November Homeschool Day: Ocean Odyssey
Earth’s oceans are home to many unique ecosystems and creatures. Students and guests will explore deep sea vents, ocean currents, and sharks and squids!
ACTIVITIES
Ocean Zone Explorers - Guests will go on a deep sea adventure and complete a scavenger hunt around the museum that takes them to the different zones of the ocean
Surfacing Submarines - Have you ever wondered how a submarine works? Guests can participate in our Surfacing Submarine activity, where they will experiment with and learn about mass, density, and chemical reactions through a hands-on activity. They will also explore how buoyancy affects a submarine's ability to ascend and descend.
Color Changing Squids - Guests will learn about how squids use chromatophores to change color by making a color-changing squid thaumatrope
LEARNING LABS
Oil Spill Cleanup (Ages 5-7, 10:30am - 11:00am) - Students will learn about oil spills, how they affect the environment, and learn how to clean up oil spills using a common household ingredient
Blown Away (Ages 8-10, 11:30am - 12:30pm) - Students will create a model ocean ecosystem and explore how ocean currents affect these ecosystems
Deep Sea Vents (Ages 11-17, 1pm - 2pm) - Students will create model hydrothermal vents and investigate how the transfer of energy affects solids and liquids
STEM Scholar Hour (2:30pm - 3:30pm)
Shark or Squid Dissections - Students will follow along with an instructor to dissect their own sharks (or squids)!
STEM Scholars and their families have the opportunity to spend an extra 45 minutes after each Homeschool Day with Science Mill staff, taking deeper dives into the STEM theme of the day along with a variety of STEM principles, STEM careers, and at-home STEM projects.
For this year’s STEM Scholar Project, participants will experience the process of designing a new exhibit for a science museum. From February to April 2025, scholars will conceptualize, plan, and create models of their ideas during STEM Scholar Hour, which they will then present during the last Homeschool Day of the year. Who knows, your kiddos may one day see their exhibits on the Science Mill museum floor!
