by Noella Noelophile®
(Graphic courtesy of Aerospace Museum of California, and used with permission.)
How do you code a candy cane?
I admit, I don’t know the answer to that. But–guess who does?
The Aerospace Museum of California!
All month long, they’re offering Saturday maker activities for kids, as part of their “DeSTEMber” program!
9royalty-free image by Zhou (Link) Fang, from Unsplash.
Starting at 10 tomorrow, Saturday morning, December 9th, they’ll be making light-up Christmas (or other holiday!) cards. (Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Year–your choice!) Young participants learn how a circuit works–and how to make it work for you, to light up your celebrations.
(Royalty-free image by Paul from Pixabay.)
Then, on Saturday, the 16th, the museum hosts a personal favorite of mine.
This time of year, we see a lot of gingerbread houses. Including some highly creative ones.
BUT–the Aerospace Museum is the only venue of which I know, which teaches young participants how to craft gingerbread Mars rovers!
Young future engineers get to learn how NASA scientists use rovers to study Mars. And then, they get to build rovers of their own, using an on-hand supply of holiday-themed treats!
(Royalty-free image by StockSnap from Pixabay.)
One more Saturday to go till Christmas–the 23rd–and that day’s DeSTEMber workshop will have participants creating shining “Galaxy Ornaments” for the tree!
All these activities are included with museum admission, and DeSTEMber sessions are offered from 10 am to 2 pm, each Saturday, at the Aerospace Museum, which is located near Sacramento’s McClellan Airport.
(Royalty-free image by 165106, from Pixabay.)
Best of all–when Christmas Day is over, DeSTEMber isn’t.
From Wednesday, December 27th through Saturday, December 30th, workshops will be happening. On Wednesday, the 27th, attendees create a “reindeer rocket”, using balloons.
Thursday, December 28th, get ready for a snowball fight! Workshop participants that day learn how to make a snowball launcher.
Friday, December 29th–time to code! And indeed, this isn’t just any coding. Participants create their own coded candy canes!
And, last but absolutely never least–Saturday, December 30th. A yummy-sounding workshop: crafting marshmallow igloos and snowflakes!
So–Merry DeSTEMber! And if you’re in the Sacramento area, definitely consider bringing your favorite small engineers to the Aerospace Museum of California, for a hearty serving of festive creativity.