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Calendar of Events
Past Events › Hands-on Activity
![](https://nvdm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Leprechaun_Traps-580x400.jpg)
Leprechaun Traps
It’s that time of year when the pesky leprechaun starts lurking around. Increase your odds of trapping him or her, with a do-it-yourself leprechaun trap you create in The Shop. Using available tools and materials, you can design and build a foolproof trap to ensnare the tricky leprechaun and grab his pot of gold! 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…
Find out more »![](https://nvdm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Worry_Dolls-580x400.jpg)
Worry Dolls
Visit The Shop to create a Guatemalan-inspired worry doll. If your worries are keeping you awake a night, you can tell your worries to your worry dolls and let them do your worrying for you. 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.
Find out more »![](https://nvdm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Worry_Dolls-580x400.jpg)
Worry Dolls
Visit The Shop to create a Guatemalan-inspired worry doll. If your worries are keeping you awake a night, you can tell your worries to your worry dolls and let them do your worrying for you. 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.
Find out more »![](https://nvdm.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/OpenBuild-580x400.jpg)
Open Build in The Shop
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.
Find out more »![](https://nvdm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/NISE_Earth_Space-580x400.jpg)
Exploration Station: Sounding Rockets
Stop by this hands-on activity to learn about how some rockets carry science tools—not scientists—into space, and how a special kind of rocket called “sounding rockets” can be used for quick, low-flying scientific missions into space. You can build and launch your own air rockets to help imagine the challenges and triumphs of engineering spacecraft and launching them into a specific region of the space above our planet. Activity available 11:30am – 1:30pm
Find out more »![](https://nvdm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Mars_Rovers-580x400.jpg)
Mars Rovers
Can you imagine driving an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) on the moon? In The Shop, you can design and build your own version of a Mars rover powered by a rubber band. Test, evaluate, and redesign your rover to determine what will work best on the rugged terrain of the Red Planet! 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…
Find out more »![](https://nvdm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/NISE_Earth_Space-580x400.jpg)
Exploration Station: Magnetic Fields
Stop by this hands-on activity to see how scientists can use tools to study the invisible magnetic fields of Earth, the Sun, and other objects in the universe. You’ll learn how the Sun’s magnetic field extends far out into space and sends bursts of magnetic energy across the solar system, while Earth’s strong magnetic field helps protect life on our planet from dangerous solar and cosmic radiation. Activity available 12:30 – 2:30pm
Find out more »![](https://nvdm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Mars_Rovers-580x400.jpg)
Mars Rovers
Can you imagine driving an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) on the moon? In The Shop, you can design and build your own version of a Mars rover powered by a rubber band. Test, evaluate, and redesign your rover to determine what will work best on the rugged terrain of the Red Planet! 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…
Find out more »![](https://nvdm.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/OpenBuild-580x400.jpg)
Open Build in The Shop
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.
Find out more »![](https://nvdm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/NISE_Earth_Space-580x400.jpg)
Exploration Station: Craters
Stop by this hands-on activity to that demonstrates how craters form, and what they can teach us about the history and composition of planets and moons. By dropping objects of various sizes and shapes into a tub full of sand and other materials, you’ll simulate the formation of a meteorite crater, and then study the craters using special tools. Scientists use similar methods to study the geological processes on other planets, moons, and asteroids. Activity available 11:30am – 1:30pm
Find out more »![](https://nvdm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/NISE_Earth_Space-580x400.jpg)
Exploration Station: Paper Mountains
Stop by this hands-on activity to explore the way the shape of the land and the pull of gravity influence how water moves over Earth. By making unique mountain models from crumpled paper and watching how water moves across them, you can act as an Earth scientist, using your observations to make predictions about the future of our planet. Activity available 11:30am – 1:30pm
Find out more »![](https://nvdm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Dino_Launchers-580x400.jpg)
Dinosaur Catapults
It is almost time for A T. rex Named Sue to leave The Discovery. We’re not sure where she’s headed next, but we want to send her off in style, and you can help! In The Shop, we invite you to design and build a launcher to send a toy dinosaur hurling through the air. Using rubber bands and other available materials, you can engineer a contraption that will send your toy dinosaur on an interstellar trajectory. Best of all,…
Find out more »![](https://nvdm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Dino_Launchers-580x400.jpg)
Dinosaur Catapults
It is almost time for A T. rex Named Sue to leave The Discovery. We’re not sure where she’s headed next, but we want to send her off in style, and you can help! In The Shop, we invite you to design and build a launcher to send a toy dinosaur hurling through the air. Using rubber bands and other available materials, you can engineer a contraption that will send your toy dinosaur on an interstellar trajectory. Best of all,…
Find out more »![](https://nvdm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Dino_Launchers-580x400.jpg)
Dinosaur Catapults
It is almost time for A T. rex Named Sue to leave The Discovery. We’re not sure where she’s headed next, but we want to send her off in style, and you can help! In The Shop, we invite you to design and build a launcher to send a toy dinosaur hurling through the air. Using rubber bands and other available materials, you can engineer a contraption that will send your toy dinosaur on an interstellar trajectory. Best of all,…
Find out more »![](https://nvdm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/DIY_Easels-580x400.jpg)
DIY Easels
Visit The Shop to create a handy easel to hold your favorite family photo. Choose from a variety of materials to create your own version of a photo easel. What you make 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.
Find out more »![](https://nvdm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/DIY_Easels-580x400.jpg)
DIY Easels
Visit The Shop to create a handy easel to hold your favorite family photo. Choose from a variety of materials to create your own version of a photo easel. What you make 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.
Find out more »![](https://nvdm.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Thermoplastic-580x400.jpg)
Fantastic Thermoplastic
Visit The Shop to create your own piece of thermoplastic art and then watch as it shrinks to size before your very eyes. Create things like earrings, bookmarks, keychains, and more, and learn how this amazing material softens when heated, but hardens when it cools. 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.
Find out more »![](https://nvdm.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Thermoplastic-580x400.jpg)
Fantastic Thermoplastic
Visit The Shop to create your own piece of thermoplastic art and then watch as it shrinks to size before your very eyes. Create things like earrings, bookmarks, keychains, and more, and learn how this amazing material softens when heated, but hardens when it cools. 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.
Find out more »![](https://nvdm.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Thermoplastic-580x400.jpg)
Fantastic Thermoplastic
Visit The Shop to create your own piece of thermoplastic art and then watch as it shrinks to size before your very eyes. Create things like earrings, bookmarks, keychains, and more, and learn how this amazing material softens when heated, but hardens when it cools. 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.
Find out more »![](https://nvdm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Visiting_Artist_Judy_Joustra-580x400.jpg)
Visiting Artist: Judy Joustra
Fused Glass Magnets (3:30pm, ages 6 and up) Make a decorative magnet with fused glass. Visiting Artist Judy Joustra will lead you through the process of fusing pre-melted glass in a variety of shapes and colors onto a mini canvas of white glass. Your beautiful work can then be displayed on your favorite appliance or magnet board. Fused Glass Night Lights (5:30 and 7:00pm, ages 8 and up) Join Judy for an introduction to fusing colorful, pre-melted shapes of glass…
Find out more »![](https://nvdm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Bristlebots-580x400.jpg)
Bristlebots
An event every week that begins at 9:30 am on Saturday, repeating until May 5, 2018
Have you ever wanted to build your own robot from scratch? Visit The Shop to create a Bristlebot using the head of a toothbrush, a battery, and a small motor. Make changes to your design to see if you can make it go faster, straighter, or dance in circles. 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…
Find out more »![](https://nvdm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/National_Architecture_Day-580x400.jpg)
National Architecture Day
Do you wish your room was bigger? Do you wish you didn’t have to share a bathroom? What about turning your parents’ bedroom into a KIDS-ONLY water park!? Visit The Shop to try your hand at designing, drawing, and building and discover the world of architecture. This event is part of National Architecture Week, a celebration of architecture in our community organized by the Northern Nevada chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
Find out more »![](https://nvdm.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/OpenBuild-580x400.jpg)
Open Build in The Shop
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.
Find out more »![](https://nvdm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Bristlebots-580x400.jpg)
Bristlebots
Have you ever wanted to build your own robot from scratch? Visit The Shop to create a Bristlebot using the head of a toothbrush, a battery, and a small motor. Make changes to your design to see if you can make it go faster, straighter, or dance in circles. 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…
Find out more »