It’s summer. It’s hot. And you’re tired of getting sand stuck between your toes.
What to do? Grab your aviators, turn up the music, and hit the road to visit the country’s best science and tech museums, where STEM learning leaps off the page and into vivid, 3-D life. My organization, 100Kin10, is made up hundreds of best-in-class STEM organizations, including about a dozen of these science-rich spots, which we think are the best of the best. I interviewed each of them, and what follows is a hand-picked selection of the most fun (and sometimes free!) activities at each of these gems. Join me over the next three days as we map out your great American STEM road trip. We’ll start a short hop off the Mass Pike in Boston, skirting the Charles River, with . . .
Museum of Science, Boston
What makes the museum special?
The Museum of Science, Boston is one of the world’s largest science centers. Situated on the Charles River, in the heart of Boston, the Museum offers an extraordinary variety of exhibits that explore both the natural and engineered worlds, including the Hall of Human Life, and Wicked Smart: Invented in the Hub, highlighting local innovation.
The world’s largest air insulated Van de Graaff generator, found at the Museum of Science.
Ashley McCabe
What’s an exhibit people should come see this summer?
This Summer, BODY WORLDS, the most visited traveling exhibit in the world, comes to the Museum of Science with a new chapter, Gunther von Hagens’ BODY WORLDS & The Cycle of Life. This exhibit gives visitors the unique opportunity to take a look within and gain a new perspective on their own health.
What else should people look for?
The Museum of Science, Boston is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the moon landing with Moon Landing 50th: One Giant Anniversary throughout the month of July, culminating in a weekend spectacular of space-themed programming and activities on July 19 and 20.
Is there anything free that happens during the summer?
On Friday nights from April to October, the Museum hosts a variety of free, hands-on astronomy and space science activities, including viewings of astronomical objects through the telescope in the Museum’s Gilliland Observatory.
Get back in your car and head south toward New York City (but consider catching a game at Fenway first). Before you reach the towers of midtown Manhattan, stop in the Bronx for this breath of fresh air — and reminder that many children’s first love of STEM happens in the outdoors.
New York Botanical Garden, Bronx
What makes the Botanical Garden so special?
An oasis from busy city life, the New York Botanical Garden is home to more than one million living plants. The Garden invites visitors to explore the wonders of plants from across the globe and acts as a global hub for plant science and conservation.
What’s an exhibit people should come see this summer?
As NYBG’s largest botanical exhibition ever, Brazilian Modern: The Living Art of Roberto Burle Marx introduces visitors to a man who was a force of nature in Brazil and the creator of some of the country’s most famous gardens and landscapes. The exhibit showcases the native plants of Brazil alongside vast and immersive gardens, patterned pathways and beautiful water features.
Roberto Burle Marx in his garden.
New York Botanic Garden
Is there anything free that happens during the summer?
On Wednesdays and from 9-10am on Saturdays, Grounds Admission is free to everyone – providing access to outdoor gardens, collections and the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden.
Make sure to stop at nearby Arthur Avenue for some old-school Italian charm before heading down the West Side Highway to the . . .
Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, New York City
What makes the museum so special?
At the Intrepid, visitors can take a deep dive into the intersection of history and innovation. Exhibits include a WWII aircraft carrier, Cold War submarine, high-speed planes and even a space shuttle.
What is the most fun exhibit this summer?
Just in time for the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing, the Museum has opened a new installation for the summer, Apollo 11: Media, the Moon and Beyond. The installation carries visitors from the awe of that historic moment in 1969 to a preview of the adventures still to come.
This is the Defying Gravity exhibit which focuses on the history, present, and future of women in space.
The Intrepid Museum
What else should people look for?
The museum’s Defying Gravity exhibit introduces visitors to the women whose work and courage have shaped the history – and future – of space travel. Defying Gravity showcases the stories that have too often gone untold.
Is there anything free that happens during the summer?
On select Friday nights through October, the museum will offer free admission for after-hours talks, telescopes for viewing the night sky, interactive experiences, and movie nights. On weekends, families can also enjoy one-hour Intrepid Adventures free with admission, giving kids and their caregivers a chance to explore STEM topics together.
Leave the car wherever you parked it, walk on the nearby High Line, skip the dystopian stairway to nowhere and hitch a pedi-cab, subway, or some citi bikes and head just over a mile uptown to the . . .
American Museum of Natural History, New York City
What makes the museum so special?
The American Museum of Natural History is one of the biggest natural history museums in the world. Home to dozens of exhibition halls that showcase the natural wonders of our world – from tiny plants to the gigantic dinosaurs that once roamed the planet — it is impossible to escape a sense of wonder when you’re inside.
What’s an exhibit people should come see this summer?
The first major exhibition of the American Museum of Natural History’s 150th anniversary celebration, T. rex: The Ultimate Predator is a summertime must-see. The exhibit brings visitors nose-to-nose with the most terrifying dinosaur of them all – complete with a groundbreaking true-to-life representation of T. rex and a thrilling virtual reality experience.
American Museum of Natural History
What else should people look for?
Escape the summer heat and enter the underwater world of Oceans: Our Blue Planet, screening daily at the museum. The film harnesses the power of cutting-edge technology to take visitors on a journey from the coasts to the deep.
Is there anything free that happens during the summer?
On July 20, the museum will mark the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing with SpaceFest, a day-long event filled with talks, interactive exhibits, and activities for the entire family. Events are free for members or with museum admission.
Before you leave the teeming, exhilarating streets of New York, don’t miss the chance to explore one of its greatest spots, just across the East River in the most diverse county in the United States . . .
New York Hall of Science, Queens
What makes it so great?
The New York Hall of Science, known to locals as NYSCI, delivers an up-close, hands-on encounter with science and technology in the heart of Queens. Housed in a building that was originally constructed for the 1964 World’s Fair, the museum now offers a simulated space elevator that takes visitors to the edge of the atmosphere. Visitors also have the chance to design and test a supersonic fighter jet – and face off in a virtual high-speed flying competition.
Scenes from the “Designing for Flight” day at New York Hall of Science in Corona, Queens August 17, 2013.
New York Hall of Science
What’s an exhibit people should come see this summer?
Above and Beyond – The Ultimate Flight Exhibition takes visitors on an immersive journey through the past, present, and future of air travel. Families will learn about the aerospace innovations of the past – and how science is taking air travel into the future.
Is there anything free that happens during the summer?
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, NYSCI is offering free flight- and space-themed workshops, exhibitions, and demonstrations during Space Out Summer. Highlights of the summer-long celebration include opportunities to make your own glider or origami airplane, a photography exhibit on women in the space age and a planetary escape room.
A family enjoys an exhibit at the New York Hall of Science
New York Hall of Science
The borough’s diversity means some of the best food you’ll eat on any roadtrip. Pick one of these places, and order one meal to go. You’ll need provisions as you head south. (Join tomorrow for the continuation of the Great American STEM Roadtrip. And if you have feelings about the perfect mix-tape for this epic trip, tweet your ideas to me.)
