High School Learning Labs

Your class will become a crack forensics team! We will observe the scene of a theft and learn about three suspects before testing evidence in this fun and engaging stations-based lab that includes chromatography, how to test physical properties of a substance, fingerprinting, and DNA testing. We’ll learn what forensics is, different types of evidence, learn to question motive and means, then build a case and present our evidence. It’s a new-fashioned, STEM-powered whodunnit!

Your student teams are bidding for a contract to build a new Riverside Town Hall! Riverside is a unique town with some serious weather and geological problems, and your teams need to run tests on earthquake-proof structures, rock types, weather patterns, and flood zones to determine the best site for the new town hall. Each team must make a case for their site choice and collaborate with the other teams to choose a final location to rebuild Riverside.

Students compete in a design challenge to bid on a NASA rocket contract, complete with test launch! Plan, budget, build, and test a rocket to see which team has what it takes to win the contract. Students work cooperatively in teams to use math, engineering, and interpersonal skills to compete for the grand prize. Be sure to ask us about a special discount on our Dawn of the Space Age planetarium show to complement this lab!

Students will experience a simulated fossil dig as they learn about how paleontologists discover the creatures who once roamed the Earth. Experience a DNA extraction, and put Punnett squares to use creating new takes on prehistoric creatures.