Experiment with simple machines and energy as you create a catapult that can launch a snowball across the room!

Learn to decode the “zeroes and ones” of binary code as you make your own binary-coded candy cane!

Design, build, and test a parachute to help your polar bear land safely from her skydiving adventures!

Ooey gooey polymers! Observe the physical properties of matter while stirring together a wintery, non-Newtonian fluid.

Duck... Duck... Goose! Explore Arctic Geese migration as you design a far-flying goose glider.

Light up the holiday night! Creating a glowing reindeer with a simple circuit as you channel your inner electrical engineer.

What is a scientific craft that is perfect for winter? Borax crystal snowflakes! Make crystal snowflakes overnight with three simple ingredients: Borax, water, and pipe cleaners. Try twisting your pipe cleaners into different snowflake shapes and experiment with different colors using food coloring. Remember, every snowflake is unique!

Help scientists better understand tree squirrel ecology! Project Squirrel is calling citizen scientists of all ages to count the number of squirrels in their neighborhoods and report their findings. The goal is to understand tree squirrel ecology. Learn how to identify tree squirrels then report your observations about their presence or absence and some of …

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Build and explore with Minecraft! Learn basic computer science skills with lots of different Minecraft activities to choose from.

Restore the wild! Explore unique axolotl characteristics and design a habitat for this endangered species.

The guinea pigs are coming and they are hungry! Each round, program the Bot to fire carrots, launch lettuce, or invoke the mighty Apple shield in this furious, fast-paced coding game. Collect hearts to unlock more treats and contain the feeding frenzy!

Say hello to the world of computer science with this introductory activity that equips you with the basic coding skills and confidence to create apps. Choose from seven fun themes–Transformers, Space, Soccer, Food, Animals, Retro, and Emoji–to code interactive characters in a world you create!

Sparkly science! Channel your inner cosmetic chemist as you create an ultra-moisturizing lip balm.

Endangered Bat Passports Bat Conservation International (BCI) is a global conservation organization on a mission to end bat extinctions world-wide, to ensure a healthy ecosystem and a healthy planet. Learn about the endangered bats that BCI helps all over the world by completing this Endangered Bag Passports activity!

What's in YOUR water? We all have the right to know if the streams running through our backyards and neighborhood parks are safe. But there is an alarming lack of up-to-date information about water quality across the country. Stream Selfie connects you with thousands of other citizen scientists to paint a picture of streams across …

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Build your own Barometer! In this activity, you'll create a simple barometer to observe changes in air pressure and predict weather patterns. This experiment demonstrates how air pressure impacts water levels as the weather changes​. By setting up a water-filled cup with an inverted plastic bottle, you'll mark the initial water level and watch how …

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Build a Telescope! Design your own lens and parabolic mirror from simple materials and watch light refract or reflect onto a target, just as happens in actual telescopes. The activity can scale with the group or audience size: A big bowl or reflective surface will focus light well enough that an entire auditorium can see …

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Electrical engineering encouragement! Learn how electricity moves through a circuit while designing an LED greeting card.

Invisible Extinguisher A balloon is used to capture the carbon dioxide produced by a baking soda & vinegar reaction in a water bottle. Because carbon dioxide is denser than air, it can be carefully transferred to a container and then “poured” over a candle, acting as an invisible extinguisher.

Light-up Gift Box Are you ready to light up your holidays? Design your own gift box that twinkles using concepts of geometry and circuits.

This is not your typical electric toothbrush! Explore circuitry and master the science of electrical connections while creating a toothbrush robot.

Help scientists understand the sky from above and below! GLOBE Observer is an international citizen science initiative to understand our global environment. Your observations help scientists track changes in clouds in support of climate research. To participate, just download the app, go outside and follow the prompts in the app to observe your environment. Photograph …

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Constellation Crafting This activity allows students to learn about the stars in our universe! All you need are pipe cleaners and beads to craft.  First research a constellation and learn all about it! Some questions to think about are: how many stars are in the constellation, how far away is it from Earth, what season …

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Take on the role of scientists and engineers while investigating the challenges of exploring and traveling in space with GSK Science in the Summer™ Be a Space Scientist! For this activity, your learners are a team of robotics engineers designing a rover to explore the surface of another planet. Your learners' job is to build …

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Off to the races! Expand your physics knowledge while designing a wooden spool that uses mechanical energy to drive across the ground.

Confectionary science! Learn about sugar crystal solubility and viscosity as you create your ideal cookie icing.

Science is for Me! A unique series, for pre-and emerging readers, featuring children of color protagonists who use science to solve everyday challenges. Children explore deep science concepts through relatable stories and step-by-step illustrations for hands-on experiments. Join Jasmine and José as they learn about the density of liquids. Jasmine and José make a salad …

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Butterfly Feeder Keep those pollinators fed and energized with your very own Butterly feeder! You will have fun using a lot of creative juices and a little engineering. The reward is getting to observe beautiful creatures outside of the Arboretum.

Help our nation’s trees! Invasive diseases and pests threaten the health of America’s forests. Scientists are working to understand what allows some individual trees to survive, but they need to find healthy, resilient trees in the forest to study. That’s where concerned foresters, landowners, and citizens (you!) can help. Tag trees you find in your …

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Runoff and Infiltration Model In this activity, students will model and describe the effects of human activity on groundwater and surface water in a watershed. Using a modular 3D model and going through a guided lab, students will explore the fate of precipitation over three different landscape types found in our watershed: a city parking …

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At Girlstart we Dream Big and hope we can empower you to do the same! Set goals for the future while creating a bookmark filled with your dreams.