Program Topics

Mad Science programs rotate topics based on location each session so that your child may attend multiple sessions without repeating material. For more information on what classes your school is currently offering, click on the Register Now button to your right, choose your school from the drop down menu, and click on the section number for descriptions.

Our programs:

Earth, Wind, Inspire:

Bugs!
Children get engrossed in entomology! They find out that insects are arthropods and inspect authentic insect specimens. Insect anatomy is introduced and examined up-close. A container of creepy crawlers is divided into insects and non-insects. An ultraviolet powder demonstration lights up the truth on how insects spread pollen. Children learn how insects adapt by building insect puzzles at habitat stations. They examine a bag of insect defense representations and choose the one they want. An Insect-A-Vision Take-Home kit allows the junior entomologist to get bug-eyed at home!

Detective Science
Children use science to crack a case! The crime happens just before the Bustertown bake-off. Mr. Baker’s big, fat, chewy, chocolate chip cookie is sabotaged and his recipe is stolen. The case kicks off with a crime scene investigation. The children examine fingerprints, mystery powders, ink samples, and teeth impressions. They also practice their memory skills to create a composite! Analyzing all the evidence is what helps pinpoint the perpetrator. The children take home a Personal Profile kit. They can use it to record their own fingerprints and other important information.

Earthworks
Children dig-in to Earth science! Earth’s layers are introduced with a spotlight on its outer rocky layer. Children check out three rock samples to find out how they were made and where they were formed. They inspect minerals with an ultraviolet light to see them fluoresce. They model the moving plates that cause bends and breaks in the Earth’s solid rock layer. Tremors are created to tip a tower, and then things get rocky with the Experi-tube Take-Home. Children can make it and shake it to see sediment settle into layers!

Kitchen Chemistry
Children get clued in on the chemical reactions that occur when they prepare, analyze, and digest their food. Children divide common kitchen activities into chemical and physical reactions. A balloon blow-up demonstration helps them discover that yeast makes bread rise. Children test food samples in search of nutrients, starch, and protein. They discover what happens after they eat and digest nutrient-rich foods with their own Digestor Inspector Take-Home.  

Mad Machines
Children discover how simple machines make our lives easier. They learn about the six different types of simple machines: the screw, lever, inclined plane, wedge, pulley, and wheel and axle. Children launch with levers, secure with screws, and work with wedges through hands-on activities! A large child-operated pulley system demonstrates how pulleys help us move heavy objects easily. Children apply their newfound mechanical knowledge by building their very own Drag Racer Take-Home!

Movie Effects
Movie Effects gives children a chance to sit in the director’s chair and discover why science is the real star on the big screen. Exciting demonstrations and hands-on activities allow children to discover the science behind the amazing sound and weather effects from their favorite movies. Children investigate 3-D technology, and experience how this effect can make them feel like part of the action. Motion pictures come alive with a spinning praxinoscope. Children use the Cartoon Creator to make their own mini movie flipbooks that they can take home.

Science of Toys
Children test, play, and ponder over what makes toys work. They spin into action with kinetic top toys. One changes color and one flips over, but they all release stored energy. Children balance cactus stems and birds to reveal their centers of gravity. They learn that opposites attract with magnetic toys and then take a turn at creating a gear train. Don’t forget to move out of the way for The String Thing—it’s motorized! The class winds down with a Yo-yo Take- Home.

Walloping Weather
Children test, play, and ponder over what makes toys work. They spin into action with kinetic top toys. One changes color and one flips over, but they all release stored energy. Children balance cactus stems and birds to reveal their centers of gravity. They learn that opposites attract with magnetic toys and then take a turn at creating a gear train. Don’t forget to move out of the way for The String Thing—it’s motorized! The class winds down with a Yo-yo Take- Home.