July 2025
Spark!Lab History Month Theme: Apollo
Bulletin Board 1: Apollo Program
Bulletin Board 2: Apollo Crews
Spark!Lab Hands on Learning Activities
Location/Times: Spark Lab (Each event is within Spark!Lab hours of operation 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.)
- (Daily) Build a Quadrant: Explore the mathematics of the night sky by building your own quadrant! This ancient tool, used by sailors and astronomers for centuries, allows you to measure the altitude of stars to find your latitude to navigate the Earth using the sky above.
- (Mondays) Rocket Mondays: Design, build, and launch your own paper rockets, inspired by the Saturn V Moon Rocket and the Apollo missions! See whose rocket can fly highest and farthest in this exciting hands-on activity.
- July 4-6: Rockets’ Red Glare: Celebrate Independence Day by building your very own "Rockets' Red Glare" straw rocket! Design, launch, and explore the basics of propulsion with this exciting, hands-on activity.
- July 18-20: Moon Days and Lunar Landings: Honor the historic Apollo 11 Moon landing by building a lunar lander of your own! Learn about the lunar modules and imagine yourself touching down on the lunar surface.
July’s Space Works Theme: Dream. Design. Discover.
Turn big ideas into bold creations, imagine life beyond Earth, design for lunar missions, and build tools for the next frontier. Join us in our newly renovated Space Works: A Makers Lab for a journey powered by creativity, problem-solving, and hands-on exploration.
Space Works Lab Activities
Disclaimer: Because of the technological equipment and the dexterity and skills necessary to safely operate classroom tools, these activities are designed for students aged 12 and older (middle and high school).
Space Works CLOSED to public due to Museum Day Camp Programming
July 7-11 and July 21-25
Schedule* With Class Descriptions
*(Dates, at any moment, can be adjusted to meet the needs of UFT overflow programming)
Sundays (July 13 and 27)
Open Lab Time: Inventors Club (Lunar Design Challenge)
Free
12 - 2 p.m.
Join us for a Lunar Design Challenge! Learn about future plans for exploring the Moon and sketch your ideas for a robotic rover or human habitat to scale using the Engineering Design Process. Combine upcycled materials to prototype your invention for Lunar Exploration. Our Makers Lab staff will help you practice with tools like hammers, hot glue guns, rotary cutters, and LED simple circuits to create an engineering model to take home.
Ages: 12+. Free.
Mondays (July 14 and 28)
Open Lab Time: Inventors Club (Lunar Design Challenge)
Free
11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Join us for a Lunar Design Challenge! Learn about future plans for exploring the Moon and sketch your ideas for a robotic rover or human habitat to scale using the Engineering Design Process. Combine upcycled materials to prototype your invention for Lunar Exploration. Our Makers Lab staff will help you practice with tools like hammers, hot glue guns, rotary cutters, and LED simple circuits to create an engineering model to take home.
Ages: 12+. Free.
Wednesdays (July 2, 16, 30)
Space Glove Challenge
In the Space Glove Challenge, teens step into the role of spacesuit engineers as you design and prototype your own multi-layered space glove using no-sew fabrication techniques. Explore materials science and ergonomics while crafting gloves capable of withstanding the rigors of lunar tasks. Put your creation to the test with hands-on challenges like opening jars, solving puzzles, and collecting Moon rocks.
Ages 12+. $5.
10 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. – Session 1
11 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. – Session 2
1 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. – Session 3
Fridays (July 4 and 18)
Teen Maker Hour: Houston, We Have a Shadowbox!
10:30 am – 11:30 am
You’re the systems engineer in this Apollo-inspired lab hour where teens design and build a glowing lunar shadowbox keepsake! Using 2-D vector graphic design, cut intricate layers from cardstock and cardboard on the Glowforge Laser Printer and Cricut Cutting Machines. Wire up a simple LED circuit to light up your landing scene and create shadows on the Moon. It's the perfect mix of space history, design, and desktop manufacturing.
Ages 12+. $10.
Saturdays (July 5, 12, 19, 26)
Teen Maker Hour: Houston, We Have a Shadowbox!
10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
You’re the systems engineer in this Apollo-inspired lab hour where teens design and build a glowing lunar shadowbox keepsake! Using 2-D vector graphic design, cut intricate layers from cardstock and cardboard on the Glowforge Laser Printer and Cricut Cutting Machines. Wire up a simple LED circuit to light up your landing scene and create shadows on the Moon. It's the perfect mix of space history, design, and desktop manufacturing.
Ages 12+. $10.
Open Lab Time: Inventors Club (Lunar Design Challenge)
Free
12:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Join us for a Lunar Design Challenge! Learn about future plans for exploring the Moon and sketch your ideas for a robotic rover or human habitat to scale using the Engineering Design Process. Combine upcycled materials to prototype your invention for lunar exploration. Our Makers Lab staff will help you practice with tools like hammers, hot glue guns, rotary cutters, and LED simple circuits to create an engineering model to take home.
Ages: 12+. Free.
June: STEAM Literature Series (Every Thursday at 10 a.m. inside Spark!Lab)
- July 3: Rockets: Learn about the rockets that have taken us to space and the Moon.
- July 10: Living in Space: Learn how living on the International Space Station is a little like extreme camping. You’d better bring everything you need!
- July 17: Animals in Space: Learn about the animals that have been to space and their journeys help people on the International Space Station.
- July 24: Teamwork on the ISS: Learn how teamwork makes life in space possible.
- July 31: Habitats: Learn what you would need in order to live on the Moon or Mars.