Calendar of Events

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.

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.

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.

Put your DIY, or do-it-yourself, skills to the test in The Shop when you use real tools and materials to design, cut, drill, screw and nail your very own home for birds. 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 use a variety of provided materials to invent a new way to save your money. With summer on its way, you can use what you create to store your allowance or lemonade stand earnings!

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.

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.

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.

Use your creativity, your ingenuity, and a variety of materials to create your own finger, hand or string puppet in The Shop. 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 Shop to engineer your very own cardboard creature. Sketch your design and then grab the materials you need to construction your creature! Best of all, what you build 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 Shop to tackle the task of engineering a better bridge! Use available tools and materials to design and build a structure that will span from one pier to another, and then test its strength. Please note: The Shop offers access to real tools and materials that can cause injury if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to help young tinkerers practice the safe use of the tools and materials in this space.

Visit The Shop to tackle the task of engineering a catapult! Use available tools and materials to design and build a contraption that will hurl an object as far as possible, and then put it to the test. Please note: The Shop offers access to real tools and materials that can cause injury if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to help young tinkerers practice the safe use of the tools and materials in this space.

Visit The Shop to tackle the task of engineering a catapult! Use available tools and materials to design and build a contraption that will hurl an object as far as possible, and then put it to the test. Please note: The Shop offers access to real tools and materials that can cause injury if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to help young tinkerers practice the safe use of the tools and materials in this space.

Visit The Shop to create your own robot built from a variety of re-purposed materials. And, best of all, the robot you build is yours to take home. Please note: The Shop offers access to real tools and materials that can cause injury if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to help young tinkerers practice the safe use of the tools and materials in this space.