All hands-on science activities last approximately 1 hour and have limited seating. Call 810-237-3409 to book your field trip.
Use the 2022-2023 Education Guide to plan your field trip or outreach program. View the PDF.
⭐ Virtual Field Trips for Classroom Learning: Programs marked with a gold star are available as virtual experiences for in-person learners in their classrooms.
🟢 Virtual Field Trips for Remote Learning: Programs marked with a green circle are available as virtual at-home experiences for remote learners.

⭐🟢 Weather
Grades Pre-K & K
What’s the weather like? Design a weather report folder to use for observing and describing the weather. Students will see how weather affects our daily lives while drawing clothes on their weather bears.
NGSS: K-ESS2.D

⭐ Plants
Grade K
Students will build their own terrarium to take home while investigating living and non-living things.
NGSS: K-LS1-1, K-ESS3-1, K-ESS3-3, 1-LS1-1

Light & Shadows
Grades 1-3
Investigate the properties of this form of energy, while exploring shadows, mirrors and the light spectrum. Discover how you can block, reflect, and bend light with hands-on activities.
NGSS: 1-PS4-2, 1-PS4-3

⭐ Sound
Grades 1-3
What makes sound? Students will find out as they investigate vibrations, pitch and loudness with fun hands-on activities.
NGSS: 1-PS4-1, 1-PS4-4

⭐ Build Your Own Ecosystem
Grades 1-6
Investigate ecosystems and the water cycle, and learn what living things need to survive. Students will build an independent ecosystem to take home.
NGSS: 1-LS1-1, 2-LS2-1, 4-LS1-1, 5-LS1-1
Our show "The Life of Trees" pairs perfectly with this program!

⭐🟢 Landforms
Grades 2-3
Explore Earth! Students will use clay to sculpt mountains, valleys, plains, plateaus, and other major landforms. Investigate where on earth these landforms can be found and what forces help shape our world. Discover the many different landforms that are located in our very own state of Michigan!
GLCE: E.SE.02.21, 3-G1.0.1, 3-G1.0.2

The Resourceful Red Hen
Grades 2-3
Using her entrepreneurial skills, the Little Red Hen invested natural, capital, and human resources to produce some delicious goods! The cat, dog, and mouse learned a hard lesson about incentives and opportunity costs. Using a reader’s theater format, kids will hear the story of The Little Red Hen. Students will use natural, capital, and human resources to plant wheat seeds to take home.
GLCE: 2-E1.0.1, 2-E1.0.4, 3-E1.0.1, 3-E1.0.2, 3-E1.0.4

Mixtures
Grades 2-4
Students will make and separate mixtures in this fun, messy, fast-paced activity. Use a variety of measuring and separating tools to separate sand, iron and water. Mix up some concrete to take home.
NGSS: 2-PS1-1

Water Treatment
Grades 2-6
Turn on the tap and water comes out. Where did it come from? Where does it go? Take dirty water through the process of water treatment while working with a partner to design and test a filter system.
NGSS: 2-ESS2-3

Galactic Goo
Grades 2-6
Chemistry at its finest and most fun! Matter, molecules and polymers will be discussed in this hands-on activity. Each student will make and take home a bag of their own goo!
NGSS: 2-PS1-1

Groundwater
Grades 2-6
Build and manipulate a model groundwater system, while learning how removing, adding, and polluting water impacts our underground water system.
NGSS: 2-ESS2-3

Marker Robots
Grades 2-6
Using markers, a battery, a motor and a hot glue stick, students will build a simple robot that draws. Will it draw a circle? Dotted lines? You won’t know until you turn it on and let it go! Students will explore electrical circuits and the forces necessary to make their robots move.
NGSS: 4-PS3-2

⭐ Fossil Science
Grade 3
Make a plaster fossil model to take home and touch real fossils, while learning how fossils are formed and how they provide evidence of life long ago.
NGSS: 3-L24.A

Physical & Chemical Changes
Grades 3-6
Students will explore how matter changes, while observing changes in state of matter and making separating mixtures. Students will follow procedures and look for evidence of chemical changes, while measuring and mixing chemicals to create chemical reactions.
NGSS: 5-PS1-A, 5-PS1.B

⭐🟢 Moon Phases & Eclipses
Grades 4-6
Students will make a glow-in-the-dark moon phase book and an eclipse project while exploring the motion of the Earth and Moon.
NGSS: 5-ESS1.B
3rd Grade Motion Lab
This workshop series provides content experiences that connect to one another, all aligned with NGSS state standards. These workshops can be completed individually or in any combination. You can even choose to complete all three programs in one day.

⭐🟢 Build-A-Buggy Challenge
Grades 3-6
Students will investigate how the shape of a vehicle affects its ability to move through the air. Design and build an aerodynamic buggy and then use a ramp and fan to see how far the buggy can travel.
NGSS: 3-PS2-1, 3-PS2-2

⭐ Cranky Contraptions
Grades 3-6
Twist, crank, push, pull, spin. Are you ready to create a moving sculpture while investigating forces and interactions while learning about automotive camshafts? Discover patterns of change while designing a cranking mechanism that puts your artwork in motion.
NGSS: 3-PS2-1, 3-PS2-2

⭐ Amusement Park Science
Grades 3-5
Students will explore forces and motion, while re-creating some of their favorite amusement park rides. Find out why you don't fall out when a ride goes upside down. Investigate contact and non-contact forces, while designing a tabletop marble roller coaster.
NGSS: 3-PS2.A
4th Grade Energy Lab
This workshop series provides content experiences that connect to one another, all aligned with NGSS state standards. These workshops can be completed individually or in any combination. You can even choose to complete all three programs in one day.

Catch A Wave!
Grade 4
Energy moves in waves! Students will use duct tape, skewers, and modeling clay to build wave models that demonstrate how energy moves through matter. Kids will explore mechanical waves, wave frequency, and amplitude.
MSS/NGSS: 4-PS4.A, 4-PS3.A, 4-PS3.B

Eye Dissection
Grade 4
Students will explore the structure and function of an eye while learning how objects are seen when light reflects off the surface and enters the eye. Students will dissect a sheep eye.
MSS/NGSS: 4-PS4.A, 4-LS1.A, 4-LS1.D

Earthquake Construction
Grade 4
Seismic waves move energy through the earth. Students will work in teams to engineer earthquake resistant towers. Kids will test their designs on the earthquake shake table to see if they can survive the quake.
MSS/NGSS: 4-PS3.A, 4-PS3.C, 4-ESS2B, 4-ESS3.B, 4-ETS1.B
50¢ Upcharge Applies To The Following Events

Ice Cream Science
Additional charge applies
Grades 1-4
A sweet way to study solids, liquids, and gases! Working in groups, students will use beakers, measuring cups, and measuring spoons to mix up solids and liquids into an ice cream base. Program staff will add the “magic liquid” that changes their liquid into solid ice cream. Each student gets some ice cream to taste.
NGSS: 2-PS1.A, 2-PS1.B

Science Demonstration: Changes
Additional charge applies
Grades 2-6
Investigate the states of matter and how matter changes from one state to another. This demonstration provides students with an exploration of physical and chemical changes and the connection between matter and energy.
NGSS: 2-PS1-1, 5-PS1-4
Plan Your Field Trip!
For reservations, call 810-237-3409
Use the 2021-2022 Education Guide to plan your field trip or outreach program.
View the PDF.
View the current programs:
Kindergarten Storybook STEM
History & Social Studies at Sloan Museum
Hands-on Science at Longway Planetarium
Planetarium Theater Shows
Portable Dome Theater