Parent’s Page
Children’s curiosities serve as a basis for scientific exploration. Your children have the natural tendency to ask questions about the world around them. By encouraging youngsters to investigate, explore and perform simple experiments, they will discover fundamental scientific concepts.
Here are just a few suggestions that the Science Center encourages parents to explore to help spark your child’s curiosity in Science:
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Make a habit of helping your child think like a scientist: Ask “What do you notice? What do you wonder? ”
- Visiting Museums on a regular basis serves as a great learning experience.
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Family field trips into our natural world are one of the best teaching tools you can offer your child. A walk in the woods, a visit to a beach, a salt marsh, tide pool or the mountains can open your child’s eyes up to their environment.
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Encourage children to help repair or build things around the house. This develops their awareness to technology and engineering.
Science Resources for Families
NSTA Daily Do – Tasks teachers and parents can use to engage their students in authentic, relevant science learning by making sense of everyday scientific phenomena in their lives.
Learning in Places – Activities designed to be done right outside your door and deepen one’s awareness and curiosity for the environment immediately around them.
PBS Play and Learn Science – Games app encouraging kids to see the science in their world and to serve as catalysts for real-world exploration. The related hands-on activities and parent notes prompt families to “try it” at home and provide tips for engaging in conversations.
Nature Lab (Nature Conservancy) Week-long thematic family teaching guides to explore nature at home
National Geographic for Kids -Games, videos and explorations that center on wildlife and preservation for children of all ages
Engaging Science Videos: SciShow for Kids; Be Smart (PBS); Crash Course for Kids
Social Studies Resources for Families
BrainPop (aimed at grades 3-5) and BrainPop Jr. (aimed at K-3). Students can choose to learn about whatever topics interest them for self-directed learning.
Summer History School – free, high-quality, synchronous online classes for students and families. Many incorporate material from the musical Hamilton. Offered by the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History.
Local Sites, National History – visit Minute Man National Historical Park in Lexington, walk the Battle Road, and attend short, public ranger-led presentations, all free. Most National Historical Parks in Massachusetts are free. Many are in phased-openings now and websites are not all up to date, but the outdoor parts of all parks are open.
Reading – A few popular book series that provide social studies content include:
- Magic Treehouse (Mary Pope Osborne) – includes different length and level books and a website with related games and activities.
- I Survived (Lauren Tarshis)
- Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales – graphic novels with American History content. (The Nathan Hale Homestead is in Connecticut.)
Happy Learning and Experimenting from the Burlington Science Center!
The Burlington Science Center 
I think the Science Center is one of the best things about the Burlington Schools! Thanks for all your hardwork and efforts. I just wish you had more money, time, and resources to add more programs! Thank you for sending home projects over the vacation weeks. I have just one request related to the projects. Since I am really not very good at science it would be super helpful to identify websites that help the kids understand certain concepts so they can think about how to apply them (and how I as a parent can understand and assist!). This past vacation the 5th graders got a piece of styrofoam to make a boat…. I know nothing about bouyancy (sp?) and keels, wind power etc….so it would have been helpful to been directed to a website or book that may have helped make informed decisions about design….. Thanks and keep up the good work!
Hi Patricia,
Thanks for your positve comments regarding the mission and goals of the Science Center.
Our grade 5 gutter boat project involves an introductory lesson by Mr. Papadonis which focuses on many of the boat “engineering” concepts. The purpose of the project is two fold:
1. To afford students the opportunity to implement the Design Process when solving a problem.
2. To develop an understanding of how man has borrowed structures in nature to design man-made engineering models. Example would be: the shape of a fish is similar to that of the Hull of a ship.
We encourage students to try and do this project on their own as much as possible. It is not really about who wins the gutter race, but rather the process of following the design process in engineering.
My best,
John Papadonis/ Coordinator
Wendy,
i brought one of our baby guinea pigs to you about 2 months ago with a bald patch on her rear end, you put on some aveeno cream on her, i did it 3 more times and she recovered in days. thank you so much!! all 6 of our guinea pigs are doing great!
thank you the shipka’s
You are most welcome! I am glad your piggies are all doing great! Thanks so much!
What an awsome event with the Remax hot air balloon and the science center!! The kids and adults had a great time and thank you for always putting together such interesting demonstrations. I have great pictures and will send them your way.
Thank you Thank you !!!!
i love your animals i willl take care of one that will be a large rabbit. email me at amanda29poland@gmail.com thank you
How do you bring an animal home for vacation
Please contact Ms. Pavlicek at 781-270-2928 about 2-3 weeks before vacation.
Can you add me to your email list? My son attends FWE and adores you guys!
We do not have an email list but you can click the upper corner to join our blog and will get notifications of new posts..thank you and I am so happy your son enjoys our teaching!
A friend told me that I could take my kids to visit the animals at the Science Center. Is that true, and are there certain hours that work best?