miSci’s Little Edisons program, for kids ages 3 to 5, is fun way to nurture the curiosity of pint-sized future engineers, chemists, and inventors. Sessions are 45 minutes long and feature hands-on activities designed to teach problem solving and to encourage the joy of discovery and STEAM topic exploration.
Tickets for Little Edisons sessions grant entry to the program for a student and parent/guardian. Programs run 10 – 10:45 a.m. on scheduled days. To explore the galleries with your student between 9:30 and 10am, Little Explorers time can be added to a ticket for an additional $5.
School Year 2023-24 Session Pricing:
$15/class Non-Members
$13/class Members
Weekly Pass Discount:
Choose an entire week of programming to get a ticket good for both a Tuesday and Thursday program that week.
$26/week Non-Members
$22/week Members
Schedule
APRIL
April Showers
Tuesday, April 16th
Today we read Rain by Cynthia Rylant to learn about how all animals and plants on earth need rain to survive. Then, we make rain clouds in jars, and watch as we create our very own rainstorm.
Salty vs. Fresh: Where is Earth’s Water?
Thursday, April 18th
Little Edisons explore earth’s water this week, first reading Water is Water by Miranda Paul, then learning the difference between salty and fresh water, and the percentages of each. We do a fun experiment to showcase exactly how much of our water is salty and talk about ways we can reduce and reuse water in our own lives.
miSci Loves our Planet
April 23rd – April 25th
miSci focuses on Earth Day this week, reading My Friend Earth by Patricia MacLachlan and Earth Day- Hooray! Stuart J. Murphy. Then, we make our own seed paper from recycled bits we’ve used over our the week, and build terrariums out of recycled materials.
Flower Power
Tuesday, April 30th
Today we read Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert, then learn all about the life cycle of a flower. Then, we plant seeds to take home so you can learn to care for your very own flowers and plants!
MAY
Budding Biologists
Thursday, May 2nd
Today we read What’s Inside a Flower? and Other Questions About Science & Nature by Rachel Ignotofsky, then we make flower suncatchers and learn about all of the different ways that flowers make themselves colorful, and how flowers attract pollinators like bees!
Pot of Gold
Tuesday, May 7th
Ever wonder what’s at the end of a rainbow? This week Little Edisons read Rainbow by Marion Dane Bauer and make our own “walking” rainbows, learning about color transfer and capillary action. Then, we talk about light refraction and why things look colorful in certain lights.
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Thursday, May 9th
Continuing our exciting rainbow conversation, Little Edisons read What Makes a Rainbow? by Betty Ann Schwartz, then use simple chemical reactions to create their own fizzing rainbows. We talk about chemistry and use our five senses to create scientific hypotheses for our rainbows.
Toy Chemistry
Tuesday, May 14th
We will be reading Solid, Liquid, Gassy by Ashley Spires and making three different kinds of slime today in Little Edisons. A fluffy cloud slime, a jiggly water slime, and a classic rubber slime are all on deck. Then, we compare the ingredients used in each one to see how they end up making very different textures!
Penny For Your Thoughts
Thursday, May 16th
Little Edisons learn about oxidization today, using a simple at-home experiment to unravel the case of the color changing penny. We will read by White Rabbit’s Color Book by Alan Baker and think about other objects in our lives that we see become oxidized, talking about rust, fireworks, apples, and more!
Launching Into Summer
Tuesday, May 21st
Little Edisons will be putting on their physics hats this week! First, we read Newton and Me by Lynne Mayer, then we will use small torsion catapults to demonstrate the basics of movement and force. After, we head outside to use our pump rocket to see how far into the sky we can launch objects.
Slinging Through the Sky
Thursday, May 23rd
Catapults, pump rockets, and slingshots, oh my! Little Edisons read Forces: Physical Science for Kids by Andi Diehn, then craft their own slingshots using various materials. Then, we take them outside to see who can get objects to fly the farthest! What objects fly further: heavier or lighter objects? Then, we come back inside to read a book and talk about our findings.
Build a Boat
Tuesday, May 28th
What sinks? What floats? What makes a good boat? Little Edisons read Boats: Speeding! Sailing! Cruising! By Patricia Hubbell , then use various objects and our scientific thinking skills to build the most water-worthy vessel we can craft. Then, we put them to the test in the water table, seeing if our boats have their sea legs, or if they have to walk the plank.
It’s Getting Hot in Here
Thursday, May 30th
Is anyone else feeling warm? Little Edisons read The Sun is Kind of a Big Deal by Nick Seluk to explore solar heat and learn the sun is an important source of energy for everything on planet Earth. Then, we learn the true power of the sun by making a solar oven and using it to melt marshmallows for S’mores!
A Note of Thanks
miSci is forever grateful to Elizabeth “Beth” Hudson for founding the Little Edisons program. Beth brought more than 35 years of experience working in special education and a love of teaching pre-school children to miSci. She will be missed, and we wish her well on all her retirement adventures. Thank you, Beth!