Wonder Year-Round 🔍

January 2023

Wonder Year-Round!

We associate wonder with the holidays, yet it transcends the season. Children are filled with wonder, questioning their world every day. It takes focused effort to keep young (and old) minds curious and creative. As parents and educators, cultivating a life-long love of learning is our greatest gift to kids.

A recent book about an old friend helps us in this effort: When You Wonder, You’re Learning: Mister Rogers’ Enduring Lessons for Raising Creative, Curious, Caring Kids (Behr & Rydzewski, 2021). Mr. Rogers taught generations of children to wonder, be curious, and ask questions about the objects, people, and world around them. We heard the authors speak at the Association of Science and Technology Centers conference last fall, and it really hit home that we are in the wonder business!

Wonder has been woven into our science center’s work for some time… it’s our sixth season of the “Winter Wonder Lab” at the Children’s Science Center Lab. While it will end in February, we keep wonder going year-round. When designing the young families gallery for the future Northern Virginia Science Center, we searched for the perfect word to capture the essence of the experiences children will have there… and the Wonder gallery was born. Learn more about the gallery and the inspiring gift from the Craig family that makes it possible!

Wishing you a wonder-filled new year,

Nene Spivy

Executive Director

Monthly Mission Moments

New Year's Eve Around the World

December 31

What a great way to end 2022 and start 2023! Young inventors rang in the new year with their families at our annual New Year's Eve Around the World event with kid-engineered noise makers, DIY hats, celebration slime, and even a ball drop!

Winter Break at the Lab!

December 17 - January 2

The Lab welcomed more than 1900 visitors to the Lab during Winter Break! The joy and love of learning were evident every day! Activities included creating Snowy Slime and going on a Winter Creature Scavenger Hunt. You can still try both activities at the Lab through February!

January Extra Timed Entries!

Visit the Lab on a School Holiday

10am & 2pm

Can't find time to visit the Lab on a weekend? Visit on a school holiday! In January, the Lab will be open...

THIS MONDAY: January 16

(Martin Luther King Jr. Day)

Friday, January 27 (School Holiday)

Try new experiments including "Splitting Water" at the Experiment Bar and "Shifting Shapes" in the Tinker Shop!

Purchase Tickets!

Spring & Summer Break Camp Registration Coming Soon!

February 9

Spring Break and Summer Break camps will be open for an exclusive Member Only pre-sale from February 1 - February 8.

Camp Registration will open to the General Public on February 9. This will include an Early Bird Special ($25 discount) through February 28th!

Want to get access to the exclusive pre-sale? Become a Member today! Learn more here!

Camp details will be posted in the Camp E-blast and on our website!

Kids Night Out – We Heart STEM

Saturday, February 11 • 6 - 8 pm

Celebrate Valentine’s Day with us in the Lab with Kids Night Out: We ❤️ STEM!

Learn all about the heart by making your own stethoscope and listening to your heart, creating a floating rainbow while learning about density at the Experiment Bar, and observing our staff perform a sheep heart dissection!

This is a kids-only, drop-off event! Register more than one child and receive $5 off per ticket!

Purchase Tickets!

Volunteer Spotlight

Ella Greene

How did you first learn about the Children's Science Center?

I visited the Children’s Science Center when I was younger with my brother, and I had so much fun making slime and building hovercrafts! I was so excited when I realized I was old enough to volunteer.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I’m a junior at TJ and have lived in Virginia my whole life. I love biology, especially on the molecular level! This year, I’m taking an entirely-lab based course on DNA science which has been a huge highlight of my year. Outside of science, I participate in theater, piano, and soccer, and I love crafting, hiking, and snuggling with my dog.

What do you enjoy most about volunteering with the Center?

I love getting to see guests have fun while learning scientific principles. One of my favorite parts of volunteering is helping visitors make things – like slime – that they’re already familiar with and excited about, and learn "the how" and "the why" behind it.

What scientist do you admire most and why?

I always love learning about Rosalind Franklin and her work on the discovery of DNA, because it was so important to reach our understanding of genetics today!

How can we inspire young people to become interested in science?

Ensuring that science is a hands-on, understanding-based course in schools and creating spaces like the Children’s Science Center Lab to allow young people to explore science in fun ways will both foster interest and show that there’s science everywhere – it's not just something to memorize and move on from after a test.

What is one scientific question you would like to see answered in your lifetime?

I am hopeful that we can understand Long COVID to a greater degree, and how to predict and prevent it in the future.

Ella attended our first post-pandemic Lab Volunteer orientation in May. Since then, she's volunteered nearly 30 hours in the Lab! Interested in volunteering? Visit our website.

Try It At Home!

Snowflake Geometry

Did you know all snowflakes are different?

Even though snowflakes are all different, they all have the same basic shape. But why? Explore the concept in this simple activity. See what you can find out!

Try It At Home!

The Northern Virginia Science Center Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that operates the Children's Science Center Lab at Fair Oaks Mall and STEM programs traveling to schools and other community venues across the region.

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