Family Science Night Activities List

Grades K-2   Grades 3-5   Grades 6-8

Sample Flyer   Request Form

 

Family Math Night Activities List

Grades K-2   Grades 3-5

Sample Flyer   Request Form   Printable Version (MS Word)

 

     The Family Science & Math Nights are an exciting program offered by NEGYSTC for an evening of hands-on activities for parents and their children.  These events meet the No Child Left Behind Title I School requirement for increasing parental involvement and the NSDC's Standards for Staff Development on Family Involvement. 

     NEGYSTC will provide training and non-consumables for your school to host an event.  Programs generally last for 1 to 1.5 hours and consist of 10 to 15 activity stations set up around your school.  The school is responsible for providing any consumable materials, space, and teachers/parapros/volunteers to run the activities (PLU credit can be arranged for participating teachers and/or parapros).  Below is a list of the activities available organized by grade level.  For each activity is a brief description, what the NEGYSTC center provides, and what the schools provide for the activity.  *Indicate activities available in both English and Spanish

 

Grades K-2 Science Activities

Printable Version (Microsoft Word)

Bubble Clusters:  What kind of bubble patterns can you create? Pour bubble solution onto a surface, grab a drinking straw and find out once and for all. Don’t get too complicated; clutters might have to be drawn on data sheet!  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, bubble solution, drinking straws, cookie sheets, pencils.

Build Your Own Bubble Wand:  Families predict what shape their bubbles will be by designing their own bubble wands with pipe cleaners.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, worksheet, bubble recipe, door sign.  School Supplies:  Pipe cleaners, bubble solution, plastic plates or trays for solution, copies of instructions, pencils.

Gumdrop Dome*:  Families experiment building domes using toothpicks and gumdrops.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, gumdrops or substitute, toothpicks.

Puzzles:  Families have fun putting together various giant-size floor puzzles about simple machines, rain forests, dinosaurs, the Monarch butterfly life cycle, the ocean, pond life and world map.  Center Supplies:  Everything for this activity

Cup Tower*:  Families build towers by stacking cups on top of each other.  Makes a great competition to see who can build the tallest tower!  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, paper or plastic cups.

Toe-Tac-Tic *:  A fun problem solving game that is the reverse of Tic-Tac-Toe.  The first person to get three in a row loses!  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, pencils.

What Do You Sink Will Float:  Families predict and test objects to see if they sink or float.  Center Supplies:  instructions, activity sheets, baggies of objects to test, door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of activity sheet, and containers of water.

Eggs Full of Sound*:  Families identify very common sounds of very common objects according to the noise they make when shaken inside plastic eggs.  Center Supplies:  Activity sheet, plastic eggs with objects, and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of activity sheet.

Clucking Chicken:  Families construct “clucking chickens” out of plastic cups and a string tied to top, inside the cup.  They will hear the vibrations as they pull on the string to make the chicken cluck!  Center Supplies:  Instructions and door sign.  School Supplies:  Dixie plastic cups, string, paper clips, cups of water, and decorating materials

What Is Hot And What Is Cold*:  Families work together to classify things as either being hot or cold.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of worksheets, scissors, glue stick.

Hot Hands*:  A great activity to demonstrate heat energy travels by convection as families dip metal cans in soapy water to form a film over the opening.  As they hold the can, their body heat causes the soap film to rise.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign, tin cans.  School Supplies:  Copies of worksheets, pencils, bubble solution.

Color My World*:  Families will make goggles using colored cellophane and see how the colors of things change when viewed through the goggles and other color paddles.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign, and color paddles.  School Supplies:  Copies of worksheets, colored cellophane, scissors, string, and tape

Colors Together:  Families experiment mixing colors by shining flashlights covered in different colored cellophane on the wall and mixing with other color frames to see the colors they create.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, flashlights, cellophane, color frames with cellophane, and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, dark room, D-batteries, crayons or markers.

Light Source*:  Families classify things into those that produce and do not produce light.  Center Supplies:  Instructions and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of worksheets, scissors, and glue sticks.

Hungry Hounds:  Families help hungry hounds find their bones using magnetic attraction.  Center Supplies:  magnet wands, instructions, activity sheet, door sign.  School Supplies:  copies of activity sheet, paperclips, tape, and scissors.

Observe a Leaf:  Families will observe and describe leaves using their senses and make leaf rubbings.  Center Supplies:  Instructions and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of activity sheet, crayons, and leaves

Baleena The Whale:  Families will be amazed with this life-sized, inflatable model of a humpback whale.  Various activities on sink/float, feeding, and a cassette of whale songs are included.  Please note that this activity needs a large room with a high ceiling to be set up, i.e. gym.  Center Supplies:  Baleena the whale, box fan, activity sheets, posters of whales, and tape of whale songs.  School Supplies:  Copies of activity sheets and consumable supplies for activities

Smelling Bee:  Families will use their sense of smell to guess the mystery fragrances in a series of containers, with eyes closed.  Center Supplies:  Everything needed for the activity.  School Supplies:  Copies of instruction sheets.

Eye Tricks*:  A fun demonstration of “after-image” as families color and then stare at their images for one minute and then look at white paper to see the image that appears.  Center Supplies:  Instructions and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of worksheets, orange, black, and green crayons, and plain white paper

What Your Brain Sees:  Another fun optical illusion due to persistence of vision.  Families spin disks with images on each side and see the motion as a blending of the two images.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, image patterns, door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, copies of patterns on card stock, coloring markers/crayons, scissors, rubber bands, and hole punchers.

Tongue Twisters *:  A fun activity where families are challenged to say the color of a word instead of reading the word itself.  The brain quickly becomes confused as a demonstration of the Stoop Effect.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign, and tongue-twister cards.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions

Water Drop Dragster:  Families race a drop of water through a laminated maze to see who wins!  Center Supplies:  door sign, instructions, and mazes.  School Supplies:  cups of water.

Sound is Vibration*:  Families engage in various activities to show that vibrating objects produce sound and cause vibrations in whatever they touch.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, tuning forks, ping pong balls, and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, rulers, wooden craft sticks, pencils, rubber bands, and cups of water

Straw Whistle Symphony:  Demonstrates that sounds are produced by something vibrating (a straw) and how that affects pitch by making the straw shorter.  Center Supplies:  Instructions and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, plastic straws, and scissors.

Stereo Hanger:  Families will hear sound waves from a vibrating coat hanger as they travel through a string to the ear, creating a sound that resembles that of a church bell.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, metal coat hangers, and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions and string

Bubble Painting:  Families make beautiful art when bubbles made in a colored solution pop against white paper leaving a beautiful design.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign.  School Supplies:  white paper, bubble solution, plastic plates, copies of instructions, straws, old newspaper.

Light Bends*:  A great activity for younger kids to see the effect of light refraction as they view objects in a cup of water.  Center Supplies:  Instructions and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of worksheets, clear plastic cups, crayons, water, and pencils.

Just Passing Through*:  Great activity for younger kids as families use a flashlight to discover which materials are transparent, translucent, or opaque.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, flashlights, mirrors, baggies of materials, and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of worksheets, pencils, D-batteries for flashlights, and water

Mirrors Reflect*:  Families will use mirrors in various activities to show that light travels in a straight line.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, mirrors, and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of worksheets, crayons, and small objects

Magnify*:  Families will experience viewing various objects using magnifying lenses.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, magnifying lenses, objects, and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of worksheets, pencils, and other small objects for observation.

Mirror Maze:  Families trace their way through a simple maze while viewing the maze pattern only in a mirror.  Lots of fun!  Center Supplies:  Instructions, laminated mazes, mirrors, and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions.

Flying Butterfly:  Families make tissue paper butterflies fly using magnetic attraction.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, magnet wands, door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, tissue paper, paper clips, tape, string, and scissors.

Hair Raising:  Families will see the effect of static electricity as they hold their hands on a Van De Graaff Generator and watch their hair stand on end!  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign, mirror, Van De Graaff Generator, plastic stool.  School Supplies:  Teacher or Parent volunteer

Coin Drops*:  Families will predict and test how many drops of water stay on a penny and nickel.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, droppers, door signs.  School Supplies:  copies of instructions, pennies & nickels, water, pencils.

Impact Craters *:  Families make craters by dropping various objects into a “moon soil” of flour and cocoa mix.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign, shakers, crater objects, posters of craters, containers.  School Supplies:  Flour, cocoa mix, copies of instructions.

Mini-Planetarium I:  Families build simple constellation viewing tubes by punching their favorite constellation onto construction paper taped to the open end of a tube.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign, constellation patterns.  School Supplies:  Toilet paper rolls or construction paper, black construction paper, tape, scissors, blunt tip pencils, copies of instructions and patterns.

Mini-Planetarium II:  Families build simple constellation viewing tubes by punching their favorite constellation into the bottom of a plastic Dixie cup.  Then view their constellations with a flashlight through the cup in a dark room.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign, flashlights, constellation patterns.  School Supplies:  12-oz. Dixie cups (not clear), thumb tacks, copies of patterns and instructions, D-batteries for flashlights, dark room.

 

Grades 3-5 Science Activities

 Printable Version (Microsoft Word)

 

Bubble Clusters:  What kind of bubble patterns can you create? Pour bubble solution onto a surface, grab a drinking straw and find out once and for all. Don’t get too complicated; clutters might have to be drawn on data sheet!  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, bubble solution, drinking straws, cookie sheets, pencils.

 

Build Your Own Bubble Wand:  Families predict what shape their bubbles will be by designing their own bubble wands with pipe cleaners.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, worksheet, bubble recipe, door sign.  School Supplies:  Pipe cleaners, bubble solution, plastic plates or trays for solution, copies of instructions, pencils.

 

Gumdrop Dome*:  Families experiment building domes using toothpicks and gumdrops.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, gumdrops or substitute, toothpicks.

 

Puzzles:  Families have fun putting together various giant-size floor puzzles about the solar system, simple machines, rain forests, dinosaurs, the Monarch butterfly life cycle, the ocean, pond life and world map.  Center Supplies:  Everything for this activity

 

Cup Tower*:  Families build towers by stacking cups on top of each other.  Makes a great competition to see who can build the tallest tower!  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, paper or plastic cups.

 

Toe-Tac-Tic *:  A fun problem solving game that is the reverse of Tic-Tac-Toe.  The first person to get three in a row loses!  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, pencils.

 

Water Drop Dragster:  Families race a drop of water through a laminated maze to see who wins!  Center Supplies:  door sign, instructions, and mazes.  School Supplies:  cups of water.

 

Coin Drops*:  Families will predict and test how many drops of water stay on a penny and nickel.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, droppers, door signs.  School Supplies:  copies of instructions, pennies & nickels, water, pencils.

 

Balloon Kabob:  Families are challenged to skewer an inflated balloon on a bamboo stick to demonstrate the properties of latex polymers.  Center Supplies:  Instructions and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, balloons, cooking oil or Vaseline, paper towels, and bamboo skewers.

 

Nuts and Bolts:  A great activity to understand how the Periodic Table of Elements is organized based upon similar properties as families arrange various nuts and bolts to create their own table.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, baggies of nuts and bolts, and door sign.  School Supplies: Copies of instructions.

 

Sound is Vibration*:  Families engage in various activities to show that vibrating objects produce sound and cause vibrations in whatever they touch.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, tuning forks, ping pong balls, and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, rulers, wooden craft sticks, pencils, rubber bands, and cups of water

 

Straw Whistle Symphony:  Demonstrates that sounds are produced by something vibrating (a straw) and how that affects pitch by making the straw shorter.  Center Supplies:  Instructions and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, plastic straws, and scissors.

 

Stereo Hanger:  Families will hear sound waves from a vibrating coat hanger as they travel through a string to the ear, creating a sound that resembles that of a church bell.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, metal coat hangers, and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions and string

 

Bubble Painting:  Families make beautiful art when bubbles made in a colored solution pop against white paper leaving a beautiful design.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign.  School Supplies:  white paper, bubble solution, plastic plates, copies of instructions, straws, old newspaper.

 

Light Bends*:  A great activity for younger kids to see the effect of light refraction as they view objects in a cup of water.  Center Supplies:  Instructions and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of worksheets, clear plastic cups, crayons, water, and pencils.

 

Just Passing Through*:  Great activity for younger kids as families use a flashlight to discover which materials are transparent, translucent, or opaque.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, flashlights, mirrors, baggies of materials, and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of worksheets, pencils, D-batteries for flashlights, and water

 

Mirrors Reflect*:  Families will use mirrors in various activities to show that light travels in a straight line.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, mirrors, and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of worksheets, crayons, and small objects

 

Magnify*:  Families will experience viewing various objects using magnifying lenses.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, magnifying lenses, objects, and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of worksheets, pencils, and other small objects for observation.

 

Mirror Maze:  Families trace their way through a simple maze while viewing the maze pattern only in a mirror.  Lots of fun!  Center Supplies:  Instructions, laminated mazes, mirrors, and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions.

 

Color Splash*:  Families observe how two or three different colors of food coloring act in oil and water.  The result is fascinatingly beautiful.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign.  School Supplies:  Clear plastic cups, vegetable oil, water, food coloring, copies of instructions

 

Floating Pennies:  Families will see pennies that appear to be floating in water due to refraction of light as it passes through water.  Center Supplies:  Instructions and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, pennies, Styrofoam coffee cup, water, and tape

 

Flying Butterfly:  Families make tissue paper butterflies fly using magnetic attraction.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, magnet wands, door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, tissue paper, paper clips, tape, string, and scissors.

 

Hair Raising:  Families will see the effect of static electricity as they hold their hands on a Van De Graaff Generator and watch their hair stand on end!  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign, mirror, Van De Graaff Generator, plastic stool.  School Supplies:  Teacher or Parent volunteer

 

Elec-Fish-Ity:  Families go “fishing” using statically-charged balloons to attract small paper fish.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, balloons, tape, scissors, string, rulers for fishing poles, wool cloth or garment to charge balloons.

 

Electric Chicks:  Great activity to demonstrate that electrical currents require a complete loop through which to pass to conduct electricity.  Also demonstrates conductors and insulators.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign, chirping-chick toys, rubber gloves.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, water, and cups

 

Kilowatt Pennies:  Families learn to read electric meters and compare the electrical consumption of various appliances.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, electric meters, door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, various electrical appliances (hair dryer, can opener, mixer, pencil sharpener, lamp, toaster, clock, and vacuum cleaner), calculators.

 

High Wire Acts:  Families experiment finding the center of balance of a paper clown using pennies.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, copies of designs on card stock, pennies, masking tape, scissors.

 

Nail Balance:  Families rise to the challenge of balancing six nails on the head of one nail, then see if they can balance even more nails – the record is 23 nails!  Center Supplies:  Everything needed for the activity.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions.

 

Leap Ball:  Families are challenged to move a ping pong ball from one cup to another by only blowing air.  A fun demo of the Bernoulli Principle.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign, ping pong balls and cups.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions.

 

Magic Tricks:  Fun demonstration of inertia by flicking an index card out from under a coin as it drops into a cup.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign.  School Supplies:  Coins, index cards, cups.

 

Penny Power:  A lesson in the transfer of energy with nothing more than a few coins.  Center Supplies:  instructions, door sign.  School Supplies:  copies of instructions; coins (pennies or nickels) index cards, drinking glasses

 

Bernoulli Ping Pong:  Families suspend a ping pong in air blown through a straw.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign, ping pong balls.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, bendable straws.

 

Dancing On Air:  Families experience Bernoulli’s Principle by suspending a ping pong in air blown through a hair dryer.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign, one hair dryer.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, additional hair dryers.

 

Frog Legs:  Families fold origami-style frogs for a jumping contest of potential and kinetic energy!  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, old business cards or index cards.

 

Hot Hands*:  A great activity to demonstrate heat energy travels by convection as families dip metal cans in soapy water to form a film over the opening.  As they hold the can, their body heat causes the soap film to rise.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign, tin cans.  School Supplies:  Copies of worksheets, pencils, bubble solution.

 

Baleena The Whale:  Families will be amazed with this life-sized, inflatable model of a humpback whale.  Various activities on sink/float, feeding, and a cassette of whale songs are included.  Please note that this activity needs a large room with a high ceiling to be set up, i.e. gym.  Center Supplies:  Baleena the whale, box fan, activity sheets, posters of whales, and tape of whale songs.  School Supplies:  Copies of activity sheets and consumable supplies for activities

 

Coral Reef:  Families will each construct a portion of a coral reef using simple materials.  By the end of the evening you have a coral reef colony! Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, yarn or pipe cleaners, glue, construction paper, toilet paper rolls (optional), scissors.

 

Jelly Bean Key:  Families have fun using a dichotomous key to classify and identify flavors of Jelly Belly® jelly beans.  Center Supplies:  Instructions and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, Jelly Belly® jelly beans, and small paper cups to distribute jelly beans.

 

Eye Tricks*:  A fun demonstration of “after-image” as families color and then stare at their images for one minute and then look at white paper to see the image that appears.  Center Supplies:  Instructions and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of worksheets, orange, black, and green crayons, and plain white paper

 

What Your Brain Sees:  Another fun optical illusion due to persistence of vision.  Families spin disks with images on each side and see the motion as a blending of the two images.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, image patterns, door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, copies of patterns on card stock, coloring markers/crayons, scissors, rubber bands, and hole punchers.

 

Tongue Twisters *:  A fun activity where families are challenged to say the color of a word instead of reading the word itself.  The brain quickly becomes confused as a demonstration of the Stoop Effect.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign, and tongue-twister cards.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions

 

Depth Illusions:  A fun optical illusion where families watch a swinging pendulum holding a dark lens over one eye.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign, sunglass lenses, and pendulum weights.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions

 

Who Dunnit?:  Families try to solve a mystery and at the same time learn more about their own fingerprints.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, fingerprint types, and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, scotch tape, pencils, and something to clean hands.

 

Lot of Hot Air:  Great demonstration of calculating lung capacities as families blow up balloons and measure its diameter to determine their capacity.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, rulers, calculators, door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, balloons, pencils.

 

Impact Craters *:  Families make craters by dropping various objects into a “moon soil” of flour and cocoa mix.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign, shakers, crater objects, posters of craters, containers.  School Supplies:  Flour, cocoa mix, copies of instructions.

 

Mini-Planetarium I:  Families build simple constellation viewing tubes by punching their favorite constellation onto construction paper taped to the open end of a tube.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign, constellation patterns.  School Supplies:  Toilet paper rolls or construction paper, black construction paper, tape, scissors, blunt tip pencils, copies of instructions and patterns.

 

Mini-Planetarium II:  Families build simple constellation viewing tubes by punching their favorite constellation into the bottom of a plastic Dixie cup.  Then view their constellations with a flashlight through the cup in a dark room.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign, flashlights, constellation patterns.  School Supplies:  12-oz. Dixie cups (not clear), thumb tacks, copies of patterns and instructions, D-batteries for flashlights, dark room.

 

Crystals:  Families construct models of the different crystal systems using paper patterns, and then gumdrops and toothpicks.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, patterns; door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions and crystal patterns, tape, scissors, gumdrops, and toothpicks.

 

Paper Rockets:  Families build simple paper rockets and blast them off in a competition.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, straws, round-unsharpened pencils, tape, and scissors.

 

Grades 6-8 Science Activities

 Printable Version (Microsoft Word)

 

Cup Tower*:  Families build towers by stacking cups on top of each other.  Makes a great competition to see who can build the tallest tower!  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, paper or plastic cups.

 

Toe-Tac-Tic *:  A fun problem solving game that is the reverse of Tic-Tac-Toe.  The first person to get three in a row loses!  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, pencils.

 

Water Drop Dragster:  Families race a drop of water through a laminated maze to see who wins!  Center Supplies:  door sign, instructions, and mazes.  School Supplies:  cups of water.

 

Coin Drops*:  Families will predict and test how many drops of water stay on a penny and nickel.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, droppers, door signs.  School Supplies:  copies of instructions, pennies & nickels, water, pencils.

 

Balloon Kabob:  Families are challenged to skewer an inflated balloon on a bamboo stick to demonstrate the properties of latex polymers.  Center Supplies:  Instructions and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, balloons, cooking oil or Vaseline, paper towels, and bamboo skewers.

 

Nuts and Bolts:  A great activity to understand how the Periodic Table of Elements is organized based upon similar properties as families arrange various nuts and bolts to create their own table.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, baggies of nuts and bolts, and door sign.  School Supplies: Copies of instructions.

 

Sound is Vibration*:  Families engage in various activities to show that vibrating objects produce sound and cause vibrations in whatever they touch.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, tuning forks, ping pong balls, and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, rulers, wooden craft sticks, pencils, rubber bands, and cups of water

 

Straw Whistle Symphony:  Demonstrates that sounds are produced by something vibrating (a straw) and how that affects pitch by making the straw shorter.  Center Supplies:  Instructions and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, plastic straws, and scissors.

 

Stereo Hanger:  Families will hear sound waves from a vibrating coat hanger as they travel through a string to the ear, creating a sound that resembles that of a church bell.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, metal coat hangers, and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions and string

 

Mirror Maze:  Families trace their way through a simple maze while viewing the maze pattern only in a mirror.  Lots of fun!  Center Supplies:  Instructions, laminated mazes, mirrors, and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions.

 

Color Splash*:  Families observe how two or three different colors of food coloring act in oil and water.  The result is fascinatingly beautiful.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign.  School Supplies:  Clear plastic cups, vegetable oil, water, food coloring, copies of instructions

 

Floating Pennies:  Families will see pennies that appear to be floating in water due to refraction of light as it passes through water.  Center Supplies:  Instructions and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, pennies, Styrofoam coffee cup, water, and tape

 

Hair Raising:  Families will see the effect of static electricity as they hold their hands on a Van De Graaff Generator and watch their hair stand on end!  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign, mirror, Van De Graaff Generator, plastic stool.  School Supplies:  Teacher or Parent volunteer

 

Electric Chicks:  Great activity to demonstrate that electrical currents require a complete loop through which to pass to conduct electricity.  Also demonstrates conductors and insulators.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign, chirping-chick toys, rubber gloves.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, water, and cups

 

Kilowatt Pennies:  Families learn to read electric meters and compare the electrical consumption of various appliances.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, electric meters, door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, various electrical appliances (hair dryer, can opener, mixer, pencil sharpener, lamp, toaster, clock, and vacuum cleaner), calculators.

 

Nail Balance:  Families rise to the challenge of balancing six nails on the head of one nail, then see if they can balance even more nails – the record is 23 nails!  Center Supplies:  Everything needed for the activity.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions.

 

Leap Ball:  Families are challenged to move a ping pong ball from one cup to another by only blowing air.  A fun demo of the Bernoulli Principle.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign, ping pong balls and cups.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions.

 

Magic Tricks:  Fun demonstration of inertia by flicking an index card out from under a coin as it drops into a cup.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign.  School Supplies:  Coins, index cards, cups.

 

Penny Power:  A lesson in the transfer of energy with nothing more than a few coins.  Center Supplies:  instructions, door sign.  School Supplies:  copies of instructions; coins (pennies or nickels) index cards, drinking glasses

 

Bernoulli Ping Pong:  Families suspend a ping pong in air blown through a straw.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign, ping pong balls.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, bendable straws.

 

Dancing On Air:  Families experience Bernoulli’s Principle by suspending a ping pong in air blown through a hair dryer.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign, one hair dryer.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, additional hair dryers.

 

Frog Legs:  Families fold origami-style frogs for a jumping contest of potential and kinetic energy!  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, old business cards or index cards.

 

Baleena The Whale:  Families will be amazed with this life-sized, inflatable model of a humpback whale.  Various activities on sink/float, feeding, and a cassette of whale songs are included.  Please note that this activity needs a large room with a high ceiling to be set up, i.e. gym.  Center Supplies:  Baleena the whale, box fan, activity sheets, posters of whales, and tape of whale songs.  School Supplies:  Copies of activity sheets and consumable supplies for activities

 

Coral Reef:  Families will each construct a portion of a coral reef using simple materials.  By the end of the evening you have a coral reef colony! Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, yarn or pipe cleaners, glue, construction paper, toilet paper rolls (optional), scissors.

 

Jelly Bean Key:  Families have fun using a dichotomous key to classify and identify flavors of Jelly Belly® jelly beans.  Center Supplies:  Instructions and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, Jelly Belly® jelly beans, and small paper cups to distribute jelly beans.

 

Eye Tricks*:  A fun demonstration of “after-image” as families color and then stare at their images for one minute and then look at white paper to see the image that appears.  Center Supplies:  Instructions and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of worksheets, orange, black, and green crayons, and plain white paper

 

What Your Brain Sees:  Another fun optical illusion due to persistence of vision.  Families spin disks with images on each side and see the motion as a blending of the two images.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, image patterns, door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, copies of patterns on card stock, coloring markers/crayons, scissors, rubber bands, and hole punchers.

 

Tongue Twisters *:  A fun activity where families are challenged to say the color of a word instead of reading the word itself.  The brain quickly becomes confused as a demonstration of the Stoop Effect.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign, and tongue-twister cards.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions

 

Depth Illusions:  A fun optical illusion where families watch a swinging pendulum holding a dark lens over one eye.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign, sunglass lenses, and pendulum weights.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions

 

Who Dunnit?:  Families try to solve a mystery and at the same time learn more about their own fingerprints.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, fingerprint types, and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, scotch tape, pencils, and something to clean hands.

 

Lot of Hot Air:  Great demonstration of calculating lung capacities as families blow up balloons and measure its diameter to determine their capacity.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, rulers, calculators, door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, balloons, pencils.

 

Impact Craters *:  Families make craters by dropping various objects into a “moon soil” of flour and cocoa mix.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign, shakers, crater objects, posters of craters, containers.  School Supplies:  Flour, cocoa mix, copies of instructions.

 

Crystals:  Families construct models of the different crystal systems using paper patterns, and then gumdrops and toothpicks.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, patterns; door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions and crystal patterns, tape, scissors, gumdrops, and toothpicks.

 

Paper Rockets:  Families build simple paper rockets and blast them off in a competition.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, straws, round-unsharpened pencils, tape, and scissors.

 

Grades K-2 Math Activities

 

Clip Me Around:  Measurement using standard units of paper clips.  Center Supplies:  Instructions and door sign.  School Supplies: Copies of instructions, pencils, and paper clips

 

Just a Minute!:  Time estimation and value.  Center Supplies:  Instructions and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions and pencils

 

Bean Sort*:  Sorting, counting, data collection, and graphing.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign, and baggies of mixed beans.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions and pencils or crayons

 

Race to 100*:  Counting to 100, addition.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, dice, door sign, laminated 100 grids, dry-erase markers.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions.

 

Spill and Count*:  Place value, tens, ones. Center Supplies:  Instructions, baggies of dried beans, and frame cards.  School Supplies: Copies of instructions and pencils

 

Roll Big Number*:  Place value, hundreds, tens, ones. Center Supplies:   Instructions, dice, and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions and pencils

 

Roll All Six *:  Probability. Center Supplies:   Instructions, door sign, and dice.  School Supplies:   Copies of worksheet and pencils

 

Space Shapes:  Symmetry and geometric shapes. Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign, pattern blocks, and game spinner.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions

 

Puzzle Squares:  Geometric shapes and problem solving.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign, and puzzle blocks.  School Supplies: Copies of instructions

 

Under Construction:  Building one- and three-dimensional geometric shapes using straws.  Center Supplies:   Instructions and door sign.  School Supplies:   Copies of instructions, straws, pipe cleaners, and scissors

 

Gumdrop Dome*:  Building geometric shapes using toothpicks and gumdrops. Center Supplies:   Instructions and door sign.  School Supplies:   Copies of instructions, gumdrops or other substitute, and toothpicks.

 

Toe-Tac-Tic*:  Problem solving as students try NOT to get three X’s or O’s in a row.  Center Supplies:   Instructions and door sign.  School Supplies   Copies of instructions and pencils

 

Domino Duels:  Addition, multiplication, comparing more or less than.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, dominoes, and door sign.  School Supplies   Copies of instructions, pencils, and scratch paper.

 

Domino Woes:  Addition, multiplication, comparing more or less than, data collection.  Center Supplies:   Instructions, dominoes, and door sign.  School Supplies:   Copies of instructions, pencils, and scratch paper.

 

Fraction the Tangram:  Simple fractions, geometric shapes, problem solving.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, tangram puzzle pieces, door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions and pencils.

 

Grades 3-5 Math Activities

 

Just a Minute!:  Time estimation and value.  Center Supplies:  Instructions and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions and pencils

 

Roll All Six *:  Probability. Center Supplies:   Instructions, door sign, and dice.  School Supplies:   Copies of worksheet and pencils

 

Space Shapes:  Symmetry and geometric shapes. Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign, pattern blocks, and game spinner.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions

 

Pierced Paper*:  Symmetry and geometric shapes, making the “papel picado” decorations of Mexico.  Center Supplies:   Instructions and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions, tissue or other colored paper, string or yarn, glue sticks, scissors, rulers, and pencils

 

Halves and Not*:  Symmetry, patterns, and geometric shapes. Center Supplies:   Instructions, door sign, and mirrors.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions and grids, pencils or colored pens

 

Geo-Panes:  Using toothpicks and clay balls, geometric shapes are constructed according to a provided pattern and submerged into bubble solution. The result is amazing, as the internal structure of each shape forms, creating a three-dimensional “bubble”. Center Supplies:   Instructions and door sign.  School Supplies:   Modeling clay, copies of instructions, toothpicks, string, soapy water, tall and wide containers, and old newspapers.

 

Puzzle Squares:  Geometric shapes and problem solving.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, door sign, and puzzle blocks.  School Supplies: Copies of instructions

 

Under Construction:  Building one- and three-dimensional geometric shapes using straws.  Center Supplies:   Instructions and door sign.  School Supplies:   Copies of instructions, straws, pipe cleaners, and scissors

 

Gumdrop Dome*:  Building geometric shapes using toothpicks and gumdrops. Center Supplies:   Instructions and door sign.  School Supplies:   Copies of instructions, gumdrops or other substitute, and toothpicks.

 

Toe-Tac-Tic*:  Problem solving as students try NOT to get three X’s or O’s in a row.  Center Supplies:   Instructions and door sign.  School Supplies   Copies of instructions and pencils

 

Toothpick Puzzlers:  Problem solving, geometric shapes, diagrams, spatial sense as families try to solve puzzle challenges using toothpicks. Center Supplies: Instructions and door sign.  School Supplies:  Copies of instructions and toothpicks

 

Shrinking Square:  Problem solving, spatial sense, and geometric shapes.  Center Supplies:   Instructions and door sign.  School Supplies   Copies of instructions, pennies, and rulers

 

Dice Battle:  Place value to the millions, comparing large numbers.  Center Supplies:   Instructions, dice, and door sign.  School Supplies:   Copies of instructions and pencils

 

Domino Duels:  Addition, multiplication, comparing more or less than.  Center Supplies:  Instructions, dominoes, and door sign.  School Supplies   Copies of instructions, pencils, and scratch paper.

 

Domino Woes:  Addition, multiplication, comparing more or less than, data collection.  Center Supplies:   Instructions, dominoes, and door sign.  School Supplies:   Copies of instructions, pencils, and scratch paper.

 

The Best of Times:  Multiplication card game. Center Supplies:   Instructions, decks of cards, and door sign.  School Supplies:   Copies of instructions, pencils, and scratch paper.