parents

Lectures, family events, and activities for engaging children with science

Public Lectures

• Arizona State University; Arizona
  • New Discoveries Lecture Series: This program brings the work of ASU’s researchers to the general public in a series of evening lectures. https://sese.asu.edu/community-engagement/events
• Caltech; California
  • Stargazing Lecture: One Friday a month, Caltech hosts this 30 minute science lecture for the public, followed by 90 minutes of Q&A with a panel of scientists. https://www.astro.caltech.edu/outreach/stargazing-lecture-series
• Columbia University; New York
  • Public Lectures and Stargazing Nights: Every other Friday during the academic year, Columbia hosts free public lectures accompanied by stargazing, slideshows, and Q&A sessions with astronomers. http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu/events/index.html
  • SciFilm Series and Star-Gazing Nights: Every other Friday during the summer, Columbia screens a science fiction film, followed by a lecture describing the relevant science in the movie. http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu/events/index.html
• Kavli Institute of Cosmological Physics; Illinois
  • Lifelong Learning Program: This program for older adults provides intellectual and social stimulation through a series of interactive lectures at local senior centers, retirement communities, and libraries. https://kavlicosmo.uchicago.edu/outreach/life-long-learning/
  • Astronomy Conversations: This collaboration with the Adler Planetarium integrates current KICP research into museum programming to make cosmology accessible. https://kavlicosmo.uchicago.edu/outreach/astronomy-conversations/
• McGill University; Quebec
  • Bicentennial Mini-Lecture Series: This series of lectures explores how scientific research can help us rethink and reset for the future. Options include “The Future of the Environment,” “The Future of Humanity and Global Governance,” “The Future of the University,” and more. https://www.mcgill.ca/science/outreach/mini
• University of Oxford; England
  • Flash Talk Physics: These short talks (15min) showcase the research of the physics department, often including demonstrations, interactive polls, or try-for-yourself activities. https://www.physics.ox.ac.uk/engage/public-and-community/public-lectures-and-online-talks
  • Hintze Lectures: These lectures highlight contemporary developments in astrophysics and cosmology. https://www.physics.ox.ac.uk/research/group/hintze-centre-astrophysical-surveys/hintze-lectures
• Astronomy on Tap; International
  • Astronomy on Tap: Professional astronomers give informal science talks in local bars with pub trivia. https://astronomyontap.org/
• University of California, Irvine; California
  • Reines Lecture: This event brings world renowned physicists and astronomers to UC Irvine to give public lectures and to host department colloquiums. https://ps.uci.edu/reines-lecture-series
  • Breakfast Lecture Series: This public lecture series features scientific breakthroughs within four departments: Chemistry, Earth System Sciences, Mathematics, and Physics and Astronomy. https://ps.uci.edu/breakfast-lecture-series
• University of Toronto; Ontario
  • AstroTours: On the first Thursday of every month, UT astronomy graduate students run the AstroTours program. Participants will listen to a lecture by a UT astronomer and receive a tour of the observatory. https://www.astro.utoronto.ca/astrotours/
• University of Victoria; British Columbia
  • Nerd Nite: Once a month in cities around the world, this event features 3 speakers with 20-25 minute talks on a variety of science topics. https://victoriabc.nerdnite.com/about-nerd-nite/
  • Café Scientifique: This series consists of an informal group of talks given in a relaxed setting, such as a café. These talks are designed to engage the public with recent research in science. https://www.uvic.ca/research/centres/biomedical/events-outreach/cafe-scientifique/index.php

Family Events

• Arizona State University; Arizona
  • Earth and Science Exploration Day: This family event includes science activities, talks with scientists, interactive exhibits, planetarium shows, and more. https://sese.asu.edu/community-engagement/events
  • Earth and Space Open House: Hosted by graduate students, this event includes public lectures, stargazing, planetarium shows, and interactive science exhibits. https://sese.asu.edu/community-engagement/events
• Caltech; California
  • Guerilla Astronomy: This outreach series focuses on more informal outreach events. Options include sidewalk stargazing, during which graduate students set up telescopes on busy streets during the evening and offer people views of the night sky, or science train, during which a group of scientists boards the LA metro on a weekend afternoon to talk with members of the public. https://www.astro.caltech.edu/outreach/guerilla-astronomy
• Columbia University; New York
  • Family Astro Event: Three times a year, families with children ages 6-12 can visit the Columbia observatory for a tour. http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu/events/index.html
• Haverford College; Pennsylvania
  • Strawbridge Observatory: On family nights, the public can use telescopes with guidance from professors. These nights include activities for children and a student-led talk on a topic in astronomy. https://www.haverford.edu/physics-and-astronomy/facilities-resources/strawbridge-observatory
• John Hopkins University; Maryland
  • JHU Physics Fair: This fair occurs yearly in the spring. Hundreds of visitors, from school children to seniors, attend. Visitors can tour the telescopes and learn how to use a radio telescope. The program also includes activities for children. https://physics-astronomy.jhu.edu/events/annual-physics-fair/
• PennState Elberly College of Science; Pennsylvania
  • AstroFest: AstroFest is a four-night festival of astronomy held concurrently with the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts. AstroFest features exciting activities, talks, and presentations, including stargazing. https://science.psu.edu/astro/public-outreach/astrofest
• Simon Fraser University; British Columbia
  • Starry Nights at SFU: These evening star parties give members of the public sky tours and free use of CCD cameras for astronomical images. https://www.sfu.ca/science/community/trottier-observatory—courtyard/starry-nights.html
• University of Texas at Austin; Texas
  • UT Telescope Viewing Nights: The public can come to viewing nights for sky shows and tours of the observatory. https://outreach.as.utexas.edu/public/viewing.html
• University of Virginia; Virginia
  • Public Night Program at McCormick Observatory: McCormick Observatory is open to the public on the first and third Friday evenings of every month for sky-viewing and tours. https://astronomy.as.virginia.edu/public_outreach
• University of Wisconsin, Madison; Wisconsin
  • Wisconsin Science Festival: This four-day festival is packed with hands-on science exhibitions, demonstrations, performances, tours, pub nights, workshops, and more. https://today.wisc.edu/events/view/155871

At-Home Experiments

• NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
  • Summer STEM: This resource collection contains dozens of space-based experiments and projects for students to try at home. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/learn/tag/type/project
• National Science Teaching Association
  • Elementary, Middle, and High School Resources: This resource collection includes journals, lesson plans, book lists, and more for elementary, middle, and high school students. https://www.nsta.org/science-resources-parents
• Science Friday
  • Educate: Science Friday’s Education section has videos, activities, and resources organized by subject, grade level, STEM skill, and duration. Examples of lessons include the purpose of antioxidants, the physics of spider webs, and paper airplane flight challenges. https://www.sciencefriday.com/educate/
• Community Resources for Science
  • Family Science Activities: This activity list focuses on ease of preparation and effectiveness during family science nights. Each activity download contains a list of materials with a brief description of each item, a lesson plan, and more. https://crscience.org/educators/ScienceNights/
• PBS for parents
  • Science: This resource collection has science crafts and activities, articles, and science shows for a range of ages. https://www.pbs.org/parents/learn-grow/all-ages/science
• 3M
  • Science at Home: This experiment list uses commonly available household items. Each experiment includes information on how to incorporate the relevant science into distance learning. https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/gives-us/education/science-at-home/?utm_term=corp-brd-en_us-eng-science_at_home-cpc-google-na-watchvid-na-jun20-na#experiments
• Curiodyssey
  • Science Experiments for Kids: This activity list includes both crafts and investigations into specific scientific topics, like acids and bases or citizen science. https://curiodyssey.org/activities/science-experiments-for-kids/
• Exploratorium
  • Science Snacks: These activities are hands-on, teacher-tested explorations of natural phenomena that use inexpensive, easily-available materials. Options include videos, experiment guides, and family-focused projects. https://www.exploratorium.edu/snacks?gclid=Cj0KCQjw0emHBhC1ARIsAL1QGNer3gHanO45QethZGd83SRdPbnVEjx3zObtOqSFU9BT6pyw1Ym2IFUaAmGxEALw_wcB