The summer triangle is not a constellation, but an celestial asterism made up of three bright stars, Vega, Danube and Altair. They appear during late spring, but are the most visible in the sky for the summer months.

The Week 2 Science Explorers are having a "stellar" time learning about the solar system, constellations, rocketry, and the search for extraterrestrial life! Learn more about this week’s lessons and activities here.

Today we will show you how to create an impact crater using simple kitchen ingredients, but first, let's find out more about them.

What is an impact crater?

When a meteoroid is able to penetrate the Earth’s atmosphere without completely breaking apart, it is called a meteor. When a meteor hits the Earth’s surface it is called a meteorite. A meteorite travels at very high speeds, ranging from 25,000 to 160,000 miles per hour (40,233 - 257,495 kilometers per hour). When it hits the ground at such a high speed, a bowl-shaped depression, or hole called a crater is produced.

June 30th is known as “National Meteor Day”, so this week we’re going to talk about meteors and other space objects. You may have heard of asteroids, comets, meteoroids, meteors, and meteorites, but what are the differences between them? Let’s explore each one.

We’re mid-way through Week 1 of our Virtual STEM Summer Camps, and interns and campers alike are having tons of fun Discovering the Dinosaurs! Check out this post to see what kinds of lessons & activities these happy campers have been working on so far.

Reopening plans, membership extensions, and what to see in the sky this quarter—read about this and more in the new issue of Cosmos Quarterly!

It’s been a long spring, and we’ve missed you! But don’t fret: we’re reopening to the public next Wednesday, July 1. This includes access to our museum building, planetarium, Science Store and Countdown Café. Our summer hours will be Wednesday through Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. through the end of August. Click here for more information about our reopening plans and procedures, including important health and safety information.

People have always been fascinated with the world around us and the cycles it goes through, and one of the most famous examples of that is Stonehenge. Stonehenge is an ancient monument in England, and it consists on a ring of large standing stones. There are around 160 of these stones, each about 13 feet high and 7 feet wide.

For decades, archaeologists and historians have debated why Stonehenge was built, but there’s no denying that there is a relationship between the seasons and this prehistoric site. Every year, on both the winter and summer solstices, thousands of people gather at Stonehenge to watch the sunrise. On the days of the solstices, the path of the Sun lines up with the stones, suggesting that the ancient people who built this monument may have had some sort of ritual relating to the changing of the seasons.

Today, we’re challenging you to recreate a scale model of this engineering marvel!

If you live near the Atlantic coast in North America, then you know that summer is both a lovely time to spend by the shore and holds the possibility for some dangerous storms. In the North Atlantic, hurricane season is June 1 through November 30, with activity peaking between August and October. Nearly all tropical storms in the Atlantic area occur during this window, which very nearly lines up with the summer season (June 20-September 22). So why is that?

Let’s learn all about hurricane season and then capture a storm in a bottle by making a hurricane in a jar!

Our physical space is still closed to visitors, but we can bring the universe to you…Join us Friday, July 3 at 7:00 PM as we explore Pythagoras’ contributions to geometry in the next Virtual Super Stellar Friday!

Please join us in welcoming summer interns Sarah Fleischman and Maria Skidmore to the McAuliffe-Shepard Education Team! Sarah and Maria are responsible for leading our Virtual STEM Summer Camps, which run from June 22 to August 7. Click here for to learn more about our interns and what they’re up to.

This Saturday—June 20, 2020—marks the official beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, with the occurrence of the June solstice. In celebration, we’re focusing this week’s Distance Learning offerings on seasons. In yesterday’s blog post we learned what causes the Earth’s seasons and explored the reasons for equinoxes and solstices. Today we have compiled a list of online resources for teaching students about the seasons and have filled this blog post with a ton of fun ideas for how to teach the seasons hands-on!

This Saturday marks the beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere—and this week’s distance learning theme is seasons. Join one of our museum educators as she learns what causes these periodic changes in Earth’s conditions by reading The Reason for the Seasons, written and illustrated by Ellie Peterson!

Beginning this Friday, June 19, we’re taking the next step in gradually welcoming visitors back to the Discovery Center by providing outdoor hands-on activity stations on our grounds. Learn more here!

This Saturday—June 20, 2020—marks the official beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, with the occurrence of the June solstice. In celebration, we’re focusing this week’s Distance Learning offerings on seasons. Today we’ll revisit a previous lesson about what causes the Earth’s seasons—with bonus content added to focus on the solstices!

Where did the spring go?! We at the Discovery Center can hardly believe it, but Week 1 of our Virtual STEM Summer Camps is all set to launch next Monday, June 22. We still have plenty of spots open for summer campers ages 5 to 14, running all the way through early August—see this post for more details.

As we get ready for the start of summer, you might be thinking about how this June compares with last June or a June from years in the past- maybe it feels warmer or colder, greener or full of more colors, wetter or drier. Maybe the baby robins in a nest near your house are getting ready to fly or the beans in your garden have just barely sprouted, and you’re wondering if that is happening earlier or later than last year. If you are thinking about wildlife and plants, then you are thinking about phenology- the study of events in plant and animal life cycles and how they change with the seasons and years.

Help support the Discovery Center and purchase your very own shuttle and NASA meatball mask!

Purchase your space mask here! 2 layered mask, polyester outside and cotton inside. All masks are washable and reusable. Adult sized mask, one size fits most. For all masks purchased during the week, they will be sent out that weekend. Masks are $5, but are $6 to purchase online to include packaging and shipping.

We’re spending the week looking at the planets, and this week’s Saturday STEM challenge is about just that: looking at the planets!

For as long as people have been on Earth, they have been observing the night sky. This week, we’re challenging you to make like ancient civilizations and watch the sky. Using the given information and tools, try to track the planets. Since the sky never looks the same two nights in a row, you can try this challenge for as long as you want, trying to see as many different planets as you can.

This week’s distance learning theme is planets. Join one of our museum educators as she reads about the planets in our solar system—and so much more—in The Story of Space by Catherine Barr and Steve Williams, illustrated by Amy Husband!