One Hour Programs

Our guided introductory MUSEUM TOUR and SCAVENGER HUNT together last about 45 minutes. We offer Scavenger Hunts for grades 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. All questions are based on the California Science Standards. The remainder of the time is self guided: viewing and interacting with our numerous hands-on exhibits. Total duration is typically one to two hours.

$150 for up to 38 intermediate or middle school students and additional chaperones.

We are proud of our new Science on a Sphere! A short recorded SCIENCE ON A SPHERE program may be substituted for the Museum Tour, Scavenger Hunt, or self-guided time. If you wish this substitution, please let us know when you book your field trip. Or tell us when you arrive.

Choose from these popular recorded programs:
Blue Planet – how water shapes our planet and lives (7 min.)
Cooking Up a Storm – how tornadoes are made (8 min.)
Energy Planet – energy challenges facing us (5 min.)
Energy Revolution – changing climate and renewable energy technologies (11 min.)
Flow: Ocean Currents and Climate (8 min.)
Footprints – planetary science starring the Sun, Earth, Moon, and Mars
Frozen – how Earth’s cold places are changing (12 min.)
Forecast : Tropical Cyclone – hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones (8 min.)
International Year of the Coral Reef (8 min.)
Largest – Jupiter
Mars: Landscape of Extremes
Return to the Moon (“present” version) – 2009’s LRO and LCROSS robotic missions
Tsunami (8 min.)

The 1 hour Museum Tour/Scavenger Hunt is often combined with the following other 1 hour programs:

CSI: CHEM MYSTERY Students become science detectives as they step inside a crime scene. They deduce who committed the crime by visiting the site of the dastardly deed, listening to the alibis of the various suspects, and using forensic techniques in our crime lab.
$50 per group per session when combined with Museum Tour/Scavenger Hunt

SIMPLE MACHINES Students learn about the six basic simple machines. Then they plan how to move a 200 lb. weight across a room and elevate it 4 ft. using these simple machines and execute their plan.
$150 per group per session when combined with Museum Tour/Scavenger Hunt or $200 when not combined.

AIR ROCKETS This introductory level rocketry program teaches students the basics of rocket engineering. Students construct paper and cardboard rockets and participate in a launch competition.
$125 for the first 25 students plus $5 for each additional student.
For $25 more, participants can make Super Air Rockets that take off with a pop and fly farther and higher.

SCIENCE ON A SPHERE Presented by a live science instructor. Choose your theme for a customized program:

Planets and Moons
Our Dynamic Planet

$50 per group per session when combined with Museum Tour/Scavenger Hunt. Also $50 for half hour stand alone session. $100 for 1 hour stand alone session.

ASTROPHYSICS - $200 for 1 hour session. See below under Two Hour Programs for a description.

Two Hour Programs

DISCOVERY DOME PLANETARIUM
Introduce yourself to the wonderful world of astronomy! Our 12 ft. high inflatable planetarium with a 20 ft. diameter can easily accommodate 36 students! You may learn more about our planetarium system by visiting http://www.e-planetarium.com/showsthtm

Choose from these exciting shows:

Our Solar System – Take a tour of the planets!
Stellarium – View the night sky! Learn about the constellations, and hear stories from ancient times that truly bring them to life.
Earth’s Wild Ride! – Join a family viewing the Earth from the Moon in the year 2081 during a solar eclipse. In this 3-D animated film, as a grandfather tells his grandchildren about how Earth was and is like, we see roaring dinosaurs, crashing asteroids, and ice age mammoths. We travel through canyons of raging rivers, over an erupting volcano, and through a thunder and lightning storm. Students learn about eclipses, Earth’s water cycle, and the differences between Earth and Moon.
It’s About Time – Ride a space elevator from the Earth’s surface to orbit, and see the universe through a “time telescope” that views celestial objects in “real time.”
Ring World – Learn about the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn and its moon, Titan!
Two Small Pieces of Glass: The Amazing Telescope – While attending a star party, two teenagers learn about how the telescope has helped us understand our place in space and how telescopes continue to expand our understanding of the universe. While looking through a telescope, the teens, along with the planetarium audience, explore the Galilean moons, Saturn’s rings, and the spiral structure of galaxies. An astronomer discusses the discoveries of Galileo, Huygens, Newton, Hubble, and many others.
Force Five – Feel the Fury – Experience extreme weather – hurricanes and tornadoes on Earth and coronal mass ejections on the sun – up close and from the inside. Learn how storm chasers and NASA investigate these phenomena.
For a preview, see http://spaceupdate.com/?planetarium_shows#force_five
Groups of 20 to 36: 1 hour for $150; 2 hours for $250; 2 hours for $225 with a mission. Two hour programs include the dome show plus a hands-on activity on the scales of our solar system and/or Science on a Sphere presentations.

ASTROPHYSICS This program showcases gravity and Newton’s Three Laws of Motion. Students learn how these laws are applied to put a satellite into orbit and keep it there. Student participation to learn motion concepts is emphasized, including a fun ride in a hovercraft. The mathematical descriptions of physical laws are verified by participation in demonstrations of F=MA.
$200 for 1 hour session or $250 for 2 hour session

CREATIVE CARS Using common objects found around the house and a supplied motor and battery, students construct electric cars. This is an open-ended opportunity for them to practice scientific investigation and experimentation, both during the program and then continuing back in the classroom. A very simple design can be modified to teach the principles and techniques of scientific investigation, one variable at a time.
$250 + $3 per student for materials (2 hour session)

CHEMICAL ROCKETS Blast into science with student-constructed rockets powered by solid rocket fuel engines that can soar to unbelievable heights! Energy stored in chemical form is released at launch. The best flights will come from rockets constructed for the least aerodynamic drag and the most stable flight.
$250 + $3 per student for materials (2 hour session)

WATER ROCKETS/EGGSTRONAUTS An interactive age-appropriate aerodynamics discussion is followed by the building of rockets to launch the Egg-stronauts. Students will be challenged to design and construct rockets and egg-stronaut capsules that will utilize compressed air and water to propel raw eggs 30 feet or more into the air before landing. Egg survival will depend on packaging and/or velocity of descent.
$200 per group of up to 36 students (2 hour session)

STOMP ROCKETS Students construct rockets from a pattern. The rockets are propelled across an auditorium by students stomping on a plastic soda bottle full of compressed air.
$200 per group for up to 36 students (2 hour session)