Education Programs at the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum

Ever wonder how you can be more sustainable to help keep our earth healthy? Recycling is a great first step! Learn the basics of what it takes to become a recycling expert.

The Scientific Method is a simple, step-by step process on how scientists can best answer their questions or spark curiosity. What better way to learn about this process than through studying wildlife like snakes? Let’s go over the six basic steps to the scientific method, all while learning about a specific animal and where they are found.

Learn about the interaction of living things through an introduction to food chains! Program Manager, Lannis Smith, takes you through what an example food chain could look like, and then challenges you to create your own using different living things found in nature!

Join us as we explore different natural areas in Michigan to ID some common, native wildflowers! Enjoy this year's Mother's Day with this virtual experience, and we hope those that are watching get the chance to take their own outdoor wildflower hike!

Adapted from NISEnet’s activity “Imagining Life”, Life on Earth comes in many different forms. Kids will be encouraged to take a walk and observe local wildlife and think about the questions: What would life look like on another planet? What adaptations would be needed to survive?

Learn how to create your own leaf and bark rubbings and learn about the way scientists classify leaves. View PDF here and click "More Information" for examples.

See if you can find all these insects in your backyard! View PDF here.

We get a lot of resources from rainforests all over the world. Can you find items in your house that might have come from a rainforest? View PDF here.

Which ones will sink and which ones will float? Will they sink quickly or float down gently? Will the floaters stay floating the whole time? Why do you think that? View PDF here.

Find as many items as you can as you explore your local ecosystem. View PDF here.

Label key characteristics about the toad pictured. Describe and draw what its habitat would look like. View PDF here.

Extension Activities for 1st Grade Sound & Light Energy. View PDF here.

Extension Activities for 5th Grade Forces of Flight workshop. View PDF here.

Extension Activities for 2nd Grade States of Matter. View PDF here.

Extension Activity for Kindergarten Five Senses. View PDF here.

Draw an Animal or Plant native to Michigan in its habitat. View PDF here.

Engineer your way through multiple problems. Design solutions while you experience the engineering process through questioning, planning, building, testing, and analyzing your creation. Register today!

Is it a solid, a liquid, or a gas? Investigate the three states of matter by measuring and mixing ingredients for two types of slime. Students are encouraged to dive hands-first into this interactive lab! Register today!

Students will use tools such as lenses, flashlights and mirrors to investigate how light travels. Several interactive activities make up this exploration! Register today!

Discover the amazing physics of sound. Make waves that travel through different states of matter and explore how pitch relates to frequency. Register today!

Experiment with momentum by collaborating with your peers and designing your own roller coaster. Discover how kinetic and potential energy work within the realm of physics and let the forces take you for a ride! Register today!

These science and math programs are specially designed with your preschool scientists in mind!  Register today!

Invite the whole school to an evening of interactive, math and engineering fun! Family members can work together or compete with each other to be the math and engineering champion! You provide 20 volunteers and we’ll fill 20 of your tables with creative hands-on activities. Educators and families love this casual, self-directed evening of fun science activities. All activities are linked to the Michigan Science Standards. Discount coupons for a visit to the Museum for all participants! Register today!

We’ll take a look at actual fossils and learn about life millions of years ago. Students will get to invent their own prehistoric animals, follow along in the story of fossilization, and learn about how a paleontologist pieces together the clues hidden among the fossil record.Register today!

Explore the wonders of space with a workshop that is out of this world! We will work on their engineering skills as we build our own paper rockets to launch across the classroom, then we'll emphasize the A in STEAM to imagine and paint our own planets and the creatures who might live there. Register today!

Design, build, and test your way through understanding circuits and electricity. We'll practice our engineering skills and teamwork using our snap together circuit kits. Register today!

Using the story Balancing Act by Ellen Stoll Walsh, students will use levers and fulcrums to see if they can find the perfect balance. Each 30-minute workshop will include an interactive story-time, an explorative hands-on activity, and group reflection time. Register today!

Push and pull your way through an exploration of force and simple machines as we explore how levers and inclined planes can make your work easier. Register today!

Pop in for a bubble adventure! We'll explore the properties of bubbles, what makes them pop, and measure the biggest bubbles we can blow. Register today!

Using the story Who Sank the Boat? by Pamela Allen, students will make and test their predictions about what objects sink and float. Each workshop will include an interactive story time, and explorative hands-on activity, and group reflection time. Register today!

Explore the physics of sound as we experiment with waves and vibration and discover how sound travels through different substances. Register today!

While there are no tights or capes involved here, these programs highlight the heroic in science and math. Register today!

Meet up to three live bats with the Leslie Science & Nature Center! Join in as we take an up close look into the wondrous world of bats! Explore what makes bats so unique, why they're important across the globe and try your hand at being an expert echo-locator using a simple tool to understand sound! Register today!

Leslie Science & Nature Center joins us with LIVE reptiles in our lab as we explore what makes a reptile a reptile. Feel the snake or lizard skin specimens we send you while you learn the adaptations that make these animals so successful in the wild. Register today!

Explore the three states of matter by making two types of slime. Get up and moving to determine what state your matter is in!   Award-winning program!   Register today!

Take a look at actual fossils, discover the clues that they hide, and learn how to interpret their stories which unfolded millions of years ago.   Award-winning program! Register today!

Leslie Science & Nature Center brings LIVE owls to you as we explore predatory adaptations and behavior. We dissect owl pellets and identify owls’ favorite prey.   Award-winning program! Register today!