Discovery Lab launches new flight-themed activities in its WorkShop

The WorkShop at Discovery Lab has always been a space where innovation and creativity thrive. Every few months the theme changes and so do the activities. In May, the museum debuted Launch It! which explores the principles of flight using a wind tunnel.

Hover Craft Making

Discovery Lab has set out recycled materials in the WorkShop for kids to make their own hover craft. Caitlin Gibbons, Assistant Education Manager of Classroom Programs at Discovery Lab said, "We have got coffee filters, we have got these paper straws, paper, scissors, paper clips, things that we just had lying around and we are trying to find a new purpose for them with this activity."

The activity is also a fun way for kids to learn the principles of flight. "It can teach them a lot about lift, weight, thrust, and drag, aerodynamics, and all those things," she added.

Try, Try Again

Gibbons said the biggest challenge is finding a design that works, but at Discovery Lab the kids can make mistakes and try again as many times as they want. "Instead of getting frustrated, we want to really encourage endurance and innovation and coming back to it," she continued saying, "That is the whole scientific process that we love here in all of our activities."

Summer Camps

Kids can do the Launch It! activities any time they visit the museum or during Discovery Lab's upcoming summer camps. This year there are 12 weeks of summer camps for kids in Pre-K through 6th grade. Gibbons said the camps cover a wide range of subjects and begin the first week of June. To sign your kid up visit their website.