Innovation Station
The Innovation Station is a platform to engage children and families in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) through innovative, hands-on learning experiences. It is a space where kids create, make, discover, investigate, and invent. The space gives kids a chance to apply problem-solving skills, test and revise their ideas, experiment, collaborate, and have fun.
Innovation Station Hours
MakerSpace hours:
Sunday: 2 - 4 p.m.
Instructor-led STEAM Programming:
Saturday: 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Self-Guided STEAM Activities:
Always available
STEAM Challenge Workshops
STEAM Challenge Workshops
STEAM Challenge Workshops offer parents and children an opportunity to engage in hands-on STEAM based learning and exploration together. Each program consists of instructor led discussion of STEAM principles and various STEAM challenges that parent/child pairs will work together to solve!
Participants are required to wear a mask for the entirety of the program. Classes will be limited to 5 adult/student pairs. Each program will need a minimum of 2 adult/student pairs to run. Programs are designed for a child and a caregiver to attend and enjoy making something together.
Ages: Children in grades K-5 and adult
Time: 6-8 p.m.
Cost: $36 Members / Museums for All
$41 Non-Members
| Date | Theme | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 15 | Spider Web Engineering Challenge | Build your own spider web (out of yarn, string, etc). The challenge is to determine which materials and which “web structure” will result in the strongest web (ie can carry the most weight) and can capture the most prey in a given time frame. |
| Nov. 19 | Build a Bridge Challenge | Learn about the different types of bridges that exist and for what purposes. Build your own bridge using hydraulics technology! |
| Dec. 17 | Coding Challenge | Computer science education week Learn basics of coding and binary, explore conductivity with a Makey Makey creating your own video game controller or electric instrument. |
Physics Days
ISU Faculty, Dr. Jay Ansher and students will provide hands-on demonstrations, experiments and more on new topics each month! Day: Select Thursday
Time: 10 a.m.-Noon
Cost: FREE with paid museum admission
| Date | Topic | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Sept. 2 | Electricity | How does the electricity from the power plant get to that outlet on your wall? How is electric current related to the atom, and what is it MADE of?? On Physics Day at the CDM, with hands-on activities and demonstrations, you can explore the nature and behavior of electricity in a fun, safe, and *shocking* way! |
| Oct.7 | Amusement Parks Science | How many times do you think about science when you're riding a ride at the amusement park? It plays more of a role than you might guess! From roller coasters to ferris wheels to bumper cars, physics is all around the park. Join the ISU Physics Club as they explore the science behind the rides with hands-on demonstrations and activities. |
| Nov. 4 | Forces & Newtons Laws | Sir Isaac Newton was pretty smart. His 3 Laws of Motion connect the idea of forces (pushes and pulls) to motion (speed and acceleration). Join the ISU Physics Club as they bring some activities that demonstrate different kinds of forces, and how Newton’s Laws work! We’re sure you will have fun, but we won’t “force” you to.
|
| Dec.2 | States of Matter | Ice melts. Water boils. We see familiar substances change states nearly every day, but different materials will freeze, melt, boil, or condense at different temperatures. The ISU Physics Club will explore different states of matter with some hands-on demonstrations and show you that there is more to our universe than just solids, liquids, and gas! |
MakerSpace
The Innovation Station consists of a science lab and a maker space. What is a maker space? The Maker Space allows children and families to use real tools and materials to design, make, tinker and create projects on their own. Kids can take stuff apart and learn the inner workings of machines, build and make cool things, and just experiment and explore.