STEAM Expo Days

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Use magnetic marbles representing protons and neutrons to model a nucleus, then smash it to pieces just like scientists at MSU’s Facility for Rare Isotope Beams! FRIB is a world-leading laboratory for creating and studying rare isotopes that don’t exist on Earth. This is your chance to create exotic nuclei and discover more about FRIB research!

Learn more about A Smashing Time with Nuclei at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Every day we turn on our faucets, showers, dishwashers, laundry machines, and countless other water-dependent conveniences without stopping to consider: Where does all that water come from? For the tri-county region of Clinton, Eaton, and Ingham counties, 100% of our water comes from below ground. Through a private well or a public utility, we all rely heavily on groundwater. Stop by and learn all about groundwater as we build the region’s Saginaw Aquifer in a Cup!

Learn more about All About Groundwater: Saginaw's Aquifer in a Cup

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

There is a lot of water in the world but very little of it is safe to drink. Stop by our booth and find out how you can protect Michigan's drinking water as well as water resources immediately around you, in your watershed, in aquatic ecosystems, and beyond! We will have a water trivia game, crafts, and a dazzling groundwater model that shows how the water cycle connects the water above ground that we can see and to the water below ground that we cannot see. We will use dyes to show how pollution moves through the water cycle and offer tips on how you can be a water steward.

Learn more about All Water is Connected and Ours to Protect

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Animals are amazing! From spots to stripes and horns to teeth, animals are equipped with a wonderful array of adaptations to help them survive in the wild. Join Potter Park Zoo as we explore skulls, pelts, antlers, horns, and teeth and learn about some of the fascinating, cool, and sometimes weird physical and behavioral adaptations found in the animal kingdom.

Learn more about Amazing Animal Adaptations

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Join us at the Neuroscience Fair! One of our stuffed animals had a little tumble and needs a brain check-up! Visitors will get to pick a stuffed animal and help “scan” the toy’s head using a pretend MRI machine. As they learn how doctors take pictures of the brain to make sure everything is okay, kids get to see images of real brains and talk about how medical tools—though sometimes loud or unfamiliar—can help us feel better and stay safe.

Learn more about Animal Brain Scanner

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Join us at the Neuroscience Fair! Explore our brain zoo and see the wild diversity of brains across the animal kingdom! At this interactive station, participants will examine real and model animal brains, compare structures, and discover how brain anatomy relates to behavior. Try the guessing game: match each brain to its animal and flip the card to check your answer. Along the way, we’ll highlight different brain areas and discuss how evolution has shaped the brain.

Learn more about Animal Brains

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Discover the wonders of life in the water! Develop an understanding of how aquatic habitats are formed, how they sustain life, and why we need to protect these fragile ecosystems. Learn about the plants and animals that call these remarkable habitats home through biofact exploration, live animals displays, and aquatic invertebrate investigations.

Learn more about Aquatic Ecology

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Movement plays an important role in our life—from everyday activities like walking, to activities like sports or dance that require years and years of practice. Do you know how well you move? In this presentation, find out how technology helps us understand how to measure human movement, motor skills, and how we use this knowledge to help people with movement impairments.

Learn more about Are You the Next Olympic Athlete? Learn How to Measure Movement and Motor Skills

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Become a chemist for a day! In this hands-on challenge, you’ll mix ingredients using an automated system that runs reactions with electricity instead of heat or flames. Watch the current rise as your reaction speeds up; the higher the current, the higher your score! Try to beat the computer as it learns from your choices and predicts new combinations. This fun, game-style experiment shows how scientists use automation and artificial intelligence to discover faster, cleaner, and smarter ways to make molecules.

Learn more about Automation Arcade: Exploring Chemistry with AI

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age

Rewild and reconnect with nature with the Beal Botanical Garden! Take a peek into the tiny world of pollinators using our microscopes and discover how pollinators help plants thrive. Then mix and match unexpected plants to create a your own custom tea bag, bringing a dose of nature home with you!

Learn more about Beal: Rewilding and Reconnecting

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

How do scientists figure out what’s in the world around us, from the air we breath to the food we eat?

In Analyze This!, visitors will explore hands-on activities created by MSU chemistry undergraduate students from selected student projects in CEM 434 (Advanced Analytical Chemistry) in fall 2025. Each booth features a student-designed experiment or interactive demo that reveals how analytical chemists detect, measure, and visualize the elements and molecules, the invisible building blocks of matter, in environment and biological systems we care about.

From exploring color and light to uncovering hidden elements and molecules, these activities invite visitors to think like chemical detectives. Stop by to analyze, discover, and see how analytical chemistry connects to everyday life!

Learn more about Become a Chemical Detective! Learn How to Analyze Elements and Molecules

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Every living thing has a genome—DNA consisting of the letters A, T, G, and C—with instructions for how to grow and develop. Decoding these instructions is fun and requires good investigation skills. We invite you to put on your detective hat and solve the mystery of why “identical twin” plants that differ by only a single DNA letter have completely different appearances. As a plant genome investigator, you will learn how scientists use both computers and experiments to decode the information hidden in genomes.

Learn more about Become a Plant Genome Investigator!

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age

Even though pollution may not be visible at first sight, there may be clues hiding under the surface! Join us in learning to identify water contamination through applying skills from chemistry and biology. Testing water chemistry, observing organism behavior and biology, can provide insight into water contamination identification and effects. Take measurements, make observations, brainstorm solutions, and train with us to become a water detective! (Recommended to audience members age pre-K through fifth grade).

Learn more about Become a Water Detective!

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

This interactive program showcases how plants defend themselves and adapt to their environments. Participants will explore physical and chemical defenses, observe insects interacting with protected and unprotected plants, and link plant defense chemicals to everyday items like coffee and disinfectants. A Lego challenge lets participants design tomato plants to survive stressors like drought or herbivory. Through hands-on activities, demonstrations, and real-world connections, the program highlights the importance of plant defenses, their ecological roles, and the need for sustainable practices. Fun, accessible, and relevant, it’s perfect for all ages.

Learn more about Botanical Battlegrounds: Adapt, Survive, and Thrive!

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age

Blow bubbles and see if you can balance them on your hands!

Learn more about Bouncing Bubbles

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Join us at the Neuroscience Fair! Need a moment to unwind? Little ones can take a break from the buzz of the fair in this kid-friendly space filled with coloring pages, simple games, and soft toys. There’s no schedule, no instructions, just a comfy spot to relax, reset, and enjoy some quiet play. Whether it’s a few minutes of coloring or a full-on toy adventure, this zone is perfect for recharging little brains before jumping back into the excitement.

Learn more about Brain Break

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Join us at the Neuroscience Fair! Think you know how the brain works? Put your knowledge to the test in our “Myth or Fact?” sorting challenge! Participants will examine common brain statements and decide whether they’re true or just popular misconceptions. As we reveal the real science behind each claim, visitors will learn how neuroscience research helps us separate fact from fiction.

Learn more about Brain Myths Busted!

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Join us at the Neuroscience Fair! Put your brain together—literally! At this hands-on station, participants will assemble a colorful puzzle of the brain using velcro-backed pieces. As you build, we’ll explore what each region does—from vision in the occipital lobe to movement in the motor cortex. Once complete, they can take a puzzle set home or scan the QR code to print their own.

Learn more about Brain Puzzle

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Create your own forest using Legos and see how the temperature changes under your trees in different weather conditions. Can you make your forest cooler or warmer? What has the biggest impact: wind, sunlight, or rain? The temperature inside a forest is crucial for the animals and plants that live there, but climate models usually only predict the temperature above the trees, not underneath them. To improve predictions about climate change, we need to better understand this often overlooked area between the ground and the treetops.

Learn more about Build Your Own Forest!

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age

Use your creativity and build with us!

Learn more about Building Station