The Lab is open weekends and school holidays! Click here to purchase tickets (and save $2)! 🎟️
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Children’s Science Center field trips and assemblies are designed for Pre-K to 6th grade students and are offered Monday through Friday between 10 AM and 4 PM.
Our programs at the Lab can accommodate a class or grade level and includes 4 Hands-On Experience Areas.
Students will rotate through 4 experience areas:
Experiment Bar - STEM Educators lead the students in a pre-selected experiment to test out the scientific method by making a hypothesis, doing a hands-on experiment, and observing what happens!
Tinker Shop - STEM Educators lead student’s in the pre-selected engineering activity to learn about the Engineering Design process.
Inspiration Hub - STEM Educators introduce students to hands-on activities about energy and let them have free exploration in this area. Activities include a gear table, wind turbines, air rockets, chain reactions, and the cost and environmental impact of powering the city with combinations of fossil fuels and renewable energy sources.
Garage - STEM Educators discuss architectural structures, stability, center of gravity, symmetry, measurements, and/or surface area during this building activity.
Large classes may require multiple dates to accommodate the entire class while maintaining the fire marshal code.
Lab memberships cannot be used for field trips.
Chaperones are not permitted to bring siblings on the field trip.
The Children’s Science Center Lab may limit a field trip’s size when scheduled during peak visitation times.
Other times may be considered on special request.
Northern Virginia Science Center Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that operates the Children's Science Center Lab at Fair Oaks Mall and STEM programs traveling to schools and other community venues across the region. The Foundation is also developing the Northern Virginia Science Center in Dulles, VA, a world-class, interactive regional science center for families, students and learners of all ages made possible through a pivotal public-private partnership. Learn more about our mission today at childsci.org and our vision for the future at novasci.org.
