that will protect a plastic egg in the event of a crash. Even if your egg breaks, you can tweak your design and test it again, and again, and again! Please note: Spark!Lab Smithsonian offers access to tools and materials that can be dangerous if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to…

Hands-on gets serious in The Shop! In this material-specific session of Open Build, you’ll use real tools to create nearly anything you can imagine out of textiles materials like fabric, yarn, and more. Best of all, what you create is yours to keep! Please note: The Shop offers access to real tools and materials that can be dangerous if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to help young tinkerers use the tools and materials safely in this space.

Visit Spark!Lab Smithsonian and use the process of invention to build a car that’ll protect its precious cargo. Using available materials and the invention process, you can create a vehicle that will protect a plastic egg in the event of a crash. Even if your egg breaks, you can tweak your design and test it again, and again, and again! Please note: Spark!Lab Smithsonian offers access to tools and materials that can be dangerous if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to…

Visit Spark!Lab Smithsonian and use the process of invention to build a car that’ll protect its precious cargo. Using available materials and the invention process, you can create a vehicle that will protect a plastic egg in the event of a crash. Even if your egg breaks, you can tweak your design and test it again, and again, and again! Please note: Spark!Lab Smithsonian offers access to tools and materials that can be dangerous if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to…

Visit Spark!Lab Smithsonian and use the process of invention to build a car that’ll protect its precious cargo. Using available materials and the invention process, you can create a vehicle that will protect a plastic egg in the event of a crash. Even if your egg breaks, you can tweak your design and test it again, and again, and again! Please note: Spark!Lab Smithsonian offers access to tools and materials that can be dangerous if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to…

Visit Spark!Lab Smithsonian and use the process of invention to build a car that’ll protect its precious cargo. Using available materials and the invention process, you can create a vehicle that will protect a plastic egg in the event of a crash. Even if your egg breaks, you can tweak your design and test it again, and again, and again! Please note: Spark!Lab Smithsonian offers access to tools and materials that can be dangerous if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to…

Hands-on gets serious in The Shop! In this material-specific session of Open Build, you’ll use real tools to build nearly anything you can imagine out of wood. Best of all, what you create is yours to keep! Please note: The Shop offers access to real tools and materials that can be dangerous if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to help young tinkerers use the tools and materials safely in this space.

Visit The Discovery’s Spark!Lab Smithsonian to explore nano technology by creating a thin film. A thin film is a layer of material ranging from less than a nanometer (one billionth of a meter) to several micrometers thick. Everyday examples of thin films include soap bubbles, oil slicks on water, and anti-reflection coating on eyeglasses. Scientists are developing thin films to use as computer memory and in solar cells. Please note: This activity includes materials that can be dangerous if used improperly. Parents are encouraged…

Visit The Discovery’s Spark!Lab Smithsonian to explore nano technology by creating a thin film. A thin film is a layer of material ranging from less than a nanometer (one billionth of a meter) to several micrometers thick. Everyday examples of thin films include soap bubbles, oil slicks on water, and anti-reflection coating on eyeglasses. Scientists are developing thin films to use as computer memory and in solar cells. Please note: This activity includes materials that can be dangerous if used improperly. Parents are encouraged…

Visit The Discovery’s Spark!Lab Smithsonian to explore nano technology by creating a thin film. A thin film is a layer of material ranging from less than a nanometer (one billionth of a meter) to several micrometers thick. Everyday examples of thin films include soap bubbles, oil slicks on water, and anti-reflection coating on eyeglasses. Scientists are developing thin films to use as computer memory and in solar cells. Please note: This activity includes materials that can be dangerous if used improperly. Parents are encouraged…