Looking for a fun and interesting way to supplement a child’s education? The Sloan Museum of Discovery stands ready to take kids through a vast array of challenging workshops and programs.
Since its doors first opened in 1966, the museum has been a hotspot of student activity and after a fantastic remodel (completed in 2022), has expanded its educational opportunities. Each year, the museum hosts hundreds of onsite and offsite STEM and social studies workshops for schools, field trips, scouting programs, library programs and summer camps. Sloan and Longway educators served approximately 90,000 students in 2023, including an increasing number of home-schooled groups.
The passionate and dedicated education staff are led by Laurie Bone, Director of Education & Outreach, and Katie Bancroft, Curator of Education & Outreach Programs who aligned the educational programs with curriculum required by State of Michigan schools.
Sloan Museum of Discovery hosts a menagerie of workshops teaching subjects such as physics, architecture, meteorology, sound & light, ecology, chemistry, archeology, biology and more. A few of the most popular science workshops include Amusement Park Science (an interactive workshop about roller-coaster science), Worm Motels, Galactic Goo, Eye Dissection, Flinging Things, and the science of making ice cream. Multiple summer camps are available, organized by age from preschool through high school.
The new Sloan Museum of Discovery was built with learning at the forefront and features three state-of-the-art learning labs for field trips and classes. The Discovery Lab is a free maker’s space within Discovery Hall and plays home to the popular LEGO® building clubs and engineering workshops. The Longway Planetarium has two classrooms for STEM workshops plus the state-of-the-art planetarium dome used to teach kids about space and astronomy. The Sloan and Longway staff go above and beyond to provide STEM programming off-site at partner schools including Flint Cultural Center Academy, Sylvester Broome Empowerment Village and Flint Hamady schools.
Approximately twice per year, Sloan Museum of Discovery hosts special science-related exhibits in the FUN Gallery exhibition hall. The current exhibit “Mazes & Brain Games” is a fun adventure of 3-D puzzles and physical challenges to test all age groups. Over 60 puzzling experiences put creativity and ingenuity to the ultimate test. “Mazes & Brain Games” will be available through May 19, 2024.
The Sloan Museum of Discovery and Longway Planetarium are the top destinations for fun and learning in Genesee County and thanks to the Cultural Enrichment millage passed in 2018, general admission is free to County residents and Planetarium shows are half-price.
For field trip, summer camp, tickets and more info, visit sloanlongway.org
