Scientifica

Scientifica creates a hands-on science center in your school's gym or multi-purpose room. Accompanied by a professional Montshire educator, Scientifica provides opportunities for students and adults to test ideas, discover, and play with science, much as visitors do at the Montshire Museum. Exhibits on light and reflection, electricity and magnetism, motion and mobiles, and balance toys will enable students of any age to become actively involved in doing science. In addition to the exhibits, Scientifica comes complete with a teacher workshop. Also included: a special two hour community "open-house" opportunity at your school. Grades: K-12

Fee: $850 for first day of program, $650 for all succeeding days. Fee for one day of Scientifica program: $850 (includes set-up, teacher workshop, evening open house prior to the one-day student program). Trucking fee applies ($1.25/mile round-trip).

The Program

Scientifica represents the core of Montshire's outreach efforts--when fully assembled, it creates a hands-on science center in a school gymnasium, cafeteria, or other large meeting space. This mobile collection of hands-on exhibits will allow students and families to explore light, electricity and magnetism, motion, and balance. Along with a truckload of exhibitry, the Scientifica program also includes a teacher workshop, evening community open-house, and a teacher resource table.

The Exhibits

Scientifica takes up approximately 2,000 square-feet of space. Fifteen exhibit pieces are clustered into the following four areas of physical science:

Light

Scientifica explores the concept of reflection in the Light exhibit cluster. Through a variety of open-ended activities with mirrors, students will develop their own understanding of reflection as they experiment and manipulate the exhibit pieces. The Light cluster is comprised of the following exhibits:

• Cracked Mirror: A series of small movable mirror blocks mounted on a vertical surface that students can move around and change their angle of reflection.
• Mirror Maze: A variety of mirrors with activity cards that let students set up various mirror mazes and other activities that help build their understanding of the relationship between the angle of reflection of light and its angle of incidence.
• Anamorphic Art: Two cylindrical mirrors with examples of anamorphic art get students to notice how curved mirrors affect the reflection of light. Students also have the opportunity to create their own anamorphic art.
• Curved Reflections: A table top full of everyday examples of curved reflective surfaces. Also reflective material that students can bend in a variety of ways to demonstrate the difference between a concave and convex mirror.
• Praxinoscopes: Three different praxinoscopes that let students experiment with animation created by revolving mirrors.
• Duck-Under Kaleidoscope: A human-scale kaleidoscope that students can walk into.
• Anti-Gravity Mirror: A large mirror that lets students create the illusion that they are floating as they use their bodies in different ways with the mirror.

Balance

The Balance cluster enables students to experiment with the concept of balance and counter-balance. This cluster also integrates the arts in the moving sculptures students can create and through a book on display of Alexander Calder's work.

• Balancing Play: Students use prefabricated shapes with washers and Velcro attachments to create structures that will balance on a tightrope or a pencil eraser. Two balance sculptures provide insight into how counterbalance can be achieved and how it affects an object's balancing point.
• Mobiles: Two mobile making workstations allow for open-ended experimentation with balance, art and design.

Electricity and Magnetism

The Electricity and Magnetism cluster has a variety of exhibits that provide opportunities to experiment with magnetism and electric circuits.

• Pole Patterns: A large, clear disk filled with iron filings suspended in water lets children notice how different magnets create different patterns that trace their magnetic field. The pole patterns created take shape in a dynamic way and form highly detailed maps of the magnetic fields of the magnets being used.
• Magnet Table: A variety of magnets, compasses and metal shapes provides ample opportunity for students to explore magnetism. A series of activity cards guides students through various activities.
• Spinning Magnet: Students spin a large bar magnet and move it in and out of a coil of wire to produce an electric current. This exhibit demonstrates the principal of an electric generator.
• Energy Bike: Students pedal a bicycle that is connected to a generator. The work they do is converted to electricity to light up both incandescent and fluorescent light bulbs. This exhibit allows the user to literally feel a watt, and to recognize that it takes energy to create electricity. The more light bulbs the user turns on, the more work she/he needs to do to get them lit.
• Electricity Bench: This exhibit offers students the ability to explore basic electrical components and circuits with easy-to-assemble "building blocks." These building blocks include electrical components such as resistors, wires, switches, light bulbs, LED's and ammeters. Students can build very simple circuits or more complex circuits in both series and parallel.

Motion

The Motion exhibit cluster is an introduction to various aspects of mechanics. This cluster includes three tables plus a freestanding "Rollways" wall.

• Rollways: This exhibit is an exaggerated version of a marble shoot. Students create their own rollways using movable slats on which golf balls can roll down, up, jump, etc. Rolling motion, acceleration of gravity, and momentum are the major concepts imbedded in this exhibit.
• Gears: A table full of gears and belts that let students make their own arrangement using gears of three different sizes.
• Large Tops: Large tops and odd-shaped tops sit on this table top with a second hand clock continuously running that lets students compare size and mass of tops to the amount of time they spin.
• Make Your Own Tops: Students design and make their own small tops using a variety of nuts, bolts and washers. Activity cards provide options for students to compare their designs using the second hand clocks mounted to this exhibit.

Montshire's outreach programs are offered at a substantial discount so they are affordable to schools. To make this possible, we rely on the generosity of donors to help subsidize our educational programs.