Shape Memory Game Ages 3 and up Recognizing shapes is a great way for young children to learn about math. Not only are shapes and angles crucial for future math skills (like geometry), but they can be an easy way to build confidence in early learners. As your child […]
Author Archive: Kathleen Bodenlos
Geometric Sidewalk Chalk Art
Geometric Sidewalk Chalk Art For ages 2 and up Islamic Art in the Middle Ages avoided using figural images, and instead produced beautiful art that focused on written words(calligraphy) or intricate patterns. These patterns showcased complex geometric shapes. This artwork really highlights the way that math and art […]
Pipe Cleaner Numbers
Pipe Cleaner Numbers Ages 4 and up This month we are talking about math! Early childhood math is so important, and can be a great opportunity to build positive feelings about math for an entire lifetime! Math represents the “m” in STEAM( science, technology, engineering, art and math). The reason […]
Counting Flowers
Counting Flowers Ages 3 and up Welcome to Mathematical May, our month-long celebration of teaching math skills in early childhood! One of the best ways to teach math to young children is to increase their powers of observation. Nature presents many amazing ways to learn math skills. Consider […]
Salt Dough Volcano
Salt Dough Volcano Ages 3 and up. This experiment is a classic, as well as a crowd pleaser. It is a great family activity, because even young kids can help shape the salt dough onto the exterior of our volcano. Using materials like Salt Dough is a great way to strengthen those fine […]
Watercolor Geode
Watercolor Geode Ages 3 and up Have you ever seen inside a Geode? Ordinary looking on the outside, geodes form when a bubble inside a volcanic or sedimentary rock leave a hollow spot in the rock. Minerals or crystals grow after the rock is formed. Some geodes can take up to 1000 years to grow, […]
Mountain Pancakes
Mountain Pancakes Yummy for Everyone This is our favorite geology related breakfast! Create a landscape in your oven based in this fun recipe. Eggs react to heat to rise in the oven, and flour keeps the whole recipe together. Perhaps the most exciting part of this activity is that it is hard to predict […]
Grow Some Rock Candy
Grow Some Rock Candy Ages 4 and up with adult help The kitchen is a great place to practice your science skills, including this tasty experiment to learn about chemistry! In order to make rock candy, we need to grow sugar crystals from a supersaturated solution. A supersaturated solution means there is more sugar […]
Week of the Young Child with PNC Grow up Great
Week of the Young Child: Tasty Tuesday with PNC Grow up Great. Fun for young children and their caregivers This week, The Museum is celebrating early childhood education with NAEYC’s Week of the Young Child. We will have activities on the blog, and in the museum, all week that will […]
Week of the Young Child: Music Monday with PNC Grow up Great
Week of the Young Child: Music Monday with PNC Grow up Great. Fun for young children and their caregivers This week, The Museum is celebrating early childhood education with NAEYC’s Week of the Young Child. We will have activities on the blog, and in the museum, all […]
Make a Mini Book
Make a Mini Book Ages 5 and up To celebrate the PBS Kids Writers Contest, we are going to be making our own mini-journals. The theme of the writing contest this year is the great outdoors, and what better way to capture your stories and pictures about nature than this tiny journal. It is perfect […]
Creating a Rock Collection
Creating a rock collection Ages 3 and up Have you seen our amazing exhibit, Curate Your Community? It features collections of natural materials from local artist Andy White. Today, we are going to be working on our collections. Rock collecting can be a great hobby because it does not require a […]
Sound Scavenger Hunt
Sound Scavenger Hunt Ages 6 and up It is almost time for another Concert from the Couch! We are so excited to welcome back Your Song, My Song for another fabulous concert on April 9 at 6:30 pm on the Discovery Gateway Facebook Page. Before the […]
Eggshell Chalk
Eggshell chalk Ages 5 and up Now is the time of year when a lot of us have some leftover eggshells. Don’t throw them away-recycle them into some beautiful chalk instead. By using some simple materials from your kitchen, you will have all the tools you need to make a sidewalk masterpiece. Materials […]
STEAM Learning Lab – Abstract Leaf Sculpture
Abstract Leaf Sculpture Ages 5 and up When Constantin Brancusi arrived in Paris in the early 1900’s he was invited to work with the well-known artist August Rodin. Rodin was famous for being able to create sculptures of humans that looked so detailed that they were lifelike. However, he famously remarked that, “ […]
STEAM Learning Lab – Mango Lassi
Mango Lassi Yummy for Everyone Happy Holi! Holi is a Hindu Holiday that celebrates the return of Spring! All over India, and elsewhere, crowds gather to throw brightly colored powder into the air. Check out our ideas from last year about how to have your own celebration at home. As part of your celebration, make […]
STEAM Learning Lab – Watch A Seed Grow
Watch a Seed Grow Ages 2 and up During Springtime we are surrounded by plants beginning to grow. Today, we are going to set up a science lab on our window. By using a clear plastic bag, kids can watch what happens to a seed when it sprouts under the dirt. This is […]
STEAM Learning Lab – Cherry Blossom Tree
Cherry Blossom Tree Ages 3 and up Now is a great chance to go outside and check out some beautiful blossoms. In Utah, one of the best places to see some blooms is at the Utah State Capitol. There are over 400 cherry tree lining the path around The Capitol, and every year […]
STEAM Learning Lab – Contact Paper Rainbow
Contact Paper Rainbow Ages 3 and up, Sensory Friendly In March, we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day as well as the first day of Spring! During this month it snows less and rains more, and if the sun is out while it’s raining, the water in the air will cause the light from the sun to […]
STEAM Learning Lab – Pointillism Project
Pointillism Project Ages 3 and up During the month of March, the Museum is displaying the art of local artist Durga Ekambaram in a new exhibit called Intriguing India. Her artwork displays a lot of artistic mediums, including a painting done in method called pointillism. Her piece, Bharathiyar, uses pointillism and is featured […]
STEAM Learning Lab – Pi Day Picnic
Pi Day Picnic Great for kids 3 and up with an adult We like to celebrate Pi Day with a side of Pie. 3.14, or Pi, is roughly the ratio of the circumference of any circle to the diameter. What better way to help people remember then celebrating March 14th with a perfect […]
STEAM Learning Lab – Women Working Together Paper Chain
Women Working Together Paper Chain Ages 6 and up Happy International Women’s Day! On March 8th we join with communities all over the world to recognize the accomplishments of women. This art project is a great way to highlight some influential women, and can be a fun excuse to learn about new female […]
STEAM Learning Lab – Which Beak Works Best?
Which Beak Works Best? Ages 3 and up Listen outside-what can you hear? If you are lucky, you might hear some birdsong that signals the beginning of the warmer weather. Birds songs can all sound so different, and they also have different beaks that are good for eating different things. In this experiment, we will […]
STEAM Learning Lab – Painting with Nature
Painting with Nature Ages 3 and up Impressionist art is named for its ability to capture the artist’s impressions of a scene. In the 19th century, photography was becoming more common and so artists no longer felt the need to create art that captured a scene in accurate detail. Instead, they wanted to show what […]
STEAM Learning Lab – Read Across America with Mark Miller Subaru
Today we are celebrating Read Across America and Dr. Seuss’ birthday. Join our friends at Mark Miller Subaru for a virtual storytime and then make this great Dr. Seuss Day art project! Dr Seuss Day: Truffula Tree Painting Sensory Activity-great for ages 3 and up with adult Materials Apple or Potato Acrylic or craft paint […]
STEAM Learning Lab – Rainbow Walking Water
Rainbow Walking Water Ages 5 and up. It’s already March! As we get ready for a month full of fun Springtime events, we thought we would start with this activity that lets kids make their own rainbow indoors. Using some basic kitchen supplies, kids can learn about capillary action. Capillaries are the tiny tubes in […]
STEAM Learning Lab – Astronaut Celebration!
Astronaut Boot Camp! Astronaut Celebration! Ages 2 and up Did you know your child can get letters from current astronauts? If you send a letter (or a card!) along with a self-addressed and stamped envelope, then NASA will send you a response! Simply send your mail to NASA/Johnson Space Center CB/Astronaut Office Houston, TX […]
STEAM Learning Lab – Tasty Constellations
Astronaut Boot Camp! Tasty Constellations Ages 2 and up This tasty snack is a great way to learn about the stars! Constellations provide landmarks in the night sky and can help stargazers and serious astronomers locate and understand astrological events. In ancient times, people would have relied on knowledge of constellations as a calendar and […]
STEAM Learning Lab – Moon Phases, Clark Planetarium
Moon Phases Clark Planetarium We are excited to kick off Astronaut Boot Camp with this awesome video from our friends at the Clark Planetarium!
STEAM Learning Lab – Starry Night Play dough
Astronaut Boot Camp! Starry Night Play dough Ages 2+ Space-the final frontier! Learning about space from a young age is not only important but can also be a lot of fun. It can be difficult for those who are younger to grasp a concept as large as space which is why a sensory activity is a great learning tool to […]
