Calendar of Events

Choose your favorite planet, or planets, and make a wearable button with its likeness. Using available images and our handy button press, you can create a pin-back button with Earth, Mars, Venus or whatever your favorite planet may be. 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.

Combine your LEGO® expertise with a your programming skills when you build a programmable Mars rover in Spark!Lab Smithsonian. Be sure to take into consideration the Red Planet’s harsh landscape and then design, build and program a rover to safely navigate Mars’ diverse terrain.

Choose your favorite planet, or planets, and make a wearable button with its likeness. Using available images and our handy button press, you can create a pin-back button with Earth, Mars, Venus or whatever your favorite planet may be. 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.

Combine your LEGO® expertise with a your programming skills when you build a programmable Mars rover in Spark!Lab Smithsonian. Be sure to take into consideration the Red Planet’s harsh landscape and then design, build and program a rover to safely navigate Mars’ diverse terrain.

Tackle the harsh and varied landscape of the Red Planet with a motorized rover you design and build in The Shop. Combine a miniature motor with a variety of available materials to create a powered rover that can traverse Mars. 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.

Celebrate Independence Day with a “bang!” Visit The Shop to build a do-it-yourself firework launcher. Using available tools and materials, you can create a festive rocket and a launcher to send it soaring into the night sky. Best of all, what you make is yours to keep for your 4th of July celebration! 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…

Design and build your very own interpretation of what alien transportation might look like in The Shop. Using available tools and materials, you can create an unidentified flying object (UFO) that could bring visitors from other planets to ours. 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.

Create your own space-themed zoetrope in The Shop. Using a variety of materials, you can create a pre-film animation devices that produces the illusion of motion by displaying a sequence of drawings or photographs showing progressive phases of that motion. 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.

On July 20, 1969, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully landed two astronauts on the surface of the moon. From the moon’s surface, astronaut Neil Armstrong deemed the feat, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” The Discovery invites you to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing with a variety of space-themed labs and activities throughout the museum all day. Learn about the science that helped humans travel to the moon,…

Something fishy is going on at The Discovery! Visiting Artist Carol Foldvary-Anderson will be sharing with museum visitors just how fun and easy creating your own fish out of colorful air dry clay can be! Working with simple shapes and everyday tools, you too can create a fish that can be a happy fantasy. About Carol Foldvary-Anderson “Creating beauty and inspiring joy is the essence of what my art represents,” states multi award-winning mixed media artist and arts educator, Carol…

Combine cute and cuddly with simple circuitry when you create your very own Circuit Alien in The Shop. Using available materials, you can create a clever little alien and then add LED lights and a battery to make it shine bright on travels through space! Best of all, what you make is yours to take home! 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…

Blast off for the moon and beyond with a compressed air bottle rocket you build in The Shop! Using a recycled water bottle and a variety of other materials, you can design and build a rocket that uses compressed air to take flight. Best of all, 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…

Be ready for school or work with a do-it-yourself zipper pouch you create in The Shop. This no-sew project is a snap—simply use available materials to create a customized and versatile storage solution for pens, pencils, or anything you need to carry. 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.

Be ready for school or work with a do-it-yourself zipper pouch you create in The Shop. This no-sew project is a snap—simply use available materials to create a customized and versatile storage solution for pens, pencils, or anything you need to carry. 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.