Open Structure Drop-In Hours
The heart of our Science Workshop is the open structure drop-in program, open after school and on Saturdays and school vacations. Kids of all ages are welcomed into the Workshop with their families to pursue the projects of their imaginations, or just to explore the exhibits and use the science instruments.
At the drop-in hours, anything is possible. Projects may take an hour or two, or several weeks to complete. All our materials are up for grabs and all tools stand ready to put into use. If ideas need more tools or materials, we’ll see if we can get them.
If students need an idea, they’ll just have a look at the dozens of project models we’ve got hanging around. Or we encourage them to grab some scrap material and start gluing it together, painting it, or cutting it apart. At the SCSW you can always:
- Learn to use a tool you’ve never used before.
- Do art with science materials.
- Do science with art materials.
- Plant something and watch it grow.
- Make a house for your pet or a (mechanical) pet for your house.
- Make a vehicle and try to control it.
- Find new things to look at under the microscopes.
- Play with our nearly unlimited legos, low and high tech.
- Design and build a miniature siege engine and throw things with it.
- Find out what happens when you mix baking soda and vinegar in a cup with soap or in a bottle with a tight cork.
- Make something light and aerodynamic and try to fly it.
- Make a puzzle and try to solve it.
- Fix your bike or scooter, or modify them.
- Sew something out of scrap fabric by hand or with our sewing machine.
- Get some yarn and learn to knit or crochet.
- Make an air rocket or a water rocket or even a fire rocket.
- Make something light up with holiday lights or our LED flashers.
- We have a strict “no weapons” rule, but on the other hand homemade rubber-band shooters, mini bow-and-arrow sets and sponge-point blow guns can be pretty fun.
- Explore the wonders of slime and oobleck in all their weird and different forms.
- Make some simple furniture for your room: shelves, boxes, tables or stools.
- Explore our exhibits.
- Do your school science project here with us!
