Race Car Day at the Franklin Institute

[ July 29, 2009; 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. ] Learn the science of endlessly turning left (…kidding!) Wednesday July 29th at the Franklin Institute. If you are into racing, have a racing-obsessed kid or simply prefer to spend your lunch break looking for crash videos on YouTube, this might be the event for you.

Bonus, your kid could win the opportunity to wave [...]

Science Saturday at the Fairmount Water Works

[ July 11, 2009; 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm. July 25, 2009; 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm. ] It is easy to forget that, under all the concrete and asphalt, that Philly is a essentially a river town, built at the confluence of two great rivers. And even though many of our creeks were long-since diverted to sewers or buried to become future rowhome-sinkers, there is much natural beauty to be seen and [...]

Earth Fair this Weekend at The Franklin Institute (7/11-12) 10AM to 3PM

[ July 11, 2009 to July 12, 2009. ] Now, if this weekend is anything like the last, I cannot foresee that anyone would want to spend time indoors at all. But it is July in Philadelphia and the safe bet (without actually bothering to look up the forecast) is that it will be hot and muggy. (Especially) If so, then what a better [...]

Make Botanical Sunprints this First Friday at the Chemical Heritage Foundation (6/5 5-8PM)

[ June 5, 2009; 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. ] OK, this looks like fun…the Chemical Heritage Foundation takes part in Old City’s First Friday celebration and always seems to have the most interesting — and most family-friendly — activities to go with it. Last month it was crotcheting, I believe. This time it is making prints using photographic paper. I picked some up at [...]

Molecular Origami: First Friday at the Chemical Heritage Foundation

[ April 3, 2009; 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. ] It befits the Chemical Heritage Foundation’s unique place in the Philly science culture that it should take part in the whole First Friday art galleries scene.

This Friday, CHF will teach you how to make origami versions of molecules. It is an art AND a science.

Earth Days at the Academy of Natural Sciences (April 18, 23)

[ April 18, 2009; April 23, 2009; 6:30 pm; ] What you might not realize is that the Academy of Natural Sciences is more just a neat old building full of dead things, it is also the home of thePatrick Center for Environmental Research, one of the world’s first centers of applied ecology. So, when I tell you that the Academy has a bunch of [...]

Rainy Day weekend

[ March 28, 2009; ] According to weather guys, Saturday is supposed to be a little crummy here in sunny Philadelphia.

You’ve spent all winter inside watching the same DVDs over and over again, why not take a field trip?

Here’s some things to do with the kids:

Go to The Franklin to see stuff blow up (and other things get dissected!). Its [...]