MEMBER NEWSLETTER • FEBRUARY - APRIL 2020
INSIDE: Trains: Full STEAM Ahead!, LEGO®Palooza, Physics and Astronomy Day, Music at the Museum, and more!
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Members: Stay Connected and Remember these Promotions!
Gratitude for Grants!
As members, you should be informed on ways to maximize your membership! To learn more about the special events, programs, and opportunities for your family, please follow us on Facebook and/or ensure we have your up-to-date email (email white@impression5.org to confirm)!
February
April
Experience the AirZoo in Kalamazoo for FREE with your Impression 5 membership (for two named adults and all children 18 and under who live in the same household).
Enjoy FREE admission to John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids starting April 3*. You must present your state-issued ID in additional to your member card for free admission.
As we look forward into 2020, we’re grateful and thrilled to have been awarded two grants from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs to support general operations as well as a new integrated software system to help streamline processes and create a better onsite and online experience for you. We’re thankful for the state funds that help support cultural organizations like us!
*John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids is CLOSED for the season prior to April 3.
Thank you for being members at YOUR science center!
TAKE-HOME SCIENCE
Make a Soda Can Steam Engine!
CAUTION: Materials get HOT!
Materials Needed:
Instructions:
• Unopened 12-oz aluminum soda can • Thumbtack • Water • Wash bottle • String • Hot plate or stove • Ring stand
Use a thumbtack to poke a hole in the middle of the side of an unopened can of soda. Be careful not to shake the can beforehand! Drain the soda out of the can, and when the can is empty, poke a second hole opposite the first. Add 2 teaspoons of water back into the can using a wash bottle. (If you don’t have a wash bottle, a dropper or baster should do the trick!) Insert the thumbtack again in one of the holes. Keeping the end of the thumbtack inside of the can, bend the thumbtack to the side. Repeat on the other hole. (If you bent the first hole to the right, make sure you also bend the second hole to the right.) Tie a string to the can’s unopened pull tab, and attach the string to a ring stand over the heat source. If you don’t have a ring stand, a desktop lamp will work. Securely taping the string to the hood over a stovetop will also suffice! Gently warm the heat source and allow the can to heat up. Steam will eventually exit both holes, propelling the can and making it spin in mid-air! Be careful to let the soda can and hot water cool completely before removing from string.
What’s happening? As you heat up the water, the molecules in the water vapor have very high kinetic energy. The soda can becomes pressurized and, as a result, some of the gas is forced to escape through the holes you created. The power of this escaping steam creates thrust due to Newton’s 2nd and 3rd laws of motion. As a result, the can builds up accelerating torque, or rotational force, and starts spinning around its axis! This soda can steam engine is an example of an aeolipile, the very first recorded steam engine in history. It’s been around since the 1st century AD, when Hero of Alexandria was credited with inventing it. Because of this, it’s often called a Hero’s Engine!
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Immersive Programs Tadpole Storytime
Join us for a mid-morning storytime with our friends from Capital Area District Libraries full of great books and hands-on activities that follow a monthly science theme! Third Tuesday monthly at 11 a.m. Space is limited!
February FEBRUARY 1 Trains: Full STEAM Ahead!
Make It! Think Tank Workshops
FEBRUARY 18 Tadpole Storytime: Shapes in Nature and at Home
Open now through April 11, with a BRIO Traincar Giveaway to the first 100 kids! Presented in partnership with Capital Area Railway Society, come explore over 300 HO scale railcars weaving through an intricate and immersive environment for another amazing season of this exhibit favorite!
11 a.m. (Space is limited!)
A dynamic homeschool partnership program that explores a monthly theme through the disciplines of art, nature, science, and history. Third Thursday monthly from 1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
FEBRUARY 21 OR 22 Discovery Time: Natural Art 10 a.m. Fridays / 11 a.m. Saturdays
FEBRUARY 22 Make It! Think Tank Workshop: Etching & Stamping
10 a.m. Fridays / 11 a.m. Saturdays
FEBRUARY 14 Sensory Friendly Hours: Train Lab
10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
FEBRUARY 28 OR 29 Discovery Time: Veterinary Science
FEBRUARY 16 Engineering Day
Discovery Time
10 a.m. Fridays / 11 a.m. Saturdays
10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Join Michigan State University student groups in exploring engineering through hands-on activities, fun challenges, and more! Sponsored by MSUFCU and Desk Drawer Fund.
Tactile, play-based program for 2-4 year olds and their caregivers. Sessions are designed to strengthen your young scientist’s sensory and motor skills while stimulating their curiosity and creativity. 10 a.m. Fridays / 11 a.m. Saturdays Registration required.
Sensory Friendly Hours
Science Center experience with a themed activity, limited guests, sensory resources, and select exhibits altered to reduce stimuli. Select Fridays 5:30-7:30 p.m.
FEBRUARY 17 OPEN Presidents’ Day! 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
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Workshop Cost: $20 Members / $22 Not-yet-Members
LEARN517
FEBRUARY 20 LEARN517: Community
FEBRUARY 7 OR 8 Discovery Time: Space Adventure
Innovative workshops that give youth makers ages 9 -14 the opportunity to build new skills and get creative with tools and technology in an open-ended and challenging environment. Select Saturdays 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. Registration required.
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March
MARCH 14 & 15, 10 A.M. – 5:00 P.M. Register for your Science Center’s annual family fundraising event, LEGO®Palooza! It’s a day of STEAM-focused activities and challenges with oodles of LEGO®s! This event brings our mission to life by joining families together to play, create, and challenge themselves while experimenting, problem solving, and creating with the one of the bestloved building blocks ever created! Join us as we create strong and meaningful connections to science through everyday play! This event gives us an opportunity to innovate using a beloved toy while helping raise critical funds to achieve our day-to-day mission and build a more sustainable and dynamic Science Center for your family. Note: Because this is our annual fundraiser weekend, all admission to the Science Center—even member admission, which is typically free—is subject to LEGO®Palooza pricing. Thank you for your support!
MARCH 6 OR 7 Discovery Time: Jr. Chemist 10 a.m. Fridays / 11 a.m. Saturdays
MARCH 17 Tadpole Storytime: Birds: Beaks & Feathers 11 a.m. (Space is limited!)
MARCH 19 LEARN517: Inventors & Inventions 1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
MARCH 20 Sensory Friendly Hours: LEGO® Fun! 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
LEGO®Palooza Cost* Kids 2+: $10 (Members) and $15 (Not-yet Members) Adults: $5 (Members and Not-yet Members) Toddlers 1 and under: FREE *Normal Museums for All admission applies during LEGO®Palooza.
Registration Opens February 5! Click: impression5.org Call: (517) 485-8116, ext. 132
LEGO®Palooza is generously sponsored by:
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MARCH 30 - APRIL 3 and APRIL 6 - 10
MARCH 20 OR 21 Discovery Time: Bugs & Insects
Spring L.A.B.S. Camps
10 a.m. Fridays / 11 a.m. Saturdays
MARCH 21 Make It! Think Tank Workshop: Music Machines 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
MARCH 27 OR 28 Discovery Time: Science of Recycling
This spring, join us for Science Adventures in day camps designed to wow, delight, and challenge your curious kids ages 5-6, 7-8, and 9-11.
10 a.m. Fridays / 11 a.m. Saturdays
Camps are 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. (with 8 a.m. dropoff and 5:30 p.m. pickup).
MARCH 28 Physics & Astronomy Day
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10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Explore the wonders of the night sky, learn about our amazing universe, and discover physics through hands-on activities developed by Michigan State University students and professors!
Monday, March 30 & April 6: Michigan Science Tuesday, March 31 & April 7: Wild West Wednesday, April 1 & 8: Raiders of the Lost Artifact Thursday, April 2 & 9: Medieval Quest Friday, April 3 & 10: Sci-Fi Future
Members cost: $60/single-day camp Not-yet-Members cost: $75/single-day camp Registration begins February 11; secure your spot online, by mail, or by calling (517) 485-8116, ext. 132.
Sponsored by MSUFCU and Desk Drawer Fund.
April
COMING APRIL 25
Music at the Museum
APRIL 11 Trains: Full STEAM Ahead! Closes
Adult-only evening with live music . . . stay tuned for more details and registration information!
APRIL 12 CLOSED Easter Sunday APRIL 24 Sensory Friendly Hours: DIY Fidgets
APRIL 16 LEARN517: Nature 1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
APRIL 24 OR 25 Discovery Time: Weather Science
APRIL 17 OR 18 Discovery Time: Science of Plants
Benefiting the First Impression Room
10 a.m. Fridays / 11 a.m. Saturdays
10 a.m. Fridays / 11 a.m. Saturdays
APRIL 25 Make It! Think Tank Workshop: Eco-Friendly Sculptures
APRIL 21 Tadpole Storytime: Itty Bitty Micro Germ Science
10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
11 a.m. (Space is limited!)
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Presented by:
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NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID LANSING, MI PERMIT NO. 304 200 MUSEUM DRIVE, LANSING, MI 48933
Hours of Operation Tuesday - Saturday: 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Sunday: 12:00 - 5:00 p.m. Monday: Closed Phone: (517) 485-8116 Website: impression5.org
PLEASE RECYCLE!
March 14 & 15
Registration starts February 5!
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