Homeschool STEAM Club: Grades 3-5

Our Homeschool STEAM Club for children entering grades 3–5 asks kids to design and prototype a train of the future with magnets and household materials.

Across five lessons, children will use project- and problem-based learning to explore trains, mathematics, and magnetism. Drawing on engineering, physics, mathematics, history, and English language arts, they will:

• Learn about U.S. geography, explore the role of trains in the nation’s development, and consider train travel in the 21st century.
• Develop an understanding of innovations in train technology, with a focus on maglev (magnetic levitation) trains.
• Use science inquiry activities to learn about magnetic interactions and mathematics to calculate distances and time intervals.
• Take part in the Maglevacation Train Challenge, working collaboratively through the engineering design process. Children will create a prototype train to safely carry passengers a given distance, then prepare a presentation about their destination and the train’s design features.

Each week, children will learn something new about trains and technology through hands-on activities. We encourage children to attend all five sessions, if possible, as each lesson builds on the last.

Please bring a water bottle for your child. There will be a place to refill it at the museum.

Free for MHDM members; $5 for non-members with museum admission. The program begins promptly at 2 pm. Registration is required. All sales are final and non-refundable.