Workshops at Your Site Topics by Grade Level

Pre K + Kindergarten

60-minute workshop/$12.00 per student

Our Pre K workshops are intended for students who will be starting kindergarten the following fall (4 and 5-year-olds). These workshops are not a good fit for children under 4 due to developing fine motor skills and small pieces that can be put in mouths. Please request these workshops ONLY for Pre K and kindergarten students. Thank you!

  • Float objects in wind tubes and construct a sail car.

  • Engineer a bridge and create a bridge-building kit to take home.

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Children and adults gathered around a wooden table playing a game with small flags and wooden pieces, in a room with bright green walls and a large fan in the background.

Kindergarten - Grade 2

60-minute workshops/$12.00 per student

  • Learn about the flow of electricity and hook up different circuits to create a light to take home. Great fit with 1st grade Science Benchmarks.

  • Experiment with the reflection and absorption of light. Design and build a colorful kaleidoscope to take home.

  • Practice the engineering design process and use a glue gun to construct a small catapult. Find out how far you can fling an object. Great fit with 2nd grade Science Benchmarks.

  • Explore with our K’NEX building pieces. Practice sorting them and putting them together, then complete a building challenge. Great fit with Kindergarten and 2nd grade Science Benchmarks.

  • Start with vibrations and the science of sound. Explore patterns and relationships of sound created by different materials. Construct an ear harp to take home. Great fit with 1st grade Science Benchmarks.

90-minute workshops/$14.00 per student

  • Learn how Dakota, Hmong, Mexican, Ojibwe, and Somali communities have traditionally engineered their homes. Investigate building techniques, experiment with materials, then design and create your own mini-dwelling. Great fit with 1st and 2nd grade Science Benchmarks.

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Various construction materials, including wooden sticks, colorful balls, and plastic containers, set up on a gymnasium floor for a project or activity.

Grades 3-6

60-minute workshops/$12.00 per student

  • Experiment with the reflection and absorption of light. Design and build a colorful kaleidoscope to take home. Great fit with 3rd grade Science Benchmarks.

  • Practice the engineering design process and use a glue gun to construct a small catapult. Find out how far you can fling an object. Great fit with 5th grade Science Benchmarks.

  • How does electricity work? Experiment with the components of simple circuits: power, loads, wires, and switches. Test out ways that motors can be used, wire a circuit, and build your own motor-powered fan or wiggle bot to take home. Great fit with 5th grade Science Benchmarks.

  • Discover how engineers work to reduce erosion in the environment. Build a hillside out of dirt, then design an erosion mitigation plan using rocks, fabrics, wood, sand, and other materials. Test your design in a rain shower, then see if you can improve it.
    A great fit with 4th grade Science Benchmarks. 
    *A non-carpeted floor is recommended for this workshop, and access to water is required.
    This workshop was developed in partnership with our friends and engineers at Barr Engineering.

  • Become a Mechanical Engineer and explore the physics of motion with marbles. Investigate how energy changes with speed when objects collide, then build and take home your very own Newton’s Cradle. Great fit with 5th grade Science Benchmarks.

90-minute workshops/$14.00 per student

  • Use the engineering design process to design and construct your own maze, pinball, or pachinko game. Experiment with changes in speed and direction and the effects of gravity and friction. Uses hot glue guns. Great fit with 5th grade Science Benchmarks.

  • Work in teams using pasta, hot glue, and the engineering design process to build the strongest bridge you can. Test how much weight it can hold before it breaks.

  • Learn how Dakota, Hmong, Mexican, Ojibwe, and Somali communities have traditionally engineered their homes. Investigate building techniques, experiment with materials, then design and create your own mini-dwelling. Great fit with 4th grade Science Benchmarks.

  • Discover the properties of electromagnetism by building an electromagnetic fishing pole and sorting game to take home. Great fit with 4th grade Science Benchmarks.

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School-Age Care

The following workshops work well for mixed-age groups K-5.

A young boy sitting on the floor of a classroom or art space, smiling as he builds a cardboard structure with various materials. The scene includes scattered paper, scissors, tape, and drawings of houses on paper.

60-minute workshops/$12.00 per student

  • Experiment with the reflection and absorption of light. Design and build a colorful kaleidoscope to take home.

  • Practice the engineering design process and use a glue gun to construct a small catapult. Find out how far you can fling an object.

  • Learn about the flow of electricity and hook up different circuits to create a light to take home.

  • Start with vibrations and the science of sound. Explore patterns and relationships of sound created by different materials. Construct an ear harp to take home. 

90-minute workshops/$14.00 per student

  • Learn how Dakota, Hmong, Mexican, Ojibwe, and Somali communities have traditionally engineered their homes. Investigate building techniques, experiment with materials, then design and create your own mini-dwelling.

Request a workshop