Homeschool Days is a program designed to expand opportunities in math, science and technology curriculum for students (and their families). These one-hour sessions provide related follow-up activities suggested for immediately after the session. Homeschool Days is offered the third Tuesday of each month from 1-2:30 pm. Please see dates and topics listed below.
Ride a Segway!
Homeschool students ages 12-18 and their parents can now try out the Segway! While your younger students are participating in our regular ongoing series of classes, a special Segway class open ONLY to Homeschool families will be happening in Segway School at the Science Center. In Segway 101, get your first taste of gliding along, totally balanced by the five gyroscopes embedded in the Segway Human Transporter. Learn what makes it tick, what's safe and what's not, and walk away with your very own personalized Segway Operator's License. The class runs from 1:00pm - 2:25pm every third Tuesday of the month, beginning September 18. Segway 101 costs only $20 per person. Sign up now -- classes are limited to 8 participants. All riders under 18 must have a signed release form.
2008 Special
Purchase at least one ticket to any 10 HomeSchool dates in 2008, and get an equal amount of tickets for the last two dates free! Offer good until January 15, 2008. Call 289-4424 for details or reservations.
December 18- Paleontology
Unearth the world of dinosaurs through actual fossils. Experience real techniques and tools used by Paleontologists. Learn what to do when a Dromaeosaurus attacks!
Suggested follow-up activity: Come into the Paleo Lab to help our scientists work on real fossils!
January 15 - Wide World of Bodies
Take a tour of the human body. Explore specific body systems and learn what makes us all similar and different. For older groups, topics may include plastination and body donation.
Suggested follow-up activity: Check out Body Worlds 3, on display in the Montgomery Bank Exploradome.
February 19 - Icky Sticky Science
Explore the properties of matter through this guided workshop with a focus on polymers. Make your very own polymer to take home! Learn about different types of plastics.
Suggested follow-up activity: Visit the Amazing Science Demo Theater to learn more about plastics.
March 18 - Electrify & Energize Me
Construct a simple circuit…build a switch…experiment with a Van De Graaff Generator. Explore electricity and energy through engaging hands-on activities.
Suggested follow-up activity: Visit the Cyberville Gallery to see electricity in action.
April 15 - Weather
This program introduces participants to the tools used to understand and predict weather patterns. Students will create a weather instrument of their choice – discussion may feature barometers, thermometers, anemometers, wind vanes, psychrometers and precipitation gauges.
Suggested follow-up activity: Tour the Ecology and Environment Present Galleries to see a real tornado.
May 20 - Pond Partners
This investigation of the health of an urban aquatic ecosystem connects participants to their environment. Students learn about the water cycle, field testing skills, plants, and animals.
Suggested follow-up activity: Visit one of many ponds located throughout Forest Park. Identify wildlife and observe the water cycle in action.
June 17 - Discovering Technology
Discover what makes some of the coolest inventions tick. Take apart and rebuild a technological device. Students and parents ages 12 and up can even take a Segway lesson!
Suggested follow-up activity: Visit the Cyberville Gallery, where you can see a cross section of a real desktop computer.
July 15 - Mystery Science
Use your powers of observation at a mock crime scene and analyze the evidence left behind. From fingerprints to DNA, find out who did it! Hands-on group and individual activities take place in a Science Center classroom complete with fake blood!
Suggested follow-up activity: Visit the DNA Zone Gallery to learn all about the genes inside us.
August 19 - Rockin' Rockets
Use rocketry to demonstrate Newton’s three laws of motion. Learn about the parts of a rocket as you build your own rocket to take home!
Suggested follow-up activity: Visit the James S McDonnell Planetarium, where you can observe and touch other types of rockets.
September 16 - Math Games
Explore new ways to use the same old math. Play wacky games and puzzles that will get you thinking about numbers. This program involves parents and children in problem solving, experimenting and discovering together.
Suggested follow-up activity: Visit the Science Center’s math cart for tantalizing puzzles.
October 21 - Forces of Nature
Experiment with natural disasters and see them in action. Learn what causes major storms, and how technology is used to alert citizens. Topics may include hurricanes, volcanoes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis.
Suggested follow-up activity: Check out the Ecology and Environment Present Galleries, where you can see a real tornado in action.
November 18 - Dazzling Densities
Tackle the dilemma of density! Experiment with layering different chemicals. Why don’t oil and water mix anyway? Learn how density affects the state of matter and vice versa. Take home your very own density stacker.
Suggested follow-up activity: Take in an Amazing Science Demo to learn more about physical properties.
December 16 - Acids & Bases
Do acids really eat through skin? What is the difference between acid and base? Learn which acids and bases we need to survive, and which we use on a daily basis. Watch chemical reactions in progress, and make your own.
Suggested follow-up activity: Stop by the food court and enjoy a tasty acid – soda!
For reservations, call 314-289-4424 or 800-456-7572, extension 4424
Classes are held at the Saint Louis Science Center (unless otherwise noted) on the Third Tuesday, 1-2:30 pm
Minimum of 20 per session. Maximum of 30 per session. If low attendance, classes may be merged together or cancelled.
Classroom I (K-1st grade)
Classroom II (2nd-3rd grade)
Classroom III (4th-6th grade)
COST $7.50 per person for everyone in attendance (including parents & siblings) Reservations required. Payments due at least 10 days prior to class date.