Discovery Science Center Archives - Page 2 of 2

November 4, 2015 by: Kara Noel Lawson

How to Make a Catapult with Craft Sticks – Homeschool Science!

In honor of the Discovery Cube’s Annual Pumpkin Launch, we made mini catapults with craft sticks, and now I want to teach you how to make a catapult! They are super easy to make, and you probably have all the supplies around your house already…

We also used this as our science lesson. (More about that at the mid-way thought this post)
I taught the kids about force, mass, leverage. And about horizontal and vertical distances.

How to make a catapult…

Stack 7 craft sticks and wrap a rubber band tightly around each end into a bundle. (Science Note: You can experiment with different sized stacks!)

2. Take 2 more craft sticks and wrap a rubber band on one of the ends.

3. Insert the 7-stick-bundle between the 2-stick-stack and stretch a rubber band criss cross to connect the two pieces. (Science Note: The closer the bundle is to the wrapped edge, the more LEVERAGE the catapult will have)

4. Use 2-4 rubber bands to attach the plastic spoon to the end. (Science Note: Experiment with how far up or down on the craft stick you place the spoon.)

Happy pajama catapult launching!

We had launch competitions for distance and height. You can also try launching things of different weight.

Science stuff:

If you want to make this part of a science lesson then here are some things to talk about.

Weight verses Mass
1. Mass is a measurement of the amount of matter something contains
2. Weight is the measurement of the pull of gravity on an object.
3. Weight is measured on a scale.
4. An object’s mass doesn’t change it’s location changes. Weight can change with location.

To illustrate weight with the catapults we launched things of different weights and took note of their different distances.

Horizontal Distance and Vertical Height

1. Horizontal – parallel to the horizon. “side-to-side” (Great to talk about the horizon here too!)
2. Vertical – right angle to the horizon; top is directly above the bottom. “up-and-down”

To illustrate with the catapults, use painters tape to mark the horizontal distance different objects travel. Use painters tape on the wall to mark the vertical height different objects travel. Measure the distances and compare the differences.

Force and Leverage

1. Force – strength or energy as an attribute of physical action or movement.
2. Leverage – the exertion of force by means of a lever or an object used in the manner of a lever.

Illustrate leverage by experimenting with different placement of the stack between the 2 sticks and force by the pressure you put on the spoon while launching.

Then go to the Discovery Cube’s Annual Pumpkin Launch on Saturday to show you kids the real thing! Giant trebuchets for dayz!
You will have the best time ever.
Because events like these make forever-memories with your family.

Saturday, November 7th from 10am-2pm.
At Cal State Fullerton: 800 N State College Blvd, Fullerton, CA 92831
There will be food trucks but you can bring a pack lunch.
Pack picnic blankets or lawn chairs to watch in comfort!

Schedule of Events

10am-1pm
Hands-on Activities and Food Trucks
• Archimedes Floating Lab • Catapult Shoot-Out • Reaction Rockets • Marshmallow Mayhem
• Medieval Battle Camp • Da Vinci’s Flight School • CSUF School of Engineering

10:15-Noon
Test Firing of Devices

12:00pm – 12:30pm
Stage Show

12:30pm
Competition Begins

1:30pm
Awards Ceremony

October 21, 2015 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Hot Wheels Exhibit at the Cube… because kids like cars

I love being one of the #DiscoveryCubeMoms!

About 3 weeks ago I got to take over The Cube’s social media for a day! And only got harassed by one troll! I would say that’s a win. (September 28th… see if you can find it!)

We just got to visit the new Hot Wheels exhibit and my we loved it.

Someone fell asleep on the way there and woke up on the wrong side of the car seat.
Guess who…

Just like most of the fun at the Cube, the Hot Wheels exhibit is a great mix of electronic and hand-on fun! The Hot Wheels area is sectioned off and you can easily do it in an afternoon. If you have a pass (if you are local, it’s worth it), go in the afternoon. No crowds and you can take your time at each interactive computer station.

We spent almost an hour at the Pit Stop Challenge. It was so much fun to try to change the tires and fill the gas tank in under 2 minutes! When we were all working we got 36 seconds. Try to beat that!

This is my favorite picture from the exhibit. They were so into this little station!
(Side Note: See that life sized poster in the background? There are tons of those explaining different aspects of the exhibit. Out of the corner of my eye, I would suddenly think, “why is that creeper watching my kids!?!?!… oh never mind.”

The signs were helpful, though. And we read every single one… or else how could I count it as a homeschool day?

When you enter the Hot Wheels area there are little boxes by the sign with hot wheels in them, pick up a few and you can use them throughout the exhibit.

And a trip to The Discovery Cube would not be complete without our favorite tried and true exhibits.

This trip my kids discovered the stop motion station and they owned it! I took the little kids to all the downstairs exhibits while the big kids worked on the stop motion. I didn’t expect much because they had never done anything like this before. I know I’m biased because they are my kids, but I couldn’t be more impressed with the outcome. (Side note: It’s things like this I wish my mom could see. She would say they are geniuses and would be totally serious! Love it!)

We had such a wonderful day!

And one of the best parts about making memories with the kids and playing all day long is the quiet car ride home…

June 15, 2015 by: Kara Noel Lawson

The Cube Beats Summer Brain Drain {#newatthecube}

Has your summer started yet?
Ours has, and we are already clicking through our Summer Bucket List!
{Some of the new things we added this year: eat at every restaurant in our small city and build a backyard fire pit!}
One of the biggies every year is a visit to The Discovery Cube.
This year’s visit was full of surprises… like The Cube has 7 new exhibits AND has doubled in size.
I’ve kinda taken The Cube for granted in the past. It’s been here since I was in high school and it’s just part of life here in Orange County. But now that I have kids I get to discover the whole thing all over again through their eyes.
Parenting is the best!

I got to interview Dan, one of The Cube’s spokespeople and here is what I discovered…
{Also a BIG giveaway for locals at the bottom of the post!}

My opinion of the new exhibits along with some pictures and such…

Sherlock Holmes – This is AMAZING! For older kids or adults. Brad and I are going back next week on a date night to enjoy this one at it’s fullest.
Helicopter Tour – You fly around OC inside a virtual helicopter. Great for all ages. I really wish there was a list you could pick up about each of the stops so we can actually visit them in real life. Wowza! Do we live in a beautiful place!
Inspector Training Course – Kids get to find and eliminate invading vectors with their own touch-screen tablet. Kids need to be able to read or have an adult walking them through the activities.
Petersonville Healthy Kitchen – The Cube is the first to have their own interactive kitchen! Keep posted on their site for cooking classes you can do with your kids. I hate strongly dislike cooking but doing something like this as a child could have helped.
Maybe.
Water Gallery – We are in an epic drought here in CA. And you know how I feel about that! My kids loved learning things hands-on with this exhibit.
Eat Well. Play Well. Sleep Well. – This one doesn’t open until later in 2015 but it’s all about keeping healthy with through nutrition, play and sleep. May I suggest a room that brainwashes kids to sleep in past 6am? (Tell me I’m not the only one with early rising kids!?!?)
New Launch Pad Science Store – The store has tripled in size and there are some really cute things for sale (read succulents) and great science activities!
The Rocket Lab – I’m actually not sure if this is new, but it has been totally redone since last year! The kids loved making their own satellite then watching it orbit on a giant screen.
Bean Sprouts – Yummy!! And I met one of the founders and she is super sweet! I’m lucky to get out the door with all my kids wearing shoes, so not having to pack a lunch is like music to my ears!

You can’t forget about the tried and true activities at The Cube…

A lot of people don’t know you can actually go inside the cube. Yes, that giant cube from the freeway has a platform and a few fun science activities that are worth checking out. My kids think it’s so cool… and I do too! When you are inside the cube you get to feel just how big it actually is. When you look up it kinda makes your tummy turn. The cube is enormous.

The interactive exhibits… my kids were at the one below for 15 minutes. There is a rocket lab upstairs, but air blowing up handkerchiefs kept them captivated just as long. Hahahahaha… (They loved the Lab too!)

And Dino Quest. Tess thinks this dinosaur is real, because it blinks and moves it’s tail every so often. And if anyone every tells her otherwise, they might just get a punch in the face. Seriously. (Does anyone else overindulge the baby of the family?)

We love The Cube and we’ll be using our annual passes to go every week this summer to help prevent Summer Brain Drain. Wanna join us?
Good!
Then enter the giveaway in the box below.
{If you don’t win, then consider getting the family pass! It’s only $99 for a family of 6 (two adults and 4 kids… yay for non-big-family discrimination! #4KidsIsTheNew2), no blackout days and discounts inside The Cube as well. I’m not sure if you get discounts on the extra exhibits or not. But if my family were to go to The Cube once without an annual pass it would be $87.70… so spending the extra $11.30 was a no brainer for us. For smaller families… just go twice!}

Good luck from my Cube loving family to yours! (Tess’ face above… I can’t even!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And just in case you missed the front page of the OC Register on Thursday… Eli and I were both quoted at the press preview of The Cube. Read the full article here. (Also did you know, you no longer have to pay to read the OC Register online! Whew!)
The kids think we are famous now. Which is pretty hilarious.

June 25, 2013 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Discovery Science Center and a LEGO Castle and We Like it

There is lots to do in Southern California.
Discovery Science Center is a family favorite around here!
Right now they have two amazing exhibits. LEGO Castle Adventure and Da Vinci: The Genius. Both are awesome!

If you have a LEGO kid in your house you should really add this to your Summer Bucket List. It’s an actual castle that looks like it’s made from giant Lego bricks.

The castle is filled with lots of interactive learning stuff. (Yeah, I said “stuff” check out the Discovery Science Center’s site for details.) Life sized LEGO creations and LEGO scenes are everywhere. Along with LEGO building tables. But I didn’t let Eli sit and build for long, because he can do that at home. I’m mean.

And a slide…

The Da Vinci exhibit is spectacular. It really is fascinating how much that man did in his short life. I would love to spend some time looking at everything without the children or just with the big kids

Want more LEGO awesomeness?
OK!
Check out the Summer Rockin’ Boys Club’s Lego Challenge. Every week they give a new building prompt and you can email a picture to info (at) rockinboys.com or post a picture on Instagram and tag @RockinBoysClub with the hashtag of the week. The winner get’s a prize!! Last week it was a $10 gift card to the LEGO store!

Here are Eli’s first two entries…

Happy Building!

January 28, 2012 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Dora and Diego Make Toddlers Squeal at DSC

I’m always looking for fun stuff to do with the kiddos and it’s no secret The Discovery Science Center is one of our favorite spots! We were invited to check out the new Dora & Diego – Let’s Explore! exhibit.

The kiddos were just giddy to get inside! Can you see the excitement on Cora Jane’s face!? She is VERY into Dora. So much so, that I may or may not have accused them of using subliminal messages in some way shape or form.

The exhibit is hands-on-fun. I got to follow Cy around while my hubby hung out with the big kids. It was awesome to watch him discover everything on his own. Though the exhibit is geared for 3-8 year-olds (in my opinion), he was able to find lots to do at each station. The maze below was a big hit with him…

How was I able to hang out with Cy??

I pawned off Tess on some friends. Jill from Sandy Toes and Popsicles and Liz from Thoughts of a Mommy. Thank you guys for blessing me with free arms!

Everything was really fun and the pirate ship was a huge hit with Eli!

The Dora and Diego – Let’s Explore! is fun fun fun. I recommend going if you have little ones. It was super interactive just like the Sesame Street one last year. There is so much to do it would be perfect for a one on one day. The exhibit will run from January 28th- – May 6th and is included in the regular ticket price (adult – $14.95, children 12.95). For loads of info about each part of the Dora & Diego exhibit click here.

Of course we have to do our regular Discovery Science Center stuff…

I think Tess may be a future Dora lover too…

November 18, 2011 by: Kara Noel Lawson

May the Force be with you at the Discovery Science Center

Last night we were invited to the grand opening of Discovery Science Center’s STAR WARS: Where Science Meets Imagination exhibit.

It was awesome.

Like a must see for Star Wars fans.

Really!

The kiddos were a little excited…

In case you were wondering, I did stop off at Old Navy on the way so the kiddos would have Star Wars Tees…

We got to see life size characters and LOADS of artifacts from the movies. Each display had a written explanation along with phone-like audio commentary gadgets…

The exhibit was very interactive with a drivable hover craft and robots you can build and program to move. Both were a hit! (FYI – you have to be 5 years old and a certain height – it looked around 48” – to ride the hover craft. You might need to pre prep little ones who won’t be able to ride.)

Outside there is a full-size replica of the cockpit of the Star Wars IV’s Millennium Falcon. (Think Star Tours Light). You get to see some pretty amazing real life pictures of our own galaxy.

Click here to read an overview of the whole STAR WARS: Where Science Meets Imagination exhibit!

Tickets are $24.95 adults (15-59), $20.95 for seniors (60+), and $20.95 children (3-14). ($14.95/12.95 for the general admission and only an additional $10/8 for the exhibit!) Advance ticket reservations are recommended. For more information or to reserve tickets, visit http://www.discoverycube.org/starwars or call 714-513-CUBE. (Members can purchase exhibition tickets at a special rate of $8.00 for adults, seniors and children. There is also special field trip & group pricing!!

How do you like this family pic?)

Eli was so nervous to stand with the Storm Troopers… I’m wondering if he thinks Star Wars is real. Eeeek!

March 14, 2011 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Discovery Science Center I got to go to Elmo’s Birthday…

Mondays I like to share something I got. We all like to share a good deal, splurge, unique find or fun activity. If you got something awesome (or lame) recently and blogged about it, be sure to leave me a link to the post in the comments!

Did you know Elmo has an actual birthday? It’s February 3rd and he always turns 3! Wait a minute… I’m saying “he” but now that I think about it, I’m not exactly sure if Elmo is a boy or a girl. (If YOU know, let ME know.)

Elmo’s party was hosted over at the Discover Science Center. If you’ve passed it recently on the 5 freeway then you’ve seen the giant Elmo balloon on top! We entered the Cube, invitations in hand and were adorned with Elmo party hats – which we wore the whole evening, of course!

We sung Elmo his birthday song…

Then the fun REALLY began because we got to explore the Sesame Street Body exhibit. It was amazing! REALLY! Every aspect was hands-on and interactive – just perfect for preschoolers.

We loved the Grover’s Dance Party and this crazy thing that would show your body movements on a big screen…

We spent a lot of time in Hooper’s Store. Which has seats for parents so we were all about that place!

I’ll take another one of these please…

On the way out we hung out at this thing… I have no clue what it’s called but it’s there all the time (at the entrance/exit) and it’s a huge hit with my fam!!

Sesame Street’s Body exhibit runs till May 1st so you have to go soon!! You will have a blast. Promise. AND you can meet Elmo on the weekends at 11:30am, 12:30pm, 2:00pm and 3:00pm.

October 16, 2010 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Science then Pumpkins

If you don’t win our awesome giveaway for the Cube and Pumpkin Factory then I can at least offer you some awesome coupons… click HERE for 1 free ride at the Pumpkin Patch (expires 10/31) and $5.00 off your ticket at the Discovery Science Center (expires 11/30)… and since I’m throwing coupons around how about one for Eli’s Lids? Enter the coupon code ILovePumpkins at checkout for $4.00 off your order!

October 15, 2010 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Bugs Invade Discovery Science Center

One of the kazillion reasons we love living in Orange County is all the fun places to go! Last week we got the chance to check out The Discovery Science Center’s (aka The Cube) Bug Invasion and The Pumpkin Factory. They have paired up to offer an awesome Trick or Treat Candy Quest.

I was a little flustered after arrival because someone was having an emotional day, someone was starving for a bottle and someone wanted to run around the Cube to check out all the awesome exhibits.

(I’ll let you guess which someone is which)

I was basically feeling like the worst mom in the world because Cora Jane had an accident (thankfully #1) and I didn’t have a change of clothes, Cy was screaming unless I stood up in one place swaying and Eli had probably been kidnapped because he had been roaming The Cube alone for at least half an hour. Then Dr Sue said I made mothering my 3 small kiddos look so easy. I wanted to kiss her! Anyway, she’s my new BFF!

Eli said the Bug Invasion Exhibit was “GREAT!” It actually sounds more like “GWATE!” It’s super cute!

See the “gwate” video all about it…

Hot Hubby met us at The Cube after he got off work and we took the short walk (like 3 minutes) over to The Pumpkin Factory.

The Pumpkin Factory has all sorts of rides, a petting zoo, and of course, loads of pumpkins!! GOOD PRICES TOO! Those big giant jumbo pumpkins for only $20. It’s a better deal than a grocery store and you are supporting a local business!!

As the sun started setting it was the perfect weather for a Lid… even the pumpkins were chilly!

Because the folks at The Cube and the the folks at The Pumpkin Factory are so awesome they are letting me give away…

4 general admission tickets to the Discovery Science Center AND 4 unlimited ride wristbands at The Pumpkin Factory! (You know you want to win this because you are already taking your kiddos to a pumpkin patch anyway and then you won’t have to shell out any extra moo-la for rides!)

Mandatory entry: Leave a comment with your best Pumpkin Carving Idea.

Extra entries: Leave one comment for each extra entry. One extra entry per item below…

Follow the Discovery Science Center on Twitter
Fan the Discovery Science Center on Facebook
Head on over to the Discovery Science Center’s site, find something fun and leave the page link in the comments
Follow Eli’s Lids on twitter
Fan Eli’s Lids on Facebook
Tweet about the giveaway with a link to this post to @ElisLids & @discoverycube
Facebook this giveaway
If you have a post about going to a pumpkin patch leave the page link in the comments
If you have a post about going to the Discovery Science Center leave the page link in the comments

**Giveaway ends on Tuesday October 19th at 10pm!!**

Thank your Discovery Science Center for letting us hang at The Cube!

Thank you Pumpkin Factory for the perfect pumpkins!

(And the giveaway too, of course!!)