Bring the Montshire to You

The StarLab portable planetarium allows your students the chance to star gaze any day of the year!

• For younger elementary students: special focus is made on understanding how the Earth’s movement affects day and night.
• For middle elementary students: explore how the Earth’s orbit affects seasonal variations in visible constellations.
• For upper elementary and middle school students: dive into more advanced topics such as moon phases or the location of planets.

Inside the dome, the program focuses on the current night sky with emphasis on learning how to locate key stars, constellations, visible planets and the moon.

With only one class under the dome at a time, students become engaged in learning about the night sky. Your astronomer-in-residence will spend 45-60 minutes with each class (up to five classes per day). StarLab fits in gyms, cafeterias, or any other large room with an 11-foot ceiling.

• Who Sank the Boat? Students will experiment with different materials to find out what sinks and what floats. Children will then use aluminum foil to construct and test their own boats. As a class they will record and represent data from observations of their experiments. A reading of Pamela Allen’s book, “Who Sank the Boat?” is included, which integrates science and children’s literature. PreK-Grade 2

• Magnets: Students will predict, test and experiment with magnetism and discover what is magnetic in this introduction to forces and motion. Multiple magnets will allow for exploration of attracting and repelling forces. PreK-Grade 2

• Flying Contraptions: Students will build and experiment with small parachutes and other paper crafts in order to discover the properties of air. Grades K-2

• Mirrors, Reflection, and Symmetry: This workshop introduces principles of light and reflection as students create images with flat mirrors. Students will also engage in hands-on investigations of the geometry and patterns of symmetry. Grades K-3

• Balancing Act: This hands-on physical science workshop lets students investigate balance, center of gravity, and mechanical advantage. Students will use their knowledge of mechanical advantage and center of gravity to create a whimsical balance toy to bring home. Grades 3-6

• Batteries, Motors & Bulbs: Students use batteries, motors, and bulbs to explore electricity to develop their understanding of complete circuits. They will create different electrical circuits to learn about insulators and conductors, voltage, series circuits, and open and closed circuits. Students that are well versed in basic electricity concepts will also explore parallel circuits and amperage. Grades 3-6

• Seedy Science: Use the museum’s seed collection to explore plant adaptations and diversity! Students will sort and classify seeds, practice identification, and examine seeds and sprouts with hand lenses and microscopes. Grades K-3

• Investigating Fossils: Tracks of the Past: Students get to handle real fossils from the Museum’s collection while learning about plants and animals from long ago. Our fossils and casts span thousands to millions of years into the past! Grades K-4
• Insects: In this workshop, students will investigate various insects in the Montshire's collection to understand what characteristics they have in common, their diversity, and how they use each of their body parts. Students will also have the opportunity to use microscopes to make closer observations of insects (and other arthropods)! (Grades K-4)

• Animal Tracks & Signs: Students will learn about the behavior of local animals through the signs they leave behind. This program will introduce your students to the tracks of New England’s familiar mammals. An indoor inquiry includes an up-close encounter with mounted specimens from the Museum’s collection. Grades 1-3

• Cells! Cells are the basic building blocks of life. In this workshop students will use compound microscopes to observe the differences and similarities between animal and plant cells. They will practice staining techniques to more easily observe specific structures in cells including the cell nucleus and cell wall. Grades 5-8

• Evolution and Fossils: A History of Life on Earth: Students will examine the museum’s fossil collection as they learn how paleontologists use fossils to track evolutionary change over the Earth’s 4.5 billion year geologic timeline. Grades 5-8

• Rollways: Using tubes and tunnels, students will explore force and motion to create a large rollway. During the workshop, they will have many opportunities to problem-solve, build and work with others to create interesting and exciting routes for their marble. Grades K-3

• Wind Vehicles: In this workshop students will work in teams to design, build, and test a wind-powered vehicle. Students will utilize their engineering and problem solving skills to create a stable vehicle while optimizing their design for speed and distance. Students in grades 5-8 will collect and use timing data as they test, iterate, and improve their vehicles. Grades 3-4, and 5-8.

• Scribble Bots! Students will create a machine that makes modern art while learning how to wire circuits, offset a motor, problem solve, experiment with balance, deal with material constraints, and troubleshoot components. It’s a multi-disciplinary experience that students will not soon forget. Grades 4-8.