Oakland Discovery Center

Discovery Science · Field Notes A popsicle stick, a rubber band, and a shot at the buzzer. Oakland students turned favorite basketball and soccer memories into working ball launchers — then spent an hour thinking like sports engineers to make their shot go farther. Catapults Design Basketball & soccer Inspiration All ages Builders Oakland Location “What would it look like if we could build a machine that could help us learn how to be better at one of our favorite games?” — The question that started the build In this session, we started by sharing sports memories — watching the NBA Finals with family, cheering a World Cup match, shooting hoops at the park.  Then we asked students a simple question: had they ever noticed ways science shows up in the games they love, a...

Discovery Science · Field Notes Twenty kids, two cups of water, and one very muddy question. A 60-minute lesson where Oakland students ages six to twelve traded “student” for “water engineer” — and built something that actually worked - or taught them just as much when it didn’t. 20 Students 6–12 Ages 60 min Session Oakland Location “Think of your favorite time you got to play with water—maybe at a pool, a beach, a lake, or even just splashing in a hose on the sidewalk.  What made that water fun and safe to play in, and who do you think helps take care of it?  Today we will pretend it is our job to help take care of the water and keep it clean.  In Oakland the person who helps keep the water clean in your favorite places is called a water engineer.  Today we get to be the engineers a...

As Halloween is approaching, we have updated this activity to include a more cost-effective way to have gak "glow in the dark".    Gak, more commonly known as slime, is something almost everyone has made, but here are some instructions on how to make glow-in-the-dark gak.  At the end of the instructions, explore some of the science behind gak and glow-in-the-dark toys. For this experiment, you will need:   PVA glue - we find that Elmer's school glue works best Borax Hand Soap Water Measuring cups and spoons spoons for mixing 2 plastic containers for mixing Airtight container for storage Green phosphorescent pigment (the most affordable we found is at  www.douglasandsturgess.com) .  Alternatively, use highlighter markers to make slime glow under ultraviolet (UV) light or a blacklight (try with clear glue) Add 1/4 water and 1 tsp. of borax to one container. Add 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup glue to a second container. Make sure that...

Paper Stomp Rockets Make a paper rocket and two different types of launchers. The PVC launcher is from Nasa's POP! Rocket Launcher . The second launcher is handheld using a bicycle inner tube and comes from the Exploratorium's Bottle Blast Off Activity Materials for Paper Rocket: • Construction Paper • Printer paper • Tape • Scissors • Folder or index cards • ½” PVC pipe –12 inches in length • Cotton Balls Materials for Handheld Bicycle Tube Launcher: • Bicycle Inner Tube • ½” PVC pipe –12 inches in length • Duct Tape • Scissors • 2 – liter bottle Optional: PVC Cutter Materials for NASA's Pop! Rocket Launcher • 1 – 5’ length of ½” PVC pipe • 2 – ½” PVC tee connectors • 1 – ½” PVC connector • 2 – ½” PVC caps • Duct Tape • 2 – liter bottle Paper Rocket Instructions:  To ensure the paper rocket is not too tight on the launcher, we r oll printer paper around the 12” PVC pipe and glue or tape it down. Then we take our construction paper and roll it ove...

Seal and Release Mechanism PLEASE NOTE: PARENTAL SUPERVISION IS REQUIRED. Ensure the safety of children and others while operating this project. Be sure children are old enough to stay out of the way of the bottle rocket and take any other precautions you feel are necessary to keep everyone safe. The Water Bottle Rockets are always a big hit with kids. We have gone through numerous water bottle rocket launcher designs derived from other designs we found and those we created ourselves. The launcher shown in the above image is the easiest, most cost-effective, and most reliable PVC pipe version thus far. The launcher is based on the PVC launcher detailed at Walking Mountains How to Build a Soda Bottle Launcher , with variations on certain components. Design Components Launch Tube Seal   The most varied component of the PVC launchers is the seal between the launch tube and the mouth of the 2-liter bottle. The Walking Mountains Science Center version listed above does not detail what t...

  Learn about electrical circuits with this simple  motorized car. Materials: • bottle caps or any other items that can be used as wheels • straw • paperclips • Hobby motor • 1 AA battery • Solid core wire (we like telephone wire) • craft stick • tape • a broccoli rubber band, or inner tube cut off • wooden dowel or bamboo skewer Tools: • scissors • wire strippers • hammer • nails • hot glue gun Make a hole in bottle cap by hammering a nail through the middle of the cap.  Push the motor’s axle through the hole.  It should be a tight fit.  If it is not a tight fit hot glue the cap in place. We found that a  3D nail makes the perfect size hole for the axle of the motor we use.      Use scissors to enlarge holes for rear wheels if using a dowel. If using bamboo skewers it is not necessary to enlarge the hole.  Cut dowel to preferred length....