Courtesy of Please Touch Museum, Thomas & Friends: Explore the Rails
Bring your mini maker out of her room for new and exciting STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) events. If you’re looking for more exciting activities, check out fairs and festivals, free things to do in October and things to do this weekend.
There’s also plenty to do this month since Halloween is right around the corner. Check out these fall festivals, corn mazes, low-scare attractions, spooktacular Halloween houses, trunk or treats, ghost tours, seasonal trains, Halloween parades and more fun.
Monday, October 1
Maker Monday
Where: Warren County Library,
Hackettstown
Price: Free
Deets: Maker Mondays are all about teaching ages 8-12 how to use science, engineering, tech and crafting to create. This time, the lil’ monsters can create chocolate and sugar skulls in honor of Halloween and the Day of the Dead.
Wednesday, October 3
Fossils and Dinosaurs Late Night at the Museum
Where: Rutgers Geology Museum, New Brunswick
Price: Free
Deets: Take a walk through the Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras through arts and crafts, demos and educational activities.
Saturday, October 6
Cephalopod Awareness Day
Where: Jenkinson's Aquarium, Point Pleasant Beach
Price: Included with admission
Deets: Stop by for keeper chats, crafts and activities, plus octopus, squid, cuttlefish and more.
Monday, October 8
Frog Pond Fun Camp
Where: Essex County Environmental Center, Roseland
Price: $65/kid
Deets: Explorers grades 1-5 can dive into the mysteries of the surrounding wooded wetlands and ponds, where they’ll participate in indoor and outdoor activities that teach about the adaptations of frogs and wetland organisms. Registration required.
Saturday, October 13
The Science of Sight
Where: Staten Island Children’s Museum, Staten Island, NY
Price: Included with admission
Deets: The kids can learn about braille and color blindness, create their own name tag and check out activities and tests used for the sight impaired.
Saturday, October 20
International Sawfish Day
Where: Jenkinson's Aquarium, Point Pleasant Beach
Price: Included with admission
Deets: These nearly extinct fish will catch your attention…hook, line and sinker. Kids can make crafts, participate in activities and check out educational displays.
Where: Warren County Library, Hackettstown
Price: Free
Deets: Ages 8-14 can learn about 3-D printers—what they can do, how to create their own designs and the future of the tech, too.
Ongoing
Newark Museum Young Makers
Where: Newark Museum, Newark
Price: $60
Deets: This 11-week program introduces high schoolers to stop-motion animation, 3-D modeling and printing, circuitry, 2-D designs and more.
Doc McStuffins: The Exhibit
Where: Liberty Science Center, Jersey City
Price: Included with admission
Deets: Kiddos ages 2-10 an visit the McStuffins Toy Hospital and work alongside Doc, Chilly and other characters from the series to help patients the ER, operating room, nursery and pet clinic while also learning how to stay healthy. Ends January 27, 2019.
Thomas & Friends: Explore the Rails!
Where: Please Touch Museum, Philadelphia, PA
Price: Included with admission
Deets: If you’ve been looking for an interactive, multi-sensory STEM experience for your wee builders, take them to the Island of Sodor for a visit with Thomas, Percy and friends. Kids will work their physical and cognitive abilities during sorting, shape identification and engineering tasks like fixing wobbly wheels, building train routes and adjusting train schedules. Ends January 6, 2019.
Unseen Oceans
Where: American Museum of Natural History, NYC
Price: $28/adults, $16.50/kids
Deets: Check out interactive media installations, watch 3D animations of great white sharks, try the magnetic sand table and visit live marine animals while learning about the ocean and the tech used to explore it. Ends January 6.
Symbiotic Spheres: The Interlocking Worlds of Glass, Science and Art
Where: Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center, Millville
Price: $10
Deets: Got lil’ STEM lovers at home? Head to this curated exhibit featuring science-inspired work from more than 20 contemporary artists. You’ll want to check out the glass pieces that magnify, distort and illuminate, each creating different perceptions of the world. Ends December 30.