Outreach & Community Programs

Museum Outreach Programs

Experience science, math, technology, and history through hands-on activities and demonstrations brought to your school by the Up ‘N’ Atom Museum Outreach van. The Up ‘N’ Atom van brings a variety of programs year-round to schools, community centers, festivals, camps, and more in New Mexico. Outreach programs are specifically designed as interactive experiences that support New Mexico standards in Science, Social Studies, and Language Arts. We can customize programs to meet educational goals. This year’s Museum Classroom Programs and Outreach Programs are the same. This means students can come to the museum for a program, or it can brought to the students.

Click here for a pdf of the 2009-2010 Education Guide: EducationGuide.pdf

Click here for the online reservation form to book a program: Reservation Form

Energy Adventures with Little Albert Einstein (Grades K-5)

What is energy? Is it like matter? Where do we use energy at home and school? How can we use natural resources like heat, light and wind to do work? How do we make and use electrical energy? How is energy stored?

Students can experience the static shock of a Van de Graff Generator, build a human battery, create lighted circuits or telegraphs, cook in a solar oven, see the effects of a plasma ball on fluorescent lights, test electromagnets, or make ice cream without a freezer. Each grade level will do different activities and experiment with various forms of energy. Students will see how energy changes from one form to another form, how energy reacts with matter, and how energy moves in waves.

Journey to the Sun-Flying Machines & Rockets (Grades K-5) 

How do planets move? What is the “man in the moon”? Why is the moon that shape? Is that light in the sky a planet or a star? How far away is that star? What makes weather happen? Why is Albuquerque the Hot Air Balloon Capital of the World?  How can I change launch angle to reach a target with a rocket?

Students can use inflatable planets and solar system models to see the motion of the sun, moon, Earth and other planets, use a solar telescope, determine the distance of far away objects, or study the components that cause weather including air pressure, density and temperature.  Older students will plot the effect of force and launch angle on the path of a rocket.  Each grade level will do different activities related to astronomy, weather and rocketry.

Physics and Forces with Little Albert Einstein(Grades K-5)

How strong is a magnet? What happens in a vacuum chamber when you remove the force of air pressure? How does gravity affect the flight of a rocket? Can a penny and a feather fall to the ground at the same speed?

Students can test the force of air using a Bernoulli blower, race in a maze controlled by magnets, squeeze a Cartesian diver, or design a rocket to reach a target. Each grade level will do activities and experiment with the forces of magnetism, air pressure, and gravity. Students will learn about how these forces affect matter on Earth and can even be used to create electricity.

Taste of Science (Grades K-5)

Challenge your students’ minds through demonstrations of energy and physical forces including electricity, the magic of magnets, and radiation in the world around them. This popular program combines hands-on activities that stimulate interest in the wonders of science from all of our museum programs. Students will participate in activities and demonstrations with a vacuum pump, Van de Graaff generator, plasma ball, magnetic field,  or Geiger counter in an amazing hour of science on stage. 

Big Deal: The Small World of Nano (Grades 6-8 OR 9- 12)

Scientists all over the world are thinking big ideas by thinking small. Introduce your students to recent developments regarding nano-technology applications in electrical engineering, materials science, and chemistry. Students will work with models to understand the properties of those nano particles that are a billion times smaller than the eye can see. They will examine and compare the nano-prefix to other metric units of measure and relate the properties of nano materials to their structure.

Our Radioactive World (Grades 6-8 OR   9-12)

Do we glow in the dark? What do superheroes have to do with radiation? What is nuclear decay? How can radiation help find the age of a dinosaur? Why is nuclear medicine one of the hottest career fields of our time? How are the reactions on the sun different from nuclear decay? These and many other questions are explored.

Students will determine the half-life of an imaginary isotope, observe alpha tracks in a cloud chamber, or use a Geiger counter to show the relationship between distance, time, or shielding to radiation. Each grade level will perform activities to study the meaning of radioactive decay, how to detect nuclear radiation, how scientists use nuclear decay to find the age of old fossils, and the common sources of radiation in the world around us. 

Decision to Drop: U.S. History (Grades 7-12)

This program involves students in a critical problem-solving exercise. Students will weigh the pros and cons of the decision to drop the atomic bombs on Japan based on primary sources and the viewpoints of several historical figures. Students will engage in role-playing activities based on the original participants’ decision to drop the bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  Activities are designed for either middle school or high school students. Students viewing the presentation at the museum will enrich their experience by touring the exhibits.

Secrets and Spies:  New Mexico History & the Manhattan Project (Grades 7-12)

Secrecy, espionage, and science all proved critical in the race for the atomic bomb. Transport your students back to Los Alamos in the 1940s and the heart of the Manhattan Project. Let them experience for themselves the secrets and the spies who stole them. This program uses primary source material. Activities are designed for either middle school or high school students. Students viewing the presentation at the museum will enrich their experience by touring the exhibits.