Grade School

Fun hands-on chemistry activities for kids of all ages. Put together by the scientists from the NSF Centers for Chemical Innovation these activities demonstrate a range of chemical phenomena in robust ways using everyday items to make the chemistry concepts accessible to audiences of all different ages.

1. Simple Machines: demo/hands-on teaching of the inclined plane, the lever, & pulley to show how they can make work easier. 2. Power-up with Paper: Using a piece of paper, copper tape, coin battery, and LED's, students learn electrical connections when building their circuit and they get to take home. From our phone convo, we will have middle/high school students and collegiate (from various schools) volunteering as NEAR PEER role models. Thank you for the school scholarship consideration!

San Diego is an amazing place and it allows us to journey from our rich coastline to the mountains and from ancient forests to the rugged desert wilderness. Join the Nat as we jump into activities focused on our own backyard wilderness. We’ll explore native plants, animals that co-exist in our urban spaces and want we can do to help with conservation in this place we call home.

Demonstrations from our materials research science & engineering laboratories, including a mini-spectrometer, demonstration of a silicon photonic crystal as a chemical sensor, silicon lenses that transform your cell phone into a microscope

The City's Ocean Monitoring Program will be discussing the health of the ocean environment off both Pt. Loma and Imperial Beach. We will have preserved marine specimens available for viewing as well as videos showing our work at sea and the animals we encounter.

We will play math games and logic puzzles with the kids

Hands-on interaction with live reptiles and arthropods.

The Herpetology Hop- Audience will act as Herpetologist as they circulate through our interactive installation where they will identify a set of reptiles/amphibians indigenous to San Diego. Our installation will be composed of painted murals, not live animals.

The Sally Ride Science Academy offers fascinating and fun STEAM workshops for students entering grades 3 through 12. Our online and in-person workshops let students investigate coding, acting, space science, marine biology and more, as they immerse themselves in hands-on projects. Top-notch STEAM instructors incorporate real-life stories of vibrant women conducting research in each field inspiring students and making STEAM careers more accessible.

Salk scientists & staff will lead attendees through a DNA extraction from the wheat plant. Participants will be able to take home their completed experiment as a souvenir of their scientific learning. Salk scientists & staff with also be on hand to share about the amazing research happening at the Salk Institute & all of our dynamic programs available for youth & the community.