Discovery Science Center Archives - Small Things Are Big Things

April 13, 2017 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Bubblefest at the Cube Equals Spring Break

I have been a fan of The Cube since before having kids and I have had the the PURE PLEASURE of partnering with them through the awesomeness of blogging for over 7 years!

What!?!?!

Bubblefest at the Cube has become a spring-is-here staple in our home.

We even went to Bubblefest on Easter Sunday one year. Probably one of our family’s top Easters to date. This year the last day to go is the 16th, so get on it ASAP!

As if the GAZILLION bubbles wasn’t enough, there is a whole bubble activity area. More on that in a sec… lets get to the bubbles… Bubblefest at the Cube

…so many bubbles…

Bubblefest at the Cube

…making unique bubbles…

making bubbles at the Cube

…giant bubbles…

big bubbles

…like a gazillion bubbles!

so many bubbles at the cube

And there are other bubble-y things to do around the Cube… while you wait for the gazillion bubbles.
Like getting inside an actual bubble!!! What!?!?

a picture in a bubble

Or making a bubble wall…

a square bubble

And this bubble awesomeness…

get in a bubble at the cube

Or even getting your zen on…

playing at the cube

This is the Discovery Cube so there was some science and learning involved as well…
(I can count this as a homeschool day, right!?!?)

learning about bubbles

We have loved you since the day we met you Bubblefest! Even though it’s hard to tell in the picture below, we all had a wonderful time! Thank you for all the wonderful bubbly memories. And we got to check Bubblefest off our California Bucket List!
(more on that coming soon!)

we love bubblefest

If you missed Bubblefest this year, there are always awesome things to do at The Discovery Cube:

This year’s Earth Day Celebration is on April 22nd from 10am-1pm. It’s free with admission price and there is even an opportunity to win tickets for a future day. Details here.
The Very Eric Carle exhibit is still going strong till May 14th.
Cooking classes in the The Cube’s Healthy Kitchen. We still make the Rainbow Wrap we learned about during one of the classes. With homemade hummus and everything. Yummy! That’s it, I’m making them tomorrow. Check out the full schedule here!

July 2, 2016 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Oh Hey, It’s Inventors Week at the Cube

We spent our morning being engineers during Inventors Week at the Cube! This event runs from today (7/2/16) through July 10th. The focus of Inventors Week is to tinker, build, and explore while learning about electronic and robotic principles, every inventor needs to know!

Inventors Week at the Cube

Scattered throughout The Cube are tables, manned by one of their amazing associates. Each station has a hands-on experiment or activity for the kids to try. And the associates do mini science presentations. I am always SUPER impressed with the way the associates patiently answer questions from my kids. The Cube really knows how to pick friendly folks!

We had three favorite stations: conductors, snap circuits and exploding legos!

Tess can’t stop talking about how she “played a potato!” (You can do a similar experiment at home with this kit!)

We really loved the Brain Builders area upstairs. Little Inventors can build LEGO creations then use a cannon to blow them up.
Kids loved it.
I wonder why? (sarcastic tone)

I was shocked at how much my kids liked doing this Snap Circuits Discovery Kit. They loved it! And I loved how easy it was to use.

We are going to try to go back on July 7th (1pm) for a live video conference with NASA.
NASA!! What?!?!!?
The kids will learn about the Orion and Space Launch System missions and how NASA plans to explore areas of space that more than 40,000 miles beyond the moon! An engineer from the Ground Systems Development and Operations team at Kennedy Space Center will be available by video conference to answer questions about upcoming deep space operations.
How awesome is that!?!?!?

I hope you guys can check out Inventors Week! See the whole Inventors Week schedule for the week here.

I’ll be taking over the social media for The Cube on Friday the 8th (Squeeeee…) and I’ll share our slow motion video from our LEGO explosions. And I wouldn’t want to get ahead of myself or anything… but we really can’t wait for this…

June 24, 2016 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Hit the Highway with the Hands-On Harley-Davidson Exhibit

Summer has come to Southern California and it’s hot.
So hot.
Instead of setting up the kids in front of the TV and running your air conditioning at home, head on over to the Hands-On Harley-Davidson Exhibit at the Discovery Cube. The kids will have loads of fun, they should learn something, and (most importantly) you get to be in free air conditioning.
Yeah, I said it!
Save money on your bills by going to the Discovery Cube!

Find details on the Discovery Cube site here.

Hands-on harley davidson

Below is my Facebook Live video walking through Hands-on Harley Davidson so you can get an idea of the lay of the land.

Hands-On Harley-Davidson Exhibit

As you walk into the exhibit you’ll pick up a golf ball. Keep that golf ball close to your heart because you’ll need it for all the hands on stuff. You might want to stick close to younger kids (obvi) so they don’t steal other kids balls or get their ball stolen.

Kids will set the ball on the top of track and watch what happens when they let the ball fly. It’s so neat because the exhibit has these light up screens that actually track your ball’s trail. So kids can modify how they launch their ball to try to get to their desired results.

Hands-on harley activities

My kids loved picking motorcycle parts out at the mini Harley-Davidson shop and “checking out” at the mini cashier stand.
We found the cutest cashier ever… maybe you’ll find her next time you go too!

cute harley davidson cashier

The Hands-On Harley-Davidson exhibit was a lot of fun and you can easily experience the whole thing in an afternoon.
You know, after lunch, in the heat of the day.
After all the young moms have gone home to put their kids down for naps.
In the air conditioning.

June 20, 2016 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Extreme Dinosaurs at the Discovery Cube is a Summer Must!

Last weekend we got to see Extreme Dinosaurs at the Discovery Cube! It did not disappoint.
The Cube never does.

Walking into the Extreme Dinosaurs exhibit is like stepping back into time. There are 17 HUGE animatronic dinos… dinos that won’t eat you up. The whole exhibit feels like you are in a rain forest with plants and trees around the realistic dinos.

Here is my Facebook live walk-though the exhibit…

The kids felt like they were in Jurassic Park. I wish I could convey in this post how big the dinosaurs actually are in person. I felt like all our prehistoric lessons were coming to life for the kids. I actually saw the spark of understanding as we read each sign and looked at the huge animatronic beasts.

One of the dinosaurs is so big they had to “bury” the feet so he would fit in the room. It was the T-Rex and it was glorious.

There are interactive features as well!

You can control your own dinosaur from a console (check out Cy controlling one in this video) or become a paleontologist and discover dinosaur fossils just like Cora Jane below…

I hope you get a chance to visit Extreme Dinosaurs at the Discovery Cube!
(Did I mention it’s air conditioned?)

December 31, 2015 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Free Winter Coloring Sheets – Inspired by the Cube

We had so much fun at the Discovery Cube this winter! I made these fun FREE winter coloring sheets in honor of the Science of Gingerbread exhibit and the Winter Wonderfest exhibit.

Hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Download these free coloring sheets here, here and here! Or click on the pictures above.

December 29, 2015 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Winter Wonderfest at the Discovery Cube

We love Christmas break!

Last week we go to go to the Winter Wonderfest at the Discovery Cube!
If you can go… GO!

Winter Wonderfest has REAL snow. For Southern Californian kids that is like a fairy tale come to life. I told the girls to get on snow clothes and this is what they decided was appropriate…

Tess chose “pants,” and I love that Cora Jane was so proud of her 3/4 sleeved cardigan!

I started hyping up Winter Wonderfest at the Discovery Cube during the car ride, and I secretly hoped it would live up to the high expectations I had set.

Winter Wonderfest is in in the parking lot area behind the Cube and it DID live up to they hype!

Our favorite part was the giant tubbing. (Is that spelled correctly?? Is it tubing or tubeing? You know what I mean, right? Sitting in a giant inflated tube and flying down the hills!)

In case you are wondering if my kids had fun “sledding”:

And of course, the snow! (snow Snow SNOW!) REAL SNOW!

We took a break from the snow to visit the Mighty Ducks hockey exhibit inside the cube.
Because cold-snow-hockey.
Makes sense, right?
We had never made the custom uniform area before. You can pick any colors and add your face to a life sized hockey player! It was so fun.

Then we went back out to Winter Wonderfest for 2 more hours.
Yes, I said hours!
The kids loved it!

Every time we go to the Cube my kids ask to go to the top of the HUGE staircase on the Cube expansion.
I always say no.
Today I said yes… maybe the snow really is magical!

Spoiler Alert: There is nothing but a locked door at the top of the stairs. Wouldn’t it be cool if they had a little sign at the top with a fun science fact on it!?!? Maybe it could change every day (or week) and if you tell the fact to the cashier in the gift shop you’ll get 20% off. You can have that idea for free, friends at The Cube!

Try to get to Winter Wonderfest at the Discovery Cube soon because the last day for snow is January 3rd!

December 10, 2015 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Gingerbread for Breakfast! {Because Why The Hay Not?}

It’s all about Gingerbread this week at our house!

Last night we made gingerbread houses! (I’m trying so hard to be intentional about the holiday merriment this year. Is it just me or is it a little too easy to just have business as usual and not to all the “extra” stuff? Overwhelmed. Plus I really want our lives to be simple.) We got this Gingerbread Mini Village Kit at Target for $10! And the kids had a blast decorating. I love that they each got their own house so they got to be creative and make it just they way they wanted.

Then they asked me if they could have their gingerbread houses for breakfast. I laughed, and said, “Yeah right!” Then I thought, “Why the hay not?” I mean, the alternative is for the crumbly houses to be sitting on the counter for a week while the gingerbread gets stale and the children are sneaking candy behind my back.

Everyday they would begging for a piece of candy and everyday I would say no. I would probably end up resenting the little things (gingerbread houses, not kids) and sneaking them into the outside trash cans late at night (still gingerbread houses, not kids).

So I said, “YES! You can eat those gingerbread houses for breakfast tomorrow morning… After you have your morning water and some fruit.” (I can’t be all fun and games.) The children were stoked. Like super stoked.

It is so much fun to say yes to your kids. And I’d like to think they will remember these small moments forever.

After our breakfast gingerbread gorge fest we went to the Discovery Science Center’s new exhibit Science of Gingerbread. (Because, the truth is, I really do like to be all fun and games!)

The Science of Gingerbread exhibit is great… and just the right size for us to experience everything in one afternoon. I like to go around lunch. All the morning moms leave before afternoon naps and we have the whole place to ourselves.

I can’t stress enough how much my kids love this place. (Get the yearly membership! It’s $99 for one year or $125 for two years. If you go once a month for two years that is only $5 a visit! Essentially we only paid $1 each to get in today. And I don’t feel bad about hitting the road after a short 2 hour visit.)

We got to do the Gingerbread Derby Competition (11am, 1pm, & 3pm).
The kids got to build their own race car out of gingerbread house supplies then test their creations on the race track.
Cora Jane won.

One part of the exhibit was building a freestanding arch and my kids loved this!! And since we are studying ancient history we were able to talk about the Roman arch and keystones. (Wouldn’t this arch kit be fun to make with the kids!?!)

In typical Discovery Cube fashion, there are interactive parts of the exhibit too!

We had so much fun! If you go, let me know how you like it!

Here is a quick run down of all the areas:
Gingerbread Derby Competition – SO MUCH FUN! (11am, 1pm, & 3pm)
Kitchen Chemistry Learning Station – learning gingerbread recipe and the chemical reactions that happen when you bake.
Gingerbread Spices Learning Station – smelling and feeling Gingerbread ingredients.
Build a House Learning Station – giant blocks, Roman arch, matching shapes and a playhouse.
3D Printing of a gingerbread house – you get to watch a 3D printer print stuff. It’s really neat!!!!

There is also Cookie Decorating in the Healthy Kitchen and Santa Meet & Greet but only on select days and times so check the schedule here before you tell the kids you’ll be meeting Mr. Claus!

November 30, 2015 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Hiking with Irvine Ranch Conservancy {& The Discovery Cube}

I really love living in California. From top to bottom, the whole state is filled with beauty. But I’m always a little surprised when I discover some of the most beautiful places are right here in Orange County!

This happened on our last visit to the Discovery Cube when we went on the Helicopter Tour. In this exhibit, you soar over Orange County in a virtual helicopter and fly from the mountains to the sea, over the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks. The whole tour, I was thinking how I wanted to visit and hike the featured locations. And what do you know, there is a whole page on Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks’ site which shows the “flight path” and dates when you can visit the locations!

We went on a hike in Round Canyon which is an OC Parks proper and part of the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks – on the flight path, it’s between Orchard Hills and Limestone Canyon. It’s a state and national natural landmark!

We chose a sunset family friendly hike. I can’t even begin to tell you how many amazing programs the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks offer for the community. There is literally something everyday! You can see the full schedule on Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks’ Let’s Go Outside site. (Click here.)

You can search by date or area and each activity has all the information you need to plan your day. I recommend clicking the “Family Friendly” box in the search as well. And always check the minimum age for the hike (sometimes it’s 12 y/o and it would stink to get there with your 7 y/o and have to leave). The example below is for a Wilderness Access Day on December 5th. I’ve pointed out the important bits for the family thing.

This hike was completely led by Irvine Ranch Conservancy volunteer naturalists.

Volunteers people!!

And they were amazing!
We started our Round Canyon hike with a little safety lesson and our guide handed out a fun scavenger hunt so the kids could look for plants and animals along the way.
(Print your own here!)

We found 36 stink bugs…

And there was so much beauty…

Especially watching the sunset and walking in the twilight. It felt like we were miles away from a city.

I can’t even begin to tell you how many amazing programs the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks offer for the community. Check their full schedule here. I think a great New Year’s resolution would be to take a hike every month! Small Things make the biggest difference in our families.

My kids still talk about all the fun they had on this hike. Taking time out of our busy schedules isn’t always easy, but it’s so worth it!
(Blurry photo… don’t care.)

Don’t forget to print out the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks’ Scavenger hunt for your next hike!

November 19, 2015 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Discovery Cube’s Pumpkin Launch – Science is a Blast!

Who Knew Science Could be Such a Blast!
Discovery Cube’s Pumpkin Launch
Guest post by Sharron Jackson

Perfect temperatures, music pumping, and giant pumpkins falling from the clear, blue sky. Now THAT’S what my family calls a perfect fall day! This was the scene today at Cal State Fullerton where the Discovery Cube’s Annual Pumpkin Launch took place.

Arriving early with our camping chairs and lunch cooler, we weren’t sure what to expect. We just moved to So Cal this summer, and this was our first time attending what has become quite the popular (and FREE!) family event. We set our chairs up along the ropes to reserve a front-row view for the main event—the Pumpkin Launch—and set out to discover what the Discovery Cube and its partners had cooked up.

The grassy field before us was a STEM wonderland! So much to blast and catapult, slide down and build! From building their own craft-stick catapults and launching mini-marshmallows to creating reaction rockets and watching their film can caps burst high into the air, my kids had a blast (literally)!

We returned to our camp chairs just in time to watch a live science stage show as we ate lunch. My kids watched wide-eyed as a gentleman from the Discovery Cube treated the audience to all kinds of liquid nitrogen hijinks (the “don’t try this at home” type of fun).

At last the main event began, and like the rest of the day, it did not disappoint. 15 teams participated, from college engineering clubs to a middle school tech team and a local family. Each had built trebuchets and used them to catapult pumpkins towards various targets spread out in a large field. There is nothing like watching an orange gourd soar through the air and crash to the ground, smashing dramatically. Several teams successfully hit targets, and each time the crowd went wild, including my little family! Too fun!

The Pumpkin Launch fun has only just begun for our homeschooling family. We brought home the craft-stick trebuchets the kids made today and plan on using them to test which objects catapult the farthest and how mass impacts the flight distance (think jelly beans, craft pom-poms, marshmallows, Lego pieces, etc.). If you didn’t make it to the Pumpkin Launch this year, check out the Nov. 4 post “How to Make a Catapult with Craft Sticks – Homeschool Science!” to make catapults using items you probably already have laying around.

After today, I have a feeling the Discovery Cube’s Annual Pumpkin Launch is going to become an annual tradition for our family!

{A big THANK YOU to Sharron for doing this guest post for the Discovery Cube’s Pumpkin Launch! This is a tradition we have been trying to do in our family for the last three years, but it always feels like something comes up. (This year we were serving at a deaf school in Mexico… and that was pretty epic. I’ll be sharing about that here soon!) If you want to read more from Sharron here is her blog: Such as These. ~KN}

The next event at The Discovery Science Cube is the Science of Gingerbread! Which I have been to before! It runs from November 27th thru January 3rd.

This exhibit is all about science at work in the kitchen. The Cube has hands-on activities that will bring your family together. AND you’ll get to see their award winning Gingerbread Competition entries displayed through out the Cube! That is so much fun!

What to expect at the Science of Gingerbread: Santa (hello, awesome!!), decorate and eat, holiday cookies (hello, sugar!!), build and race your own candy car (hello, activities!!), then you can go home with worn out kids (hello, naps!!!).

I can’t wait. Meet me there!

~KN