Educational Programs

For this school year, the Bradbury Science Museum provides a choice of three themed experiences that are offered as either an interactive virtual field trip, a visit to your classroom, or a trip to the museum.

Step 1: Choose your theme

     A. Engineering:  What is an engineer and what do they do?  Students are introduced to the field of engineering and given a hands-on challenge to solve using only the provided materials. Engineering projects include penny bridges (grades K-2nd), card towers (2nd-6th), paper airplanes (4th-8th), windmills (4th-8th) catapults (4th-9th), speakers (9th-12th) and earthquake-proof straw structures (4th-12th).

     B. Manhattan Project:  How did spies infiltrate the Manhattan Project and communicate during WWII?  Students are immersed into a past world of analog radio, Morse Code, encrypted messages, and espionage as they investigate a cast of characters at Project Y.  Students work together to solve an underground spy plot occurring at Los Alamos.  Recommended for 7^th–12^th grade.  See the flyer and a short video of this theme. 

Step 2: Choose your experience

    A. Interactive virtual field trip: After you choose one of the above themes, we will mail materials to your classroom for distribution to your students.  We first live-stream with your students, introducing the topic and their project.  Students then work on their projects over a week or so before we reconnect for follow-up and Q&A.  We generally need about an hour for the first live-stream, and 30-60 min for the closing live-stream.  The advantage of virtual delivery is that (1) there is much more flexibility in scheduling, (2) we can accommodate more students (including multiple classrooms at once), and (3) students have more time to work on their projects or dig deeper into a particular topic.  Students keep the materials for their projects except those of the Manhattan Project theme, which will need to be returned with the provided pre-paid postage. Available themed activities: penny bridge, card tower, catapult, Manhattan Project, Building Immunity.

   B. We visit your classroom (Science on Wheels): We can visit your school and bring along materials for the chosen theme.  Our educators introduce the topic and lead the students through the hands-on activity while we are there.  We generally need a 90-minute time slot for each group and require that we meet with at least two groups/classes (two 90-minute time slots) at your school during that day.  Some of the themes are abbreviated compared to those delivered through the interactive virtual field trip option.  We are limited to a Tuesday/Thursday schedule for these visits and have a cap of 2 total trips per school. Available themed activities: penny bridge, card tower, catapult, earthquake-proof structures, Manhattan Project, Building Immunity.

   C. You visit us (Museum Explorations): We are excited to finally be able to welcome school groups back to the Bradbury!  Museum visits will begin at 10:00am and last approximately 2.5 hours.  During this time, students will work through a hands-on activity in our Tech Lab and explore our gallery exhibits, and will also enjoy a bonus excursion to the Los Alamos History Museum with a themed activity.  Groups over 45 students will need to be split into multiple visits.  COVID safety protocols are still in place at the Bradbury. Available themed activities: card tower, windmill, speakers, earthquake-proof structures, Manhattan Project, Building Immunity.

Step 3: Schedule your Bradbury program

Please email bsm-edu@lanl.gov to start the scheduling process. Be sure to include the type of engagement you would like for your students.

To view dates available for programs, please check out this program calendar.

• BSMA Bus Scholarship Application

One of our educators will get back to you to discuss openings in our schedule.  Thank you!

Step 4: Provide feedback

After your fieldtrip, you will receive an email requesting feedback from you and your students.  Your feedback helps support the continuation and improvement of our free educational programming. We value your thoughts about your experience!