Make Your Own Projectors & Shadow Show
What You’ll Need:
- Empty toilet paper rolls
- Clear plastic wrap
- Rubber bandsStickers
- Small flashlight
What You’ll Do:
- Place plastic wrap over one end of the toilet paper roll and secure with a rubber band.
- Place a sticker in the middle of the plastic wrap.
- Turn off the lights!
- Shine a flashlight through the open end of the roll and point the projector towards a wall or ceiling.
- Create a shadow show!
Play Prompt: Make multiple projectors with different shapes and use them to tell a story.
What Kids Learn
How to Support the Play
- Ask lots of questions. Especially ones without a yes/no or right/wrong answer. “Why do you think that happened?” or “What do you think will happen next?”
- Talk about what you see a child doing as they do it. Be a play-by-play announcer. You’ll notice little things that reveal how a child is learning. “I see how you…” and “I noticed that you…”
H/T: Mom and museum goer, Megan B.
HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES
HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES
Build Your Own Straw Rocket & Learn About Important Women in Space
Celebrating some of the women whose contributions have played a crucial role in advancing the exploration of space
Glue Gun Fun
There’s no substitution for hands-on exploration. Letting kids (safely) experiment with real tools, such as a glue gun, provides opportunities to build confidence, independence, creative thinking skills and more.
Make Your Own Eyeball Wall at Home
If you’ve visited our new special exhibit, Monsters on Summer Vacation, you’ve likely seen the Eyeball Wall, a chalkboard wall covered in eyes that is the perfect backdrop for visitors to sketch out monster faces of their own.
Three Fun Static Electricity Experiments to Do at Home
Experimenting with static electricity is a great way to introduce young kids to science and spark their curiosity to learn more.