Learning Labs
To add a lab to your field trip program, call us at 916 674-5000 or email us at education@visitmosac.org.
Life Sciences
Incredible Insects
Put on your entomologist cap and learn how scientists observe and study the diverse world of insects.
Students explore MOSAC’s extensive collection of insect specimens from habitats all over the world. They observe variations in shapes and sizes and learn how to identify the basic insect body parts and special structures that help them survive. Students are challenged to determine if all bugs are insects by working with real specimens, magnifying lenses, and an identification key.
Cellular Adventures
Students investigate plant cells and cell structure by extracting and preparing their own samples for microscope viewing.
All living things are composed of cells. Students will investigate plant cells and cell structure by extracting and preparing their own samples for microscope viewing. Through observation, and by sketching and recording their findings, they’ll gain deeper appreciation for this building block of life. They’ll expand upon on this experience by comparing and contrasting between their plant slides and prepared animal cell slides (human cheek cells).
Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science
Green Energy
Students will work in groups to design and test the efficiency of an offshore energy farm made up of model wind turbines.
Yes, we have challenges to overcome but we also have skills and imagination to solve Earth’s problems. Your students will work in groups to design an offshore energy farm consisting of model wind turbines and wave-energy converters. They use the Engineering Design Process to test and determine the most efficient place to install their turbines and converters while considering wave zones, whale migration patterns, shifting winds, and a possibly unstable ocean floor. (Grade 5 students will calculate the energy output and cost based on the parts used in construction)
Earth and Space Sciences
Fossils – Life Long Ago
A deep dive into the mysterious world of fossils, our only source for information on life that existed millions of years ago. Your students will explore our planet from Pangea to Present day and uncover the mysteries of the past.
How old is our planet? Has it always been like it is now? Fossils give us evidence to understand the types of plants and animals that lived long ago. We’ll focus on dinosaurs and set up hands-on stations with real fossils and replicas for your students to explore. They’ll learn that fossils are either mineral replacements, preserved remains, or traces of organisms that lived in the past. Some of the real fossils include amber with insect inclusions, dinosaur stomach stones, coprolite, fern imprints, and triceratops bones. Students will also get to view replicas of dinosaur claws, teeth, eggs, and many more! Students work in pairs and use a variety of real fossils (trilobites, clams, fish, etc.) to look for identifying features to learn more about them. They try to find the location of their fossil on a life-through-time timeline and learn that all life did not appear at the same time.
Rocks Rock!
Your students will experience an exciting introduction to the three rock types that make up our entire planet.
Bring on your budding geologists! Your students will experience an exciting introduction to the three rock types that make up our entire planet. With hands-on exploration and samples from MOSAC’s extensive collection of rocks and crystals, they’ll learn about rock formations and properties using the same tools geologists do.
Physical Sciences
Electricity – Electrons in Motion
Students explore the invisible world of electricity and discover the answer to the question, what really happens when you flip on a switch?
Electricity, the superpower we cannot do without! In this lab students take a closer look at the origins of this superpower, starting with the atom. Students use ping-pong balls to simulate electrons and understand how they flow through a wire generating an electrical current. They work with circuit blocks to learn about where electricity is generated, how it can travel from place to place and how it can be changed from one form to another. Students create their own series and a parallel circuit and use circuit diagrams to record their data in lab journals.
