November 2012 - SCIENCE MADE FUN
Say the word learning and education to a child and they might roll their eyes and think, boooorriiing, but tell a child they can ride a bike on a tight rope, swing on a pendulum swing, or pull their friends in the air by a big giant You-Yo, they just might hop in the car before you get the keys. The Outdoor Science Park at the SciTech Museum in Aurora is open seasonal and weather permitting, and in addition to the usual fun, they are also putting on a spectacular Masters of Lightening show on November 3rd at 7 p.m. Experience a musical lightening show in the “cage of death”.
Go and share in the thrills of electricity gone wild! These to me are the best elements of the Outdoor Science Park that we so much enjoy, but as the weather gets cold and brings us indoors, there are over 200 hands-on activities that keep kids of all ages entertained for hours. The electricity theme carries on inside where kids can literally make their hair stand on end as they learn about static electricity and the sorts. The museum seems to have something for all ages including a Haunted House each October that was really spooktacular; and the teens in my group enjoyed the museum as much as the preschoolers I had in tow.
The older ones loved producing their own weather show on a blue screen that could be watched via television monitors as they appeared as live broadcasters on Comcast Kids. The younger ones were enthralled with the giant bubble makers. All ages loved to jump into the live tornado and pretend they were blowing away like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, and found the brand new Dark Room with a fiber optic wall and incredible strobe light display really cool. Also in the Dark Room is an area for learning how 3-D works which the kids found fascinating.
For those under 6 years old there is an area just for you too with soft blocks and tunnels and age appropriate manipulatives. SciTech is also home to the new SciTech Discovery Preschool for ages 3 to 5; the only S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) based curriculum preschools in the country and the only preschool of its kind to reside within a museum in the world! Now that’s pretty cool! - Kristen Kucharski
OVERVIEW
An indoor and outdoor children’s discovery museum with over 200 hands-on activities plus Outdoor Science Park.
Sci Tech Museum
18 W. Benton Street
Aurora, IL 60506
630-859-3434
www.scitechmuseum.org
Hours: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday
Prices: General Admission $8; 60 and over $7; 3 and under FREE; Memberships Available
