CFMIT Discovery Programs
* The asterisk symbol next to a program indicates that the program is mobile and can be brought to your school or facilities.
Note: Upon request we can develop new program to connect with or build upon a topic that your class is currently studying. Contact CFMIT for more information.
Space and Flight Programs
1. *"Jet Propulsion"
It helps a Giant Squid move underwater and rockets soar past earth's atmosphere. Learn all about jet propulsion and test your own jet propulsion balloon rockets.
2. *"Rocket's Red Glare"
What makes rockets rise and fireworks flash? Make your own miniature in-door rockets.
3. "Mystic Solar Pizza"
We'll look at solar radiation, sunspots. Make your own snack using only the power of the sun.
4. *"Star Light, Star Bright"
Take a look at the constellations that fill the night sky, make a constellation viewer and find your way home, all using the stars.
5. *"Moon Craters"
What's the moon really made of? Learn about meteorites and using the scientific process test your own craters.
6. "Solar Power and Sunspots"
Use solar power to create lift off! Learn about the sun and the awesome potential of solar power. A day filled with activities that revolve around the sun!
7. *"The Sky's the Limit"
Learn about the groundbreaking work of the Wright Brothers. Discover the scientific principles that make flight possible. Make a boomerangs, planes, and flying contraptions.
8. *"Go Fly a Kite"
From simple and easy to cleverly complex, come build a kite at CFMIT! Learn about the history and symbolism of the kites of many cultures and explore the scientific principles that make them soar.
Architecture Programs
9. *"Bridge Building"
Discover the architectural science behind bridge building. Learn the three types of bridges. Look at famous bridges and build your own. Explore what shapes and techniques can form the strongest bridge.
10. *"The Science of Shapes"
Explore the geometry of geodesic domes and the twenty-sided icosahedrons, make your own 3D examples to personalize and take home!
11. "Designing Kids"
What does an architect do? We'll investigate Wisconsin's famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, and create models of our very own building designs.
Spring Gardening Programs
12. *"Pointillism and Seed Mosiacs"
Discover the art of George Seurot, and try your hand at painting in the style of Pointillism. Make your own mosaics from a huge variety of seeds. Learn about how your sense of vision, how the eye recognizes patterns and common symbols and something called the "persistence of vision."
13. "Spring has Sprung"
Learn about the term phenology and what it means scientists. Examine and plant your own seeds for a summer garden.
14. "How Does Your Garden Grow"
Examine what happens to seeds as they germinate and observe the mysterious hidden life in soil. Plus, plant some seeds of your own to add to your home garden.
Wisconsin Animals Programs
15. "Frogs and Toads and Warts"
Do toads give you warts? Can you tell the difference between a frog and a toad? Race your own origami-hopping frogs and learn all about the life cycles of these amazing creatures.
16. "Go Buggy"
Do you know the difference between insects and spiders? Observe live specimens under a microscope and design your very own bug to take home.
17. "Something's Fishy!"
How do fish breath oxygen in water? How do they swim with such ease? We'll explore these and other scaly questions while observing live fish in CFMIT's aquariums. Test your fish IQ, and design your very own creature from the deep.
18. "Wisconsin Critters"
We'll investigate the many wild animals of West Central Wisconsin. Learn to identify and make your own animal tracks.
19. "Flutterbys!"
View live caterpillars and butterflies. Learn about the beautiful diversity of butterflies and their lifecycle. Chart the monarch's migration and make your own butterfly mobile.
Cultural Diversity Programs
20. "It's All Greek to Me!"
Archimedes' Screw, Pythagoras' Theorems, Hippocrates Medicine, come and explore the science of the ancient Greeks.
21. "Happy Chinese New Year (Feb. 1st)
Come celebrate the Chinese New Year, learn about Chinese inventions, plus make your own abacus and give chopsticks a try.
22. "Walk Like an Egyptian"
Look at the geometry of pyramid building, the chemistry of mummification, and the code breaking of hieroglyphics.
23. "Great Pyramids of the World"
Check in, get your passport and then begin your 'travel' adventure through different pyramids of the world as you learn about ancient civilizations and cultures! Who built pyramids besides the ancient Egyptians? Build your own Pyramid and mummify fruit!
Computer Programs
24. "Dissection Connection"
We use disks and cassettes everyday but do we really 'know' them? You'll take a peek inside at their innermost secrets and then try your hand at re-assembly!
25. "Binary Adventures!"
Discover how the binary code developed, observe first hand the interiors of several computers and find out what it takes to be a computer engineer.
Science Experiments Programs
26. "Under the Microscope"
From observing life around us to making miniatures, we'll take a look at all things small.
27. *"Opposites Attract"
We'll learn how electricity can produce a magnet, and make our very own compass!
28. "Calling All Inventors"
Bring your creativity, you'll be asked to tackle a given problem and find your own unique solution.
29. "Phootball Physics"
We'll explore trajectory as it relates to throwing and kicking a football, the importance of leverage in tackling, and delve into the many uses of mathematics in the game, from coin toss to the last time out! Wear your favorite colors and become one of CFMIT's MVP's.
30. "One Gyro to Go, Please!"
What does an old LP record, a bicycle wheel, and a Greek sandwich have in common? Explore the mysterious force that keeps planes on course and tops spinning.
31. "The Mad Scientist's Laboratory Party"
Using simple kitchen ingredients, we'll make bubbling chemical reactions, buckets of 'Amazing Ooze', and disgusting snacks from the "Gross Grub Cookbook".
32. "Gearhead"
Levers, gears, and pulleys were man's earliest machines, and we're still using them everyday. Explore the not-so-simple world of machines!
Edible Programs
33. *"Tutti Frutti"
Who invented ice cream? Make your own ice cream and sample the goods!
34. "Get Slimed"
Get up close and personal with bread mold, slime, mold and yeast! You'll never look at your sandwich the same way again.
35. *"It's the Yeast We Can Do"
Look at the power packed into a single cell of yeast, bring this substance to 'life', feed it and shape it into something special.
36. *"Sweets for the Sweet"
Why does candy taste sweet? Where do taste buds grow? Experiment with your own tongue with a variety of salt, sour, bitter, and sweet substances.
37. "Apple Crisp"
Learn about the history, lore, and geometry of apples while you discover how your sense of taste and smell work. Plus, put your tongue to the test and sample different varieties of apples.
Water Programs
38. "Flotation Station"
Come investigate why some ships sink and some rocks float! Plus, experiment with your own Descartes' Diver!
39. "Chillin"
Look at the mechanics of freezing, experiment with dry ice, observe the beauty of frost, and recreate the geometry of snowflakes. Learn cold weather tips for a safe winter and make an emergency candle for home or car.
40. "Water, Water Everywhere!"
We are 70% water, and we live on the "water planet". Learn about waters remarkable properties and how important clean, safe drinking water is to our daily lives. Explore water in its many forms from salt water to glaciers.
Light and Photography Programs
41. "I am the Camera"
Bring an empty tube-type potato chip canister and put together your own pinhole camera!
42. "Bright Idea"
Thomas Edison's invention changed our world, now it's your turn to make your own light bulb.
43. "Lights, Camera, Action"
Do you know how a camera works? Have you used a thumatrope or praxinoscope? Join us as we look at the amazing development of still photography and the movies.
Weather Programs
44. "It's Not My Fault"
Learn all about earthquakes, plate tectonics, and volcanoes. See how the Richter Scale works and build your own volcano!
45. "Expecting the Unexpected"
Are you prepared for a flood? A tornado? What about a civil disaster? Join us for this important program that will help you plan what your family should do in a sudden, unexpected emergency. Make a fire escape plan and a tornado in a tube!
46. "Weather or Not?"
Baffled by barometric pressure, hazy about fog? Foggy about Isobars? Learn the language of weather as you discover how nature's severe storms develop. Experiment with tornadoes in a tube and try your hand at predicting tomorrow's weather.
Anatomy Programs
47. "You Gotta Have Heart"
Study heart tissue under the microscope, test your pulse rate, and learn about healthy hearts.
48. "Memory Lane"
Look inside the human brain and discover how memory works. Compare your memory to a computer's. Test your own ability to recall information, tastes and smells.
49. "Eyeball"
Examine optical illusions. Discover how the sight and the eye work! Test your vision and create interesting illusion toys including the thaumatrope. Look at the vision behind George Seurat the artist who invented Pointillism, try painting like Seurat. Come and see what can be seen!
Holiday Programs
50. "Holiday Toy Factory"
Choose from a variety of craft kits and projects- birdhouses, leather-crafts, jewelry, and more that you put together for that special someone on your list.
51. "Deck the Halls"
A morning of carols and cocoa while creating your own old-fashioned Holiday treasures--popcorn strings, paper snowflakes, wooden ornaments, and much, much, more!
52. "Happy New Year!"
Make your own personalized calendar! Bring your favorite fan mag or school pix, original artwork, map, or fancy paper to laminate and turn into your very own planner.
53. "Masquerade"
Witch, pirate, or princess, you'll have a ball creating your own mask and costume props from simple household items.
54. *"It's About Time"
From hourglasses and water clocks to the atomic clock, you'll be intrigued by the mysterious subject that never stands still.
55. "Time in a Bottle: The Family Album Project"
Bring some small artifacts from home and we'll make our own time capsule, and you get to decide how long it stays buried.
Archaeology and Geology Programs
56. "Getting Dirty!"
Explore life underground; learn about different types of soil. Try building your own landscape. Learn about the effects of windbreaks and soil erosion.
57. *"Sedimentary, My Dear Rockston!"
Learn how different types of rocks were made and how we use them. Use Mohs scale to test hardness and choose your own 'pet rock' to take home!
58. "Can You Dig It?"
Play archaeologist with a brush and chisel and a special block containing 'artifacts' that you uncover and identify.
Miscellaneous Programs
59. "Catapult"
Design and build your own catapult, learn about the scientific principles behind the medieval "machine of mass destruction" and test your aim!
60. "Paper, Paper Everywhere!"
Look at the history of paper while we make our very own samples. Experiment with different methods of writing used by earlier civilizations.
61. "Phew U."
Red Cabbage, a surprising substance that will help you determine the PH balance of common foods and household substances.
62. "Bookworms!"
Look at the history of books through the ages, and using old discards, you'll dissect examples for a first-hand look at how a book is put together.
63. "Triple Play"
Learn a new board game, or play an old favorite, and then try your hand at designing a game of your very own. Experience the classics; marbles, jacks, and pick-up sticks.
64. "101 Things to Do With a Straw"
Come and enjoy a huge variety of experiments and crafts you can make with a drinking straw. Slurp up the fun!
65. *"Where in the World Are You?"
From explorers to pirates, maps have played an intriguing role in history and legend! Learn about the beginning of map making (cartography) and the different types of maps we use today. Learn how to read a map and try plotting your own "Cookie Island". Plus, complete our museum scavenger hunt!
66. "No Foolin"
We fool our senses every day with Op art, moving pictures and mirrors. Come unravel the mystery behind a praxinoscope, 3-D pictures, and what the French call 'Tromp-l oeil'.
67. "Who Dunnit?"
Join us for a trilogy of mysterious trials, from easy to complex, that you solve as you go. Sharpen your skills of observation and intuition, and use clever science to solve the mysteries.
68. "The Great Egg-Drop Eggs-travaganza!"
Design you own 'egg-crate.' Can it survive a 10 ft. drop? The Catapult? Will your package be all it's 'cracked' up to be?
69. "Piggy Bank Savings"
Learn the history of money and how to save money for the future. Use a real cash register, construct your own piggy bank, and learn how to write-out checks. The savings start here!
70. *"The Sound of Music"
Here's your chance to create your own unique music-maker from simple, everyday items. From rain sticks to synthesizers, learn about the science behind the music we hear.
71. "Annual Big Bubble Bash"
Rediscover the joys of 'surface tension' and experience a bubble from the inside out! A series-end summer extravaganza.