SCIENCE PARTIES

Aspen Science Center

About

ooking for a different, fun and educational party idea? Birthdays, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, Graduations, or just a fun gathering. What could be more inspiring than a celebration that lets kids explore the wonders of science? We provide hands-on demonstrations and activities for youth of all ages (including adults!). One of our educators will come to the place of your choosing (home, restaurant, park or anywhere else that works for you) and guide your kids through fun science activities and games. We provide all of the materials and equipment for the science. You provide the location, decorations and food. We have several different themes to choose from, all of which promise an exciting and educational time.

Physics/Liquid Nitrogen – Kids will be able to see how things behave at possibly the lowest temperatures they have ever witnessed. Liquid nitrogen boils at -320 degrees Fahrenheit, so kids will see a boiling liquid freeze objects, see how easily really cold things shatter, see how gas compresses when it’s cold, and get a few snacks, like deep-frozen potato chips (and breathe fog that forms in their mouths!).

Slime/Chemistry and Polymers – What is more fun for kids than playing with slimy, slithery stuff? Kids will make two kinds of slime and goo while learning about polymers (long chains of molecules), and see a third super-absorbent polymer that’s nick-named polysnow because it can look like snow.

Low Pressure Physics – Kids will participate in activities that show how strong air pressure is, including what is around us all the time, then see what happens under very low pressures in our vacuum chamber. A closed balloon blows up, a small amount of shaving cream expands out of a container to fill the chamber, cold water boils, and sound disappears!

Buoyancy – Kids will explore the concept of buoyancy, that less dense things float on top of more dense things. It’s why a rock sinks in water, but kids will also use the concept to make “stacks” of liquids, see objects float or sink through the stacks, and create a jar to take home. They will also participate in demonstrations with carbon dioxide gas, which is more dense than air. The difference is invisible to our eyes, but bubbles “magically” float on it and a seemingly empty jar of carbon dioxide can be poured out over a candle, which flickers out.

Light and Energy – Kids will explore colors, ultraviolet light, and the process of phosphorescence (how things glow in the dark). Colors of light carry different energies, which can be seen when a glow board lights up with energy from a flashlight. Kids will be able to make shadows and glow designs on the boards with different flashlights, use UV lights to make fluorescent colors pop, and create a beaded bracelet or toy with beads that change color in UV light (including sunlight). (This requires a location that can be made relatively dark.)