Homeschool Labs at Museum of Science and Industry

Hands-on Labs for Home School Students
Add a hands-on science lesson to your Museum visit! Our home school Learning Labs provide a facilitated, engaging experience for students. All sessions are held from 1 to 2:15 p.m. and cost $15 per student. Space is limited! Call (773) 684-1414 to register.

ER/OR, Feb. 11, ages 12 – 16: Explore medical careers and cutting-edge medical technologies.

Simple Machines, March 11, ages 7 – 11: Push and pull larger-than-life simple machines to learn how distance affects work.

Moving With Newton, May 13, ages 8 – 13: Explore Newton’s three laws of motion through hands-on activities.

Crime Lab, June 10, ages 8 – 13: Use fingerprint analysis, chromatography, white powder analysis and more to solve a crime.

Meet Scientists on Feb. 9
Have you ever wondered what it’s really like to be a scientist? Challenge your curiosity, experience fun activities and interact with real scientists during our Junior Science Cafés! Our sessions on Feb. 9 explore the chemistry of Cupid.
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Learn Science Online
Explore science anytime online or on the go with our new games and mobile apps! Learn about the human body systems in Code Fred: Survival Mode, start a virtual food fight with Chew or Die, create simple machines to help Twitch work and more.
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Animal Inside Out Opens March 14
Tickets On Sale Now
Animal Inside Out, a BODY WORLDS production, offers the unique chance to explore the intricate biology and physiology of some of the world’s most spectacular creatures. The exhibition showcases more than 100 animal specimens — from goats to giraffes and octupuses to ostriches — that have been preserved through Plastination. This exhibit requires an additional, timed-entry ticket.
Learn More » Buy Tickets »

Meteor Shower tonight

An easy science lesson for you tonight. A spectacular presentation without any effort on your part, aside from maybe providing the bug spray.

Here is the description from the National Geographic website:

The 2010 Perseids sky show reaches its peak Thursday night, with a moonless sky providing near-perfect observing conditions late Thursday into early Friday, astronomers say.

The Perseids should be most visible between 3 p.m. ET on August 12 and 2 a.m. ET on August 13. A very thin, waxing crescent moon will set about an hour after sunset, leaving behind a dark night sky for the Perseid meteors to shine. (Read about another sky show this week featuring a planetary triangle.)

Observers in Europe and North America should see the most meteors at the start of the peak, while in Asia the best show should be early Friday, according to Raminder Singh Samra, resident astronomer at the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia. (See asteroid and comet pictures.)

People in the Southern Hemisphere should be able to see the 2010 Perseids too, Samra said, but it won’t be as brilliant as up north.

—With reporting by Andrew Fazekas

This should already be visible now as the sun sets and will continue through the early morning hours.We should have a clear sky and a dim moon, perfect for viewing.

Here’s some more information on getting the best glimpse of the meteors, and if you want to learn a bit about the background to share with your kids as you watch, check out Space.com.