Our STEM adventures at the Connecticut Science Center is one adventure our girls have been looking forward to this summer. Our family enjoys everything STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and it helps that Connecticut offers so many amazing places for families to enjoy fun learning together.
The Connecticut Science Center, located in Hartford Connecticut, is one place we love coming back to explore as it is dedicated to inspire lifelong learning through interactive and innovative experiences that explore the ever changing world through science. With more than 165 hands-on exhibits, a state-of-the-art 3D digital theater, four educational labs, plus daily programs and events, the Connecticut Science Center offers endless exploration for children, teens, and adults.
From physics to forensics, geology to astronomy, visitors have the sciences and so much fun learning at their fingertips. Our STEM adventures at the Connecticut Science Center kicked off with us making our way outside to explore the fun, interactive Live science demonstrations. We enjoyed making tie dye bandanas, playing with Legos and making slime to our girls’ delight.
Next we couldn’t wait to experience the must- see, full immersive butterfly encounter. Upon entering the all-season butterfly habitat and green-house, we found various species of free-flying butterflies from across the world and enjoyed learning about the late stages of the butterfly’s metamorphic process as they emerge from their chrysalises. Our favorite experience was seeing butterflies soaring overhead, flutter past us, and one butterfly even stopped to rest its wings on my head.
We continued our STEM adventures at the Connecticut Science Center with the much anticipated visit to the Mummies of the world exhibition. The stunning exhibition is the most extensive collection of real mummies and artifacts ever assembled with 40 actual human and animal mummies and 85 rare artifacts from across the globe. Our family learned so much from the stories told through the compelling collection which includes ancient mummies from South America, Europe, and ancient Egypt, dating as far back as 4,500 years.
Wind turbines, solar panels, hydropower and fuel cells are just a few of the alternative energy technologies we discovered at Energy City. Our girls enjoyed adding up the savings of “smart energy” behaviors, and measure how the energy they use affect our planet. We then happily made our way to the Sports Lab to compete in a number of hands-on sports-related challenges like professional athletes.
Families will discover in the genome lab how we are both unique and connected to others. A genome is a unique set of genetic instructions that contain all of the information needed to build and develop any organism. It is what makes us all human. Our family divided into two teams to learn about DNA as we helped solve a crime and branched out to learn more about ancestry and inheritance.
Our STEM adventures at the Connecticut Science Center ended with our family embarked on a journey across the galaxy where we had the opportunity to view Earth from a spaceship, travelled to a black hole, and examined objects that traveled to outer space and back. All that fun learning opened our appetite so we stopped in the lobby for a snack and share the amazing adventure we experienced together as a family.
Summer in Connecticut is a wonderful opportunity for families to reconnect and explore the beautiful state we live in. CT Summer at the Museum is a program currently running through September 5 that offers Connecticut children age 18 and under with one accompanying Connecticut resident adult to visit participating museums free of charge. It’s important to check each participant museum’s website for specific program details and ticket availability. Your family can experience the fun we had at the Connecticut Science Center but advance online tickets are required and guarantee you the opportunity to create STEM memories together.
