Field Trips to the Okanagan Science Centre

BOOKING FORM LOCATED BELOW

Pre-K:

• Making Sense of the Five Senses - Using our fascinating five senses we will explore and classify the properties of familiar materials.
• Colourful Chemistry - Use chemistry to mix, create, and explore colours!  

Kindergarten:

• Survive to Thrive! – What are the differences between plants and animals? What are the basic needs of life? Discover how the features of plants and animals help them meet their basic needs for survival!
• Making Sense of the Five Senses – How do humans interact with matter? Using our fascinating five senses we will explore and classify the properties of familiar materials.
• Force and Motion - How do you make an object move? We push or pull it! Does the size, shape and type of material influence how objects move? Let’s perform hands-on experiments and challenges to find out!
• Changing Seasons - How are plants and animals affected by daily and seasonal changes? How do animals protect themselves from strong sun, wind, or rainstorms? Let’s design a shelter for animals to keep them safe!

Grade 1: 

• Insect Mania - What are the basic needs of insects? How do we classify them?  Discover how the features of insects help them survive and adapt to their environments!
• Properties of Matter - What are the phases of matter? Why do solids keep their shape, but liquids and gases flow? What makes the properties of matter useful? Let’s conduct amazing experiments to find out!
• Light and Sound - What are the properties of light and sound? How are they similar? How are they different? Discover this and more with exciting activities! *This program involves the making of musical instruments. Please be advised if you have students that are noise sensitive.
• Let’s Look Up! – What are the patterns and cycles in the sky and how do they affect us? During this program, we will look at the phases of the moon and day/night changes within the planetarium dome. We will also discuss how these patterns and cycles affect our four seasons on Earth!

Grade 2:

• Metamorphosis: Caterpillar to Butterfly – What is metamorphosis? How has the butterfly adapted to live in its changing environment? Let’s look at the life cycle of a butterfly and how it has adapted at each stage of life for survival!
• Physical and Chemical Changes – What are physical and chemical changes? How are they different? Why would we want to change the physical properties of an object? Let’s conduct some amazing experiments to test our knowledge of physical and chemical changes!
• Force and Motion – What are the different types of forces? How do we make objects move? Does the shape, size, and material it is made out of influence this?  Let’s perform some hands-on experiments and challenges to find out!
• Water Everywhere - Why is water important to all living things? How does it cycle through the environment? Explore local water issues and construct a filtration device to filter polluted water!

Grade 3:

• It’s a Small World – What is biodiversity and why is it important to our ecosystems? Let’s explore biodiversity using local pond water to detect protists, animals, plant matter, and bacteria. *Please keep in mind that we can only offer this program in the warmer months when pond water is more readily available. Please contact us for more information.
• Matter verses Mass – What is an atom? What is matter? How is matter different from mass? Let’s explore why matter is known as the material of the universe!
• Thermal Energy Exploration – Discover the true nature of heat: what it is, how it is created, and how it can be transferred.
• Earth & Erosion – Let’s discuss some of the landforms we see outside our windows. Has wind, water, and ice erosion changed the shape of the land in our area? Let’s simulate ages of erosion and change landforms all with the power of water.

Grade 4:

• Sensing & Responding: Biomes – What are biomes and how do living things sense, respond, and adapt to their changing environments? Let’s make our own biome and discuss how we will keep our biomes healthy and active!
• Temperature and Particle Movement – What are the phases of matter? How does temperature affect particle movement? Let’s raise the temperature in this program and find out with some hands-on chemistry experiments!  
• Transforming Energy – Can you name the different forms of energy? We know energy is important, but how do we make energy work for us? Discover the many ways to transform energy into useful electricity from different sources.
• The Earth, Sun, and Moon – What are some of the local changes caused by the Earth’s axis, rotation, and orbit? How do these observable patterns affect living and non-living systems on Earth? Let’s explore these questions and more under the night sky in our Planetarium dome!

Grade 5:

• Human Anatomy (1) – Let’s explore human anatomy and learn the basic structures and functions of the digestive, respiratory, and circulatory systems using hands-on science!
• Human Anatomy (2) – Let’s explore human anatomy and learn the basic structures and functions of our musculo-skeletal system using hands-on science!
• Solutions, Solubility, and Mixtures - What is a homogenous mixture? How are they useful and can you separate them? Let’s mix our own solutions, conduct separations, and discuss the properties of solutions!
• Simple Machines - How do machines transfer force and energy? Use simple machines (levers, pulleys, wheels, inclined planes) to complete challenges and solve problems!
• Oil Spill – Can you explain the rock cycle? Earth materials change as they move through the rock cycle, but how is oil created? Let’s design, build, and test a pipeline constructed across and around many obstacles. We will simulate an oil spill, discover different methods for cleanup and restoration, and discuss how we can act as stewards of our environment.

 Grade 6: 

• Human Anatomy (3) – Let’s explore human anatomy and learn the basic structures and functions of the excretory and nervous systems using hands-on science!
• Heterogeneous Mixtures – Everyday materials are often mixtures, but how do we separate them? Let’s scientifically determine the properties of different materials then use your skill and imagination to manipulate and separate them.
• Newton’s Laws – Let’s investigate Newton’s 3 Laws of Motion. Learn the relationship between force and motion with hands-on activities!
• Our Galaxy – The Milky Way! – Let’s discover the Milky Way and the components of our solar system. We will discuss the overall scale and structure of our universe under the night sky in our planetarium dome!

Grade 7:

• Crystalline Structures and Chemical Changes – What are elements and compounds? How to crystals form and what are crystalline structures? Let’s explore crystallization with chemistry!
• Electrifying Electricity - What is electricity? How is it generated?  Find out more about the different types of electricity with hands-on experiments and activities!
• Electromagnetic Force - What is a magnet? What is electricity? What is electromagnetic force and how is it generated? Let’s explore electromagnetism together!

Grade 8:

• Cell Theory - What is a cell? What is the difference between an animal cell and a plant cell? Prepare and observe these two classes of cells under the microscope.
• The Behaviour of Matter - Can we prove that atoms exist and move? Observe the Brownian Motion of atoms and molecules to help understand molecular theory.

Other Planetarium Shows:

Skies Above - Examine the constellations and be entertained by some authentic starry night storytelling.

Indigenous Astronomy - See the constellations that were important to Indigenous peoples throughout North America and learn the stories surrounding them. This show will help you interpret the cultural significance of star gazing from an Indigenous perspective.

One Sky, Many Stories - Cultures across the world watched the sky, from the Ancient Greeks to the Vikings to the many Indigenous Cultures of North America. We can customize this Planetarium Show to introduce students to the stories of the cultures you are studying.

*We are capable of offering customized planetarium shows on a wide range of topics. Please contact us at 250-545-3644 if you would like a customized planetarium show.