Walk In Programs | The Eli Whitney Museum and Workshop

Walk In Programs

Visitors working on the My Hero Blockhead project

From Labor Day to Memorial Day we are open on Saturdays from 10 – 3 and Sundays from 12 – 5. When you visit us on a weekend day, an apprentice will work with your child as they build a project and begin to experiment. Sessions last from 20 minutes to an hour. Projects change from weekend to weekend. A sampling of possible projects is available here.

During the summer, we are open on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 – 4. Walk-in projects are available on the weekends just as they are in the Fall and Winter. Our Water Learning Lab is open on the weekends from May through October (as weather permits.)

Measure Mobile

measure-mobile-2011

Balancing Circus

balancing-circus-9.10

The Circus explores the art and science of balance, forces, center or gravity and performance. Conceived with a nod to artist /engineer Sandy Calder, each circus tests classic experiments at work.

Expands STC curriculum.

Block Heads

BlockHeads group

Machine Design

Experiment with mechanical movement: use cams and wheels to change the speed, direction and shape of motion. Invent applications for motions: create figures that dance or jump, fence or box. Put your imagination in motion.

Sink and Float

fishing_boat_9.10

Leonardo Paddleboat

Decorated Paddleboat

Water was the teacher Leonardo loved best. He studied its tiniest droplets and its shattering waves. He envisioned boats the future would bring. Construct his paddlewheel boat and conduct experiments that Leonardo proposes for all students of science.

Simple Machines

Simple Machines

Whitney demonstrated the power of machines to guide and ease work. The screws, threads, levers and pulleys of this machine organize effort into power you can feel. Students assemble interchangeable parts and invent a personality for their machine.

Pinball Machine

Pinball-rev.1.12

A popular project that teaches game design (beginnings, middles and ends), logic (rewards for difficulty), marble movement (caroms, momentum) and creative design (good games must still attract players.) A rare exploration of the work of play.

Catapult

Explore the ancient and challenging mechanics of catapults. Rubber bands power this model. Safe for people and places when used with the ping pong ball provided. Make Happy Birds and fling them with accuracy.

Rubber Band Car

Rubber Band Car

Students construct cars powered by rubber bands and measure their performance after 20 minutes of practice. Lively insights into the mechanics, measurement and math of motion. Great for a followup program on creative elaboration. New design now employs wheels of diameter 1/π.

Electromagnet

New Electromagnet

Switch on understanding. Construct a battery pack. Test it. Connect a simple switch Test it. Install an incandescent light. Test it. Then experiment with other challenges.... Lessons in electricity and thinking.

Including a new green LED circuit.

Reversing Switch & Buggy

rev-swtch-2011-2

A battery's current flows in one direction. Clever arrangement of switches can reverse that direction. Construct a controller with a battery, motor and ultralight buggy which can go forward or backward. Learn wiring logic, precision, and trouble shooting.

Magnetic Pendulum

Ecosystems Magnetic Pendulum

All creatures live in a web of resources that support or suppress their growth. Create a dynamic model of an insect’s or bird’s world. Suspend a magnetized creature on a pendulum. Add food and shelter (with magnets) that attract the creature and predators and hazards that repel it. The creature navigates a complex and fascinating path.

Canal Boat

Canal boats tell the story of the first bold man-made trade network, of community cooperation, of the ingenious use of water power. Construct a boat, its mules, people and canal bed in 1/4th" scale. Operate a model lock. With the rich illustrations of Peter Spier's Erie Canal ©1970

Journeys / Trade

Cultures

To understand a people, study them where they live. Construct simplified model houses to consider the climates, resources, materials and traditions that define culture. Focus on a region. Focus on a historic area. Focus on a common pursuit like baking bread. Create façades of local architecture.

Colonial Toys

Colonial Toys - Bo Peep and Jugglers

Capoeira

Capoeira: a blend of martial arts, games, and dance that originated in Brazil during the 16th century. The tradition is marked by fluid acrobatic play, feints, and extensive use of groundwork, including sweeps, kicks, and headbutts.

Sustainable Light

Change is just around the corner. Experiment with Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), the cool light revolution that will change the future of electricity consumption. Master a simple circuit that controls energy flow. Reverse the polarity!

Brazilian Dancing Turtles

Turtles have an intricate history in many indigenous cultures. In fact some cultures believe that the earth rose from the back of a turtle’s shell.

ElectriCITY v2012

Wired ElectriCity

Switch on understanding. Construct a battery pack. Test it. Connect a simple switch Test it. Install an incandescent light. Test it. Then experiment with other challenges.... Lessons in electricity and thinking.

Including a new green LED circuit.