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St. Louis educators enjoyed a special field trip to the Saint Louis Science Center on Saturday, December 9, to take part in the Science Center’s latest Educator Open House. Teachers were invited to bring a guest to check out the many STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education programs and experiences available both at the Science Center and to local schools for the 2024 Spring semester. Approximately 100 educators attended the free, morning event.
After coffee and pastries at the Loft Cafe, the educators were able to explore programs and activities throughout the Science Center’s Oakland Building and James S. McDonnell Planetarium. The educators were invited to check out OMNIMAX® Theater films, see a Star Show in the McDonnell Planetarium’s Orthwein Star Bay, hear about new Science Center exhibits like Dream It. Build It., and more.
Educators also had the chance to meet with members of other Zoo-Museum District institutions including the Saint Louis Zoo and Missouri History Museum to learn about the education programs available to schools and field trips.
Stationed in the T-Rex Room on the Lower Level, teens from the Science Center’s Youth Exploring Science (YES) Program spent the morning engaging attendees with demonstrations of STEM programs. The YES Teens showed off programs like Simple Circuits, Sound Sandwich (where attendees could create a simple instrument and learn about the science of sound), and Worm Farm Investigations—three programs that the Science Center’s Community Science team can bring to schools for hands-on STEM learning.
In the OMNIMAX® Theater, educators and attendees gathered to watch screenings of two documentary films, including Deep Sky (available through the Spring) and The Arctic (opening January 12, 2024). Deep Sky invites audiences to experience the awe-inspiring images captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, taking audiences on a journey to never-before-seen cosmic landscapes and recently discovered exoplanets orbiting distant stars. In The Arctic, attendees got an advance preview of the upcoming film, which explores the vast, wild, and untouched Arctic region and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, where some of the world’s greatest wildlife spectacles unfold.
Capping off the morning, the attendees headed to the McDonnell Planetarium. There, they took seats in the Orthwein Star Bay to see a live presentation of The Sky Tonight, where Science Center educators engage audiences by showing what sights can be seen overhead in St. Louis’s night sky.
Thank you to everyone who came out to participate in the Science Center’s Educator Open House!
See more photos from the day:
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Support from donors, Science Center members, and Supporting-level members is instrumental in helping the Science Center continue offering connections to science for everyone in our region. If you’d like to show additional support for our mission, please consider donating to the Science Center’s Curiosity Fund, becoming a member, or becoming a Supporting-level member.
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