Science Museum of Virginia

STEAM School kicked off its summer field trip series with a fun-filled trip to Richmond’s Science Museum of Virginia!

We saw 2 permanent exhibitions, Speed! and Boost!, before heading to the visiting Bodyworlds exhibit. Speed and Boost were super interactive. Our kids raced and danced and spun and lifted and even ran in a hamster wheel, all while exploring concepts like relativity, the space-time continuum, simple machines, and more.

Bodyworlds gave us a real life glimpse into what the human body looks like and how it works. It was fascinating to see the organs, structures, and systems! This exhibit was a perfect complement to our spring Anatomy course for the upper grades and the Art of Happiness class for the younger grades (the focus of this Bodyworlds was happiness).

After lunch and a quick birthday celebration (Happy 14th, Reeves!), we headed to the Steampunk exhibit. The upper grades art classes did a steampunk unit this year, so the older kids had quite a bit of background knowledge of the aesthetic. We learned a bit about Frankenstein, Jules Verne, and Jan Matzeliger, as well as how steampunk is infused into creations at maker faires and festivals around the world.

Then we headed outside to the trains. There was lots to explore out there, including a giant chess board that captured the attention of Jonah and Reeves.

Our last stop was to the upper level for

some art and insects before heading home.

Our next field trip is a meet up at the Bush Tabernacle roller rink in Purcellville on June 7. We hope to see you there!