Science Story Time

Explore how shapes from rectangles to circles can be transformed into endless combinations in Dayle Ann Dodds’ book The Shape of Things. We’ll practice combining and building as we create our own shape collages to take home.

Use mirrors to solve ingenious puzzles in the book M is for Mirror by Duncan Burmingham. After the story you’ll get to experiment with puzzles, reflections, angles and more with table top mirrors.

We’ll read the book Sort it Out by Barbara Mariconda, about a pack rat and his great collection of objects. Then we’ll get ready for our own sorting challenge. Each family will get a mystery mixture to sort out using a variety of preschool friendly tools.

We’ll read the delightful book Just a Little Bit about friends both large and small on a teeter totter. Young families will then get to practice early math skills as they use the museum’s balances to compare and measure a variety of objects.

Meet the bull moose downstairs in the “Discovering the Natural World” exhibition as we read Looking for a Moose by Phyllis Root. We’ll then have the chance to practice our own tracking skills by matching animal tracks and making our own track books.

We’ll use the book Harvey Potter’s Balloon Farm by Mark Buehner to get inspiration for creating our own balloon sculpture to float in the Air Works exhibition.

We’ll read the book Are You an Ant? by Judy Allen to learn all about an ant’s life. Afterwards you’ll have a chance to see the museum’s live colony of leafcutter ants as we make our own insect art to take home.

Relax surrounded by the aquariums in “Life in Local Waters” after we read the book Pattern Fish by Trudy Harris and create our own patterned paper fish to take home.

Iggy Peck Architect by Andrea Beaty features a kid that can never stop building and building! We’ll make our own towers with 100’s of cups as we reach for the sky.

Build, test, and sink your own boat as we learn about balance and weight (along with the silly antics of some cute critters) in Pamela Allen’s Who Sank the Boat.

After meeting the worm and caterpillar that star in the book Bob and Otto by Robert Bruel we’ll have chance to meet and examine a live worm up close in all its wiggling fun.

Learn about the parts of a moon rocket in Tony Mitton’s “Roaring Rockets” and then make your own stomp rocket to launch skyward.

Enjoy the amazing illustrations in Steve Jenkin’s Prehistoric Actual Size before exploring the museum’s own fossil collection.

Explore the museum’s rock collection after reading the beautiful book “A Rock is Lively” by Diane Hutts Aston.

Play in the exhibition “Bubbles: Science in Soap” and join us as we read the silly book The Big Bad Bubble by Adam Rubin. You’ll then have a chance to build your own bubble wands that can make giant bubbles outside.