Earth is our home, and there’s a lot to learn about it! Guests will learn about fault lines, rocks, and water on this Homeschool Day! Activities include creating water filters, an improv game about geology, and more!
The Human Body is a complex system, with many different functions and structures. Guests will create model knee braces and lungs, and faculty from UT Austin will lead different student workshops that explore blood coagulation!
Guests will explore different natural disasters, and the engineers that are responsible for designing and creating structures and tools that can help communities survive against them. Activities include building structures that can survive earthquakes, tsunamis, and landslides just to name a few!
Explore the relationship between science and art this Homeschool Day. Students will experiment with watercolors, conductive painting, and other art activities!
Watercolor & Rubbing Alcohol - Guests will experiment with watercolor and rubbing alcohol to create paintings that represent alcohol’s hydrophobic qualities
Corona Chalk Art - Guests will learn about the Sun’s atmosphere by creating chalk art that represents the Sun’s corona!
Ages 5-7: Salty Watercolors (10:30am - 11:00am) - Students will experiment with watercolor and salt to explore how salt absorbs water to create stunning masterpieces
Ages 8-10 (11:30am - 12:30pm) and 11-17 (1:00pm - 2:00pm): Egg Tempera Painting - Students will learn about the chemistry of paint and make their own science-themed still life paintings using egg tempera paints
Lorraine Zajac, children’s author and educator, will perform a reading of her book, “Logan’s 3D Printed Surprise.” She will then lead a Tinkercad design activity for students.
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!
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
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
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!
Coders and Engineers are needed this Homeschool Day! Students and guests will create and program robots of all kinds, even human robots!
Cardboard Robots - At this station, guests will create their own robots out of cardboard and craft materials!
mBot Mini Golf - At this station, guests will control an mBot to navigate a mini golf course!
Code a Human Robot (Make a Lemonade) - Try to code a human robot to make a glass of lemonade. What seems like a simple task is complicated by the hilarious ways that robot language and thinking is different from our own. Can you translate commands into a form that robots can’t get wrong? Schedule: 11:00am and 12:30pm
Ages 5-7 Lab: Mr. Ozobot’s Neighborhood (10:30am - 11:30am) - Students will learn about inputs and outputs in regards to coding by drawing a neighborhood that an ozobot will drive through.
Ages 8-10 Lab: Spy Mission: Micro Chat (11:30am - 12:30pm) - Students will learn about inputs and outputs by coding a microbit to send messages to each other through radio transmission.
Ages 11-17 Lab: Micro Mission (1:00pm - 2:00pm) - Students will learn about inputs and outputs and computer hardware and software as they explore a tiny pocket sized computer or microcontroller called a Micro:Bit. They will explore the MakeCode Software and create their own programs for the Micro:Bit.
Get an up-close look at some seriously cool robots! Robotics team coach Bradley Gray will present the JC Joules competition robot and talk about complex systems and inputs and outputs. Then, scholars will join our Exhibits Coordinator George Clement to explore the Mars Rover exhibit and talk about exhibit design considerations for robotics.
Explore the solar system and the methods we use to explore it this Homeschool Day! Activities include launching rockets, creating volcanic lunar landscapes, and making satellites!
To close out the Homeschool Day Year, we will explore regenerative agriculture and learn about soil and plant science. We will also have our STEM Project Showcase in the lobby.
This month, Homeschool Students will become STEM Detectives to conduct various investigations and solve mysteries around the Science Mill.
Homeschool Day is moving Full STEAM Ahead in March! This month, we explore the relationship between art and science with colorful and artful STEM projects in our learning labs and floor activities.
February is all about engineering, with an emphasis on mechanical engineering, which is the construction of moving products and devices. Join us as we build prosthetic components and moving cardboard creations.
This month’s theme is all about robotics, coding, and programming. Join us for Human Robot demonstrations, and opportunities to code and play with robotics in our floor activities and learning labs.
This December Homeschool Day, let’s get CHEMICAL! Floor activities and learning labs include chemistry demonstrations, lava lamp making, and fun kitchen science experiments!
This month we are exploring light and sound science! Make your own instruments, light paintings, and explore STEM careers in music technology this month through our various floor activities and learning labs.
The annular solar eclipse is October 14th, so we’re kicking off Homeschool Day learning everything about eclipses! Students and guests will learn about eclipses and space through special floor activities and learning labs.
This will be our final Homeschool Day of the year, so please join us as we explore rockets and celebrate our STEM Scholars for the amazing projects they have created throughout the year.
Spend the day at the Science Mill learning about pollinators and their role in our ecosystem.
Join us as we code, create, and manipulate robots during our Robotics Homeschool Day.
A team of UCLA engineers have recently developed a 3D printing technique that could help build entire robots in 1 step! What would you create if you were an engineer? Start exploring the answer at our Engineering Homeschool Day. You’ll be challenged to build strong towers using only paper and use circuitry to create conductive creatures. Join us in the Learning Lab to explore biomimicry and structural engineering, or even design a device for a secret agent!
Explore how changes in climate over time have made for some wild weather events throughout history at January’s Homeschool Day.
Explore how food scientists are leveraging molecular gastronomy, the physical and chemical changes that occur during cooking, to make unique dishes - during Food Science Day at the Science Mill!
Join us as we explore Light through experiments and activities, and check out our newest exhibit - the Light Loom!
Explore Physics, Gravity & Motion during October Homeschool Day on October 12th!
Calling all creative problem-solvers and curious questioners! Explore Careers in Art & STEM on Wednesday, May 11 from 10am-2pm with hands-on activities, interactive demonstrations and Learning Labs for grades K-12. Get inspired by surprising combinations—including printing with sunlight, painting assisted by insects, a robot that draws, sounds you can see, and mathematical bubbles. Don’t miss this last Homeschool Day of the 2021-22 school year!
From the weather above to aquifers below, Careers in Earth Science work with the interconnected systems that sustain our planet. At Homeschool Day on Wednesday, April 13, test water samples to reveal microorganisms, discover why our local limestone “rocks”, see a miniature watershed in action, and try being a topographer to help create a massive map of the Pedernales River System. Plus, Learning Labs for grades K-2, 3-5, and 6-12 and 50+ interactive exhibits to explore!
Homeschool Day heads to the final frontier with Careers in Space Science on Wednesday, March 23. Train like an astronaut by completing tasks that simulate the challenges of returning from zero gravity and maneuvering in bulky gear, join Mission Control to drive a Mars rover, and think like a rocket scientist to engineer a launch that will reach a distant planet. Plus, DIY constellation crafts and Learning Labs for grades K-2, 3-5, and 6-12!
Build your problem-solving skills at Homeschool Days: Careers in Engineering on Thursday, February 24 from 10am-2pm. All kinds of engineers are problem solvers, whether they work with buildings, computer bugs, or even human bodies. Explore diverse engineering fields as you mix up new materials, draft blueprints and build a robo-bug prototype. Plus, special Labs with biomedical engineers from UT Austin who study the way our blood works!
Power up your curiosity at January’s Homeschool Days: we’re shining a light on Careers in Energy! Build a working waterwheel, investigate sustainable energy solutions and create electricity by pedaling a bike-powered generator as you explore energy in its different forms. Step into an energy career in the Learning Labs, where we’ll survey for fossil fuels in a DIY geological model (K-2nd grade), engineer mini wind turbines (3rd-5th grade) and design solar water heaters (6th-12th grade). All young scientists are welcome to join Homeschool Days, including homeschooling groups, learning pods and students with asynchronous schedules.
Power up your curiosity at January’s Homeschool Days: we’re shining a light on Careers in Energy! Build a working waterwheel, investigate sustainable energy solutions and create electricity by pedaling a bike-powered generator as you explore energy in its different forms. Step into an energy career in the Learning Labs, where we’ll survey for fossil fuels in a DIY geological model (K-2nd grade), engineer mini wind turbines (3rd-5th grade) and design solar water heaters (6th-12th grade). All young scientists are welcome to join Homeschool Days, including homeschooling groups, learning pods and students with asynchronous schedules.
![[Rescheduled] January 12 Homeschool Day: Careers in Energy](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/580fd28d20099ec7189b72cf/1641920400723-P9FX0GI12WT4ZGAXWCI6/HSD-rescheduled.jpg)