We will be closed until April 30, 2020. Check this page for the latest information.
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Field TripMore than 250 interactive science, technology, energy and health exhibits await students of all ages. We’re experts at making sure that bringing your group to the Museum is smooth sailing all the way. Discounted admission for groups of 20 or more!
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ScienceWorksYour students become scientists during our ScienceWorks Labs. All programs align with National Science Education Standards, Next Generation Science Standards, Michigan Grade Level Content Expectations and Common Core State Standards. Labs are available year-round for preschool to middle school students and are led by an instructor.
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OutreachOur Outreach staff brings the Museum to you—at schools, libraries, community centers, and festivals—by delivering hands-on programming customized to your schedule and curriculum interests.
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Distance LearningExperience live, interactive Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum programs right in your classroom! Our educators use videoconferencing technology to share science and math activities with your students, engaging them in a dynamic, hands-on learning experience.
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Teacher WorkshopsJoin us for fast-paced, hands-on teacher workshops that provide elementary and middle school educators with new hands-on tools for incorporating interactive science and math activities into your classroom. Join us for professional development opportunities both at the museum and at your school.
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ScoutsThe best place for Scouts to explore STEAM!
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Summer CampThrough the Unity in Learning partnership, Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum, Leslie Science & Nature Center, and Yankee Air Museum now offer families incredible day camps at two fantastic locations in Ann Arbor and Belleville.
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Birthday PartiesWhat do you get when you mix one part science, one part fun, and one part celebration? A birthday party at the Museum! Experience a birthday full of discovery by exploring more than 250 exhibits and experimenting with a hands-on activity. Celebrate in a unique and interactive environment to make your special day really special!
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Evening WorkshopsWant to dive deeply into specific topics? Join us for an Evening Workshop! Explore a variety of science concepts through hands-on activities, interactive demos, and experiments in a small group setting. Topics vary from stop-motion animation to computer programming to engineering – there’s sure to be something that piques your interest!
Whether held at our place or yours, Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum education programs and exhibits provide opportunities for children and adults to: Awaken curiosity, stimulate observation and exploration skills, and enhance school curriculum
Our Museum educators design programs that address state and national science and technology education standards. Check out individual program descriptions to learn more about the Michigan Grade Level Content Expectations addressed by each program.
Click here to sign up for our Education Newsletter. Click here to view our Education Brochure.
Visit www.unityinlearning.org to open a gateway to hands-on discovery, exploration of the natural world, and experiences that take flight.
Through the Unity in Learning partnership with the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum, Leslie Science and Nature Center, and Yankee Air Museum we provide over 100 different programs at our facilities, on site at your location, or through interactive video conferencing.
Education Programs at the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum
Field Trip
Field Trip
Plan an adventure with your students where knowledge is your destination. Students of all ages can explore over 250 interactive science and technology exhibits. Extend your hands-on adventure by booking a ScienceWorks lab. All programs align with Michigan’s Grade Level Content Expectations. Register today!
ScienceWorks
Preschool Lab: All About Our Senses (Ages 3-5)
Can you see a sound? Smell a color? Come play with us as we explore sight, sound, smell and touch! Register today!
Preschool Lab: Music and Movement (Ages 3-5)
Come explore the science behind music! Kids will interact with pitch, tempo, and volume to learn how music is created. Register today!
Standard Lab: Engineering Design (K-2nd)
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!
Standard Lab: Marvelous Magnets (K-3rd)
Make magnets float in mid-air while testing their ability to attract and repel each other! Students learn all about magnetism by using a variety of materials to explore and design. Register today!
Standard Lab: Slime Time! (K-2nd)
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!
Standard Lab: Bright Idea (1st-4th)
Students will use tools such as lenses, flashlights and mirrors to investigate how light travels. Several interactive activities make up this exploration! Register today!
Standard Lab: Force and Simple Machines (2nd-3rd)
Push and pull your way through this experiment! Discover how force affects motion and how simple machines make our lives easier. Register today!
Standard Lab: Water Cycle (2nd-4th)
Look Beyond the four stages of the water cycle. Engage in experiments and become a water drop as you experience the many paths of a water molecule. Register today!
Standard Lab: Sound Science (3rd-5th)
Discover the amazing physics of sound. Make waves that travel through different states of matter and explore how pitch relates to frequency. Register today!
Standard Lab: Circuit Masters (4th-5th)
Investigate series and parallel circuits as well as the parts that make them work. Students get to design their own alarm and much more with our safe, interlocking electronic components. Register today!
Standard Lab: The Ups and Downs of Roller Coaster Physics (4th-8th)
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!
Premium Lab: Cow Eye Dissections (5th-8th)
Dissect a real cow eye to investigate the inner workings of eyes! Students will be able to make connections to eye structure through this hands-on exploration. Register today!
Premium Lab: Crime Lab Caper (5th-8th)
Someone has broken into the Museum van and stolen a laptop! Become Museum detectives and use forensic science to analyze evidence and crack the case. Register today!
Outreach
FAMILY NIGHT: STEM!
Invite the whole school to an evening of fantastic, STEM-based fun and see why this is our most popular program. We offer you a wide range of science, technology, engineering, and math activities. We even have a STEM for middle school audiences. Register today!
FAMILY NIGHT: Math and Engineering!
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!
FAMILY NIGHT: Young Scientist!
These science and math programs are specially designed with your preschool scientists in mind! Register today!
**NEW** FAMILY NIGHT: Family Science and Nature Night
Explore the wonders of science, math, and the natural world with this engaging, interactive program designed for your whole school. Register today!
WORKSHOP Crime Lab
We'll use science to brush up on our logical thinking and problem solving skills as students are immersed in the intriguing world of forensics. They'll need to work together to solve our mock crime. Register today!
WORKSHOP Magnificent Magnets
Stick with us as we explore the golden rule of magnets, sort through what materials are magnetic or non-magnetic, and even make a magnet float in mid-air. Register today!
WORKSHOP Balancing Act
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!
WORKSHOP Bubbles all Around
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!
WORKSHOP The Wind Blew
Using the story The Wind Blew by Pat Hutchins, students will learn how wind can move objects through the air. We’ll design and engineer our own wind socks to help tell which direction the wind is blowing. Each workshop will include an interactive story time, an explorative hands-on activity, and group reflection time. Register today!
WORKSHOP The Universe: StarLab Planetarium
Bring the stars down to Earth with our inflatable, portable planetarium! Students will learn how to locate common constellations in the sky, listen to Greek myths related to stars, and discover how stars have been used by people throughout history. Register today!
WORKSHOP Who Sank the Boat?
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!
WORKSHOP Sound Science
Explore the physics of sound as we experiment with waves and vibration and discover how sound travels through different substances. Register today!
WORKSHOP Preschool Universe
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!
WORKSHOP Light and Optics
Shed new light on science as we discover how light travels, reflects, and refracts through the world. Register today!
WORKSHOP The Water Cycle
Look beyond the four stages of the water cycle and get a first-hand look at the many paths of a water molecule. Where does the rain come from and where does it go after it hits the ground? Register today!
WORKSHOP The Fossil Record
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!
WORKSHOP Egg Drop Soup
Join us in this classic egg drop experiment! Students are given credits to purchase materials to protect their egg from damage in a freefall. Concepts covered in this workshop range from gravity to economics. Register today!
WORKSHOP Force and Simple Machines
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!
WORKSHOP Roller Coasters in your Classroom
Learn about the physics of energy, force, and motion by designing, building, and testing your own roller coaster. Register today!
WORKSHOP Slime and the States of Matter
Is it a solid? A liquid? A gas? Your students will discover the properties of each state of matter by making our ooey, gooey slime. We’ll also discuss how molecules look and act when changing between states of matter. Students will get to take home their slime as well as a recipe to make it again at home. Register today!
WORKSHOP Circuit Masters
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!
SUPER SCIENCE DAY Science and Math Days
While there are no tights or capes involved here, these programs highlight the heroic in science and math. Register today!
SUMMER SCIENCE FESTIVAL
The Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum’s Summer Science Festival can bring a unique, interactive component to your festival, summer camp, or special event for kids of all ages! Register today!
Distance Learning
Parachuting Through Time
Catch some air as you learn about the history of the parachute! See examples of early and modern parachutes, then create and test your very own! Register today!
Bat Biology
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!
Cold Blooded Classification: Reptiles
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!
Walking Up a Food Chain
Together with the Leslie Science & Nature Center, we will create a food chain using LIVE animals (hawk/owl, snake, frog, spider and roach). Along the way we will discuss how they survive in the wild. Register today!
Explore Your Five Senses
Ever wonder why you can smell, hear, taste, see, and feel? Come find out how your senses help you to discover the world around you. Students will explore their senses with 5 hands-on activities. Register today!
Halloween Slime Time
Is it a solid, liquid, gas, or something even spookier? Make two kinds of slime as we investigate the states of matter. 
Award-winning program! Register today!
Slime Time and States of Matter
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!
Critters in the Cold
Let’s take a virtual trip to Antarctica! Touch “blubber,” feathers and more as we learn how animals adapt to extreme weather. Award-winning program! Register today!
The Fossil Record
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!
Fraction Interaction
It’s the fraction game show! Find out how much you know about fractions by becoming a game show contestant—can you survive three rounds of fraction challenges? Award-winning program! Register today!
Owls from the Inside Out
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!
Cow Eye Dissections
Get a closer look at the anatomy of the eye and how it works together with the brain to create visual images when we dissect real cow eyes. Museum provides cow eyes, gloves, and safety glasses (yours to keep). School must provide its own dissection tools. Award-winning program! Register today!
Teacher Workshops
Coming Soon
More Teacher Workshops are coming soon. Watch this space for more information.
Scouts
Scout Camp Ins
Whether you are getting all the Pack families together, or organizing a retreat for all the Girl Scouts in your area, our custom Camp In programs will fill your night with fun, play, and plenty of STEM Learning.
Custom Scout Programs
Our custom workshops are currently on hiatus. Please watch this space for more Scouting opportunities coming in 2019. For details, or questions regarding any of our Scouts programming, fill out our Contact Us form.
Summer Camp
Birthday Parties
Evening Workshops
Coming soon!
Check back soon for upcoming workshops! Sign up for our E-News to receive our monthly e-newsletter and stay up-to-date on all of our programs.
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Visit Us
734.995.5439
220 E. Ann St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
*We will be closed until April 30th. Click here for more information.*
Regular Hours:
Monday: 10 - 5
Tuesday: 9 - 5
Wednesday: 10 - 5
Thursday: 10 - 8
Friday: 10 - 5
Saturday: 10 - 5
Sunday: Noon - 5
Click here for Holiday hours
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hours, and more!
Admission:
$12.50 for Adults and Children
$5 after 5pm on Thurs only
Free for Babies 0-23 months