Museum Visit Plus Educational Program

A Sciencenter field trip gives your students a chance to enjoy more than 200 interactive exhibits and our outdoor science park (open seasonally). To make your visit even more exciting, teachers can choose a 45-minute staff-led program on a variety of science topics. All field trip programs are suitable for elementary audiences and can be adapted to fit the needs of your students.

Download .pdf with more information about the field trip logistics and what to expect.

Air Apparent

How DO airplanes fly?
(Recommended for Grades K-5)
Students will engage in hands-on activities and demonstrations to investigate the properties of air. By working in teams and sharing observations, students learn that air exerts pressure and takes up space, even though we can’t see it.

New York State Learning Standards for Mathematics, Science and Technology:

• Standard 1 - Analysis, Inquiry and Design (Scientific Inquiry)
• Standard 4 - Science (Physical Setting)
• Standard 6 - Interconnectedness (Equilibrium and Stability)

Download Air Apparent teacher's packet with pre-and post-program materials, background information, and more.

Catch the Wave

Have you ever wondered where sound comes from?
(Recommended for Grades K-8)
Students will engage in hands-on activities focused on light and sound waves. Based on their observations, they predict the behavior of sound and light in a variety of situations. The group will then test those predictions while focusing on the curious behavior of reflection, refraction and diffraction.

New York State Learning Standards for Mathematics, Science and Technology:

• Standard 1 - Analysis, Inquiry and Design (Scientific Inquiry)
• Standard 4 - Science (Physical Setting)
• Standard 6 - Interconnectedness (Models)

Connect to the Ocean

Visit the ocean... right here in the Finger Lakes!
(Recommended for Grades K-5)
We are all connected to the ocean! In this program students participate in an interactive presentation to explore the importance of the ocean to life on earth. Students then have the opportunity to explore ocean life through touch at our live animal Touch Tank exhibit.

New York State Learning Standards for Mathematics, Science and Technology:

• Standard 1 - Analysis, Inquiry and Design (Scientific Inquiry)
• Standard 4 - Science (Physical Setting, The Living Environment)
• Standard 6 - Interconnectedness (Equilibrium and Stability)

Download Connect to the Ocean teacher's packet with pre-and post-program materials, background information, and more.

Crank it Up

How do simple machines help us in our daily life?
(Recommended for Grades 2-6)
Students will use levers to investigate the differences in force applied when using simple machines. While working in teams students will investigate how levers work while recording and sharing their data.

New York State Learning Standards for Mathematics, Science and Technology:

• Standard 1 - Analysis, Inquiry and Design (Scientific Inquiry, Engineering Design)
• Standard 3 - Mathematics (Measurement, Patterns/Functions)
• Standard 5 - Technology (Engineering Design, Tools, Resources, and Technological Processes, Technological Systems)

Download Crank it Up teacher's packet with pre-and post-program materials, background information, and more.

Hidden Attraction

Why do magnets only attract some objects?
(Recommended for Grades K-5)
Students engage in a variety of hands-on activities to investigate the properties of magnetism. Younger students predict the magnetic behavior of various objects.

New York State Learning Standards for Mathematics, Science and Technology:

• Standard 1 - Analysis, Inquiry and Design (Scientific Inquiry, Engineering Design)
• Standard 4 - Science (Physical Setting)
• Standard 5 - Technology (Engineering Design, Technological Systems)

Download Hidden Attraction teacher's packet with pre-and post-program materials, background information, and more.

Oobleck

Want to get messy with science?
(Recommended for Grades K-5)
Students will learn about states of matter and Non-Newtonian fluids as they make observations about various substances, classifying them as a solid, liquid or gas. Students then investigate Oobleck, a strange substance that defies the classification standard.

New York State Learning Standards for Mathematics, Science and Technology:

• Standard 1 - Analysis, Inquiry and Design (Scientific Inquiry)
• Standard 4 - Science (Physical Setting)
• Standard 6 - Interconnectedness (Models)

Download Oobleck teacher's packet with pre-and post-program materials, background information, and more.

Power the Future!

How WILL we power our future?
(Recommended for Grades K-5)
Students will work on an engineering challenge to develop their own windmill while learning about renewable energy and climate change. Power the Future also includes interactive discussions of where energy comes from and ways we can reduce our environmental impact.

New York State Learning Standards for Mathematics, Science and Technology:

• Standard 1 - Analysis, Inquiry and Design (Scientific Inquiry, Engineering Design)
• Standard 3 - Mathematics (Measurement, Patterns/Functions)
• Standard 5 - Technology (Engineering Design, Tools, Resources, and Technological Processes, Technological Systems)

Rates and Fees

The Sciencenter looks forward to welcoming your school group and is pleased to offer discounted admission rates to schools for field trips of 10 or more students with advance reservation. For groups smaller than 10, regular admission rates apply. Minimum $50 charge.

The Sciencenter suggests a chaperone ratio of 1 adult to every 6 children. Field trip chaperones are admitted free of charge up to a ratio of 1:4. Additional chaperones may accompany groups at the discounted group rate for adults ($5.50 per person).

September 1 - February 28: Come early and SAVE!

Museum Visit Plus Program: $3.50 per student (up to age 17)

March 1 - August 31

Museum Visit Plus Program: $4.50 per student (up to age 17)

Program Duration

The Sciencenter's hands-on educational programs last approximately 45 minutes. Sciencenter educators will divide large groups into shifts for the program, with a maximum of 24 children per program.

Please Note

Individual Sciencenter memberships are not transferable to school groups for the purpose of reducing field trip costs for schools. The free admission benefit to individual members may not be applied to offset field trip fees.

Questions and Reservations

Please call Josh Giblin, Manager of Visitor Services and Operations, at 607.272.0600 ext. 16, for more information and to make a reservation.