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Past Events › Hands-on Activity
Building with Biology
Explore the importance of the emerging field of synthetic biology through a variety of hands-on activities. Building with Biology is part of a nationwide festival of educational programs designed to encourage conversations between the public and scientists. The Building with Biology project is funded by the National Science Foundation and led by the Museum of Science, Boston. Building with Biology kits are developed and distributed nationwide in collaboration with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), BioBuilder Educational…
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Dismantle Day
Have you ever wondered, “What’s inside that,” or “How does that work?” Here’s your chance to find out. Visit The Shop and select from a variety of retired electronic and mechanical devices and let the deconstruction begin. Using available tools, you’ll be able to dismantled your object to find out exactly what makes it work. 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…
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Tool Exploration
Visit each exploration station in The Shop to get your hands on a variety of tools. At each station, get your Tool Exploration passport stamped to earn your Discovery Toolsmith certification. 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.
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Tool Exploration
Visit each exploration station in The Shop to get your hands on a variety of tools. At each station, get your Tool Exploration passport stamped to earn your Discovery Toolsmith certification. 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 »
Cardboard Space City
Work with other museum visitors in Spark!Lab Smithsonian to create a cardboard model of a futuristic space community. This collaborative project will grow and change through Sunday, September 18, 2016, so make plans to visit the museum again to see how it turn out!
Find out more »
Cardboard Space City
Work with other museum visitors in Spark!Lab Smithsonian to create a cardboard model of a futuristic space community. This collaborative project will grow and change through Sunday, September 18, 2016, so make plans to visit the museum again to see how it turn out!
Find out more »
Tool Exploration
Visit each exploration station in The Shop to get your hands on a variety of tools. At each station, get your Tool Exploration passport stamped to earn your Discovery Toolsmith certification. 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 »
Cardboard Space City
Work with other museum visitors in Spark!Lab Smithsonian to create a cardboard model of a futuristic space community. This collaborative project will grow and change through Sunday, September 18, 2016, so make plans to visit the museum again to see how it turn out!
Find out more »
Cardboard Space City
Work with other museum visitors in Spark!Lab Smithsonian to create a cardboard model of a futuristic space community. This collaborative project will grow and change through Sunday, September 18, 2016, so make plans to visit the museum again to see how it turn out!
Find out more »
Cardboard Space City
Work with other museum visitors in Spark!Lab Smithsonian to create a cardboard model of a futuristic space community. This collaborative project will grow and change through Sunday, September 18, 2016, so make plans to visit the museum again to see how it turn out!
Find out more »
Tool Exploration
Visit each exploration station in The Shop to get your hands on a variety of tools. At each station, get your Tool Exploration passport stamped to earn your Discovery Toolsmith certification. 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 »
Cardboard Space City
Work with other museum visitors in Spark!Lab Smithsonian to create a cardboard model of a futuristic space community. This collaborative project will grow and change through Sunday, September 18, 2016, so make plans to visit the museum again to see how it turn out!
Find out more »
Tool Exploration
Visit each exploration station in The Shop to get your hands on a variety of tools. At each station, get your Tool Exploration passport stamped to earn your Discovery Toolsmith certification. 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 »
Cardboard Space City
Work with other museum visitors in Spark!Lab Smithsonian to create a cardboard model of a futuristic space community. This collaborative project will grow and change through Sunday, September 18, 2016, so make plans to visit the museum again to see how it turn out!
Find out more »
Cardboard Space City
Work with other museum visitors in Spark!Lab Smithsonian to create a cardboard model of a futuristic space community. This collaborative project will grow and change through Sunday, September 18, 2016, so make plans to visit the museum again to see how it turn out!
Find out more »
Open Build
In The Shop, hands-on gets serious. During “open build” take your pick of real tools and materials to design and build nearly anything you can imagine. Best of all, whatever you create 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 tools and materials safely in this space.
Find out more »
Open Build
In The Shop, hands-on gets serious. During “open build” take your pick of real tools and materials to design and build nearly anything you can imagine. Best of all, whatever you create 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 tools and materials safely in this space.
Find out more »
Open Build
In The Shop, hands-on gets serious. During “open build” take your pick of real tools and materials to design and build nearly anything you can imagine. Best of all, whatever you create 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 tools and materials safely in this space.
Find out more »
Do-it-yourself Costumes
Visit The Shop to get a jump on your costume for Halloween. Choose from a variety of cloth and materials and assemble your scary, silly or scientific costume using hot glue, needle and thread, or knots. And best of all, what your create 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 tools and materials in this…
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Flying UAV’s
Inspired by Naval fighter pilot Missy Cummings, test your piloting skills in Spark!Lab Smithsonian when you take The Discovery’s UAV for a test flight through a challenging obstacle course.
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Do-it-yourself Costumes
Visit The Shop to get a jump on your costume for Halloween. Choose from a variety of cloth and materials and assemble your scary, silly or scientific costume using hot glue, needle and thread, or knots. And best of all, what your create 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 tools and materials in this…
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Play the Theremin
It may sound like it’s from the future, but it’s actually from the past. The theremin, invented in 1920 by Léon Theremin, is an instrument you play by waiving your hands near two antennas—you never actually touch it! Visit Spark!Lab Smithsonian to try your hand(s) at creating a song of your own on a modern-day theremin!
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DNA Exploration
Inspired by scientist Rosalind Franklin‘s discovery of DNA’s double helix structure in 1952, museum visitors will extract, isolate, and observe the DNA of an ordinary strawberry to understand more about the building blocks of life and pursuits in the field of geneology.
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Do-it-yourself Costumes
Visit The Shop to get a jump on your costume for Halloween. Choose from a variety of cloth and materials and assemble your scary, silly or scientific costume using hot glue, needle and thread, or knots. And best of all, what your create 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 tools and materials in this…
Find out more »