Category Archives: What’s New

From the moons of Jupiter to the fictional moons of Endor, Orlando Science Center doesn’t just keep up with science, we keep up with science fiction! Our primary mission is to inspire science learning for life, but who says learning can’t be fun? Our educators are masters at merging pop culture and trending topics with our curriculum to create iconic experiences that educate and entertain.

From Star Wars to superheroes, from Harry Potter to Minecraft and more, our educators and science interpreters develop hands-on activities that connect your interests to science learning. For example, we have a MARVEL-ous way of teaching Newton’s Laws of Physics, elasticity, and the power of electromagnets in our live Super Science Show. Find out if you’re worthy enough to lift Thor’s hammer or rival the powers of the X-Men using science!

Our vision is to be the spark that ignites innovation. Whether guests want to learn about physics for a spell, brew up some chemistry, or discover even Stranger Things, our themed break camps, workshops, and experiments can spark an interest in anyone! Our live science shows explore topics ranging from electricity to states of matter to thrill and educate audiences.The same dramatic flair is on display within our traveling exhibit hall as science interpreters present original interactive content inspired by the current exhibit. From ninja moves to neuron training, each new exhibit is a chance to experience something new.

How about a trend that finally gives you a reason to put your phone down? The Hive: A Makerspace has taken hands-on learning full S.T.E.A.M ahead. Capitalizing on the maker movement, which empowers participants to move from consumers to creators,The Hive provides the latest tools to help you turn your ideas into a reality. From 3D printing to wearable tech,The Hive challenges guests to reach outside their comfort zone and create something truly unique.

Engaging audiences creates a pathway to learning both inside the Science Center and out in the community. Our education team has a library of unique hands-on STEM activities that make science come alive for students during either an in-class workshop or a Family Science Night after hours at their school. Our education team leverages the latest trends, whether it’s virtual reality, robots or flying drones, while connecting to educational state standards, and inspiring students to take the next step toward achieving their true potential.

Our newly developed drone program is currently taking flight at schools throughout Central Florida. This opportunity gives students the chance to learn different ways drones are used to solve real- world problems while actively getting their hands on emerging technology. If you’d like to learn more about what our educators could bring to your child’s school, please contact our team at 407.514.2112 or email classes@osc.org.

Could you tell us about your upcoming gallery at OSC?
Pretty much everything I’ve ever done is going up. I will have the title of song I listened to for each painting. I’ll also have some newer pieces up that I call “Sleep,” it’s from composer Max Richter, who worked with a neuroscientist to write an eight-hour composition meant for the different stages and brain functions of sleep. When I listen to this I fall asleep to it and I try to capture the images when I’m in the hypnogogic state. This is the first time I’ve painted stuff for when I’m half-asleep.

What type of genres do you listen to when you paint?
I listen to a lot of different music, country music is yellow and brown so I stay away from that. A lot of classical, indie music, electronic music. I paint a lot of Radiohead and Bon Iver.

What is your process for creating your pieces? How do you find the music you want to paint?

As a synesthete, listening to music is always an extraordinary experience since my ears, eyes, heart, and mind are all inundated. If I hear a song that’s just very powerful and colorful I take it into my studio and I just start to paint on a canvas until it looks like what I’m seeing.

What do you want people to take away from your gallery?

When viewing my art, I hope you will be encouraged to seek out what is hidden from the eyes. Some of us may experience the world differently than most, but we all have ways to express and share beauty. As an artist, I’ve discovered that much of the synesthetic imagery I see can effectively communicate other invisible concepts, like joy or despair, or loneliness or hope. The mission of my work is to give voice to those experiences of humanity as a way to offer empathy and compassion, and to build community by sharing the hidden beauty I see.

Be sure to check out Christina's gallery, now on display at Orlando Science Center, through October 22! 

Preschool-aged children are natural scientists and problem solvers. They live in a hands-on world, constantly experimenting as they discover new things. Leveraging this curiosity provides an opportunity for essential skill building and establishing a solid foundation for learning. In 2009, Orlando Science Center founded our community’s first STEM preschool to help our youngest learners, and their caregivers, better prepare for school and the challenges of an ever-competitive future.

It was a novel concept: an active preschool within a science center. Instilling the preschool curriculum with STEM learning, the teachers would use the exhibits and resources onsite within lessons, essentially turning every day into a field trip. It had only been done a handful of times at museums around the country, but the growing need for quality preschool education in the area inspired Orlando Science Center to move forward.

Over the past decade, Orlando Science Center’s preschool has graduated hundreds of confident, inquisitive learners. What started out as one classroom with only four children has grown to reach full capacity with four classrooms made up of over 70 students. Our team has created a learning environment unmatched by any other preschool in the region. Teachers ignite the curiosity of their students and present challenge-based activities created to nurture skills in problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication.

Children benefit not only from an open and supportive environment, but also a developmentally appropriate learning space that includes hands-on activities and skill building centers. This atmosphere is greatly enhanced by the content-rich STEM experiences found within the Science Center. The staff, all qualified preschool educators, guide students through scientific inquiry and the engineering design process with effective questioning techniques that facilitate thoughtful dialogue.

Every facet is explored as a learning opportunity. Storytime can use the “Three Billy Goats Gruff” as a basis to explore bridge building or arts and crafts to encourage students to invent a solution for a problem in their lives. It is not unusual to see three and four year-olds correcting their caregivers’ vocabulary regarding science terms. This evidence of success is proof that you can’t start early enough to build tomorrow’s STEM workforce.

Introducing STEM concepts within the preschool learning environment reduces the barriers of entry found later in the life. Students are excited, rather than intimidated, by these subjects and their confidence with STEM concepts stays with them as they progress to kindergarten and beyond. Orlando Science Center has also created professional development for preschool educators so they can bring hands-on STEM learning into their own classrooms.

The Science Center's preschool has seen 10 years of smiles, laughter and learning. Many families have graduated multiple siblings from the program. Students have gone on to find success in grade school, winning spots on the honor roll and science fair honors. It has become one of Orlando Science Center’s cornerstone programs and a living embodiment of its motto: “STEM starts here.”

"Play is the highest form of research" – Albert Einstein

Orlando Science Center’s mission of inspiring science learning for life applies to even our youngest scientists! You may be all too familiar with the dreaded ‘Why?’ stage of childhood and the under seven crowd are certainly capable of asking some real head-scratchers. We know that children have a natural curiosity, and nurturing that love of learning can help set them on a path for success.

In our early childhood exhibit, KidsTown, there are lessons to be learned everywhere. Here, we’ll explore some discussion topics that you can use to enhance the educational impact of your KidsTown visit. Even if you don’t know the exact answer to all of those inevitable ‘Why?’ questions, it’s valuable to talk about possibilities together. Children will see that, while grownups don’t have all the answers, you both can learn more about the world we live in.

Here are some conversation starters for your time in KidsTown:

• At the sorting station, sort ripe and unripe oranges. How many ripe (orange) oranges do you count? How many unripe (green) oranges do you count? Are there more ripe or unripe oranges in our Orange Grove?
• At the packing station, you can pull one lever at a time to move the oranges up the ramp. What do you think will happen if you pull two levers at once? What happens if you pull three or more at once? What do you notice?
• The plants that we eat need a few things to grow big and healthy – can you think of anything that’s important for plants in a farm or garden to have? What do you think would happen if the plants didn’t have those things?

• Your heart does an important job in your body. Do you know what job your heart does?
• Test your heart rate. What do you think will happen to your heartbeat as you climb and play?
• Do you notice any differences in how your body feels after playing or working hard? Test your heart rate again – is anything different?
• Think about the job your heart does. Why do you think your heart rate is different now?

• Use the blue panels to create a path for the water. If we make a thin pathway, do you think the water will flow faster or slower? What if we make a wide pathway?
• How do you think we can get the water to flow in a different direction? Are there any tools we can use? Let’s try that together and see what happens!
• I’m noticing that some of the toys in this area float, and others sink. I wonder why that is. What do you think?