FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 2012

Free Day at the MIT Museum
When: Friday, April 20, 10am - 5pm
Where: Building N51, 265 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge (T: Red Line to Central Square or Bus #1)
Ages:  Best for 5 and up

Every year during the first day of the Cambridge Science Festival, the MIT Museum opens its doors and invites the public to experience it in all its scientific glory without paying admission. That’s great, but we can always visit the MIT Museum for free on Sunday mornings (10-noon) and the second Friday evening of each month (5-8pm).

What makes this day truly special at the museum is the slate of hands-on, interactive programs and activities you can enjoy at the museum, like testing video games, exploring the slide rule, and mimicking a marine animal call.

Science Carnival
When: Friday, April 20, 12n-4pm
Where: Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway, Cambridge, MA
Ages: All

The science festival’s signature event is being held on a Friday this year, giving families another great activity for their April staycations. From noon to 4:00pm, kids and their parents explore all things science with activities, shows and demonstrations. If you don’t want to spend the entire afternoon in line, you may want to skip the most popular booths, like the Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream exhibit.

A couple of fun highlights for this year’s Science Carnival are The Giant Cell, an inflatable model of a human white blood cell magnified 300,000 times, that you can literally walk into; and The Science of Circus, where circus performers will demonstrate their awe-inspiring skills and explain the science behind their amazing feats.

SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 2012
Earth Day Recycling Program
When: Saturday, April 21, 1pm - 4pm
Where:  Harvard Recycling and Surplus Center, 175 N Harvard St, Allston
Ages: Recommended for ages 8 and up and accompanied by an adult
Registration: Space is limited, and advance reservations are required. Call 617-495-3216 for reservations.

Do you ever wonder where donated computers get refurbished, or what happens to the stuff you donate? Tour the warehouse (often compared to the one in "Raiders of the Lost Ark") and find out!  You can make and take home your own recycled paper too.

SUNDAY, APRIL 22, 2012

Science of Sports
When: Sunday, April 22, 1pm-4pm
Where:  Madison Park High School and John D. O'Bryant School of Mathematics and Science, 75 Malcolm X Blvd., Roxbury

Does your curious child ever wonder how a curveball curves, a knuckleball works, or a fastball actually rises? Find out during workshops, demonstrations, talks, and activities with athletes, trainers, video game makers, sports medicine doctors, architects, and scientists at Science of Sports.

TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2012

Urban Wild Ecosystem
When: Tuesday, April 24, 8am-9:15am (Rain Date: Wednesday, April 25^t)
Where: Alewife Reservation pathway over Little River bridge (Map). Parking available off of Acorn Park Drive or take the T to Alewife Station.
Ages: All

While your older kids are in school, take your little ones on an accessible walk at Alewife Reservation with Friends of Alewife Reservation and educators from Mass Audubon. Together, you’ll watch wildlife, learn about various pathways, water bodies, and ecosystems, and discover wildlife using sweepnets for insect life, binoculars for bird watching, and field microscopes for small water life.
 

STEAM: Where Art and Science Meet
When: Tuesday, April 24^th, 4:00-6:00pm
Where: Cambridge Creativity Commons, 5th St & Bent St (Map)
Ages: All

At this drop-in event, families create and learn at the new Cambridge Creativity Commons while exploring the intersection of science and art. Students from the East End House will share their mobiles and stabiles, which use principles of balance and motion. Enjoy snacks and create your own wire sculpture with the Commons teaching artist.

SATURDAY, APRIL 28, 2012

Cambridge Explores the Universe
When: Saturday, April 28^th, 12:00-4:00pm
Where: Harvard College Observatory, 60 Garden St, Cambridge (Map), held in Phillips Auditorium (at the rear of the Center for Astrophysics complex near Madison Street and large parking lot)
Ages: 5 and up

Step into the shoes of an astronomer and explore the world of astronomy through hands-on activities, telescope tours, ask an astronomer science cafe, and solar observing. Find out the latest discoveries about the Sun, exoplanets, and black holes, and take your own telescope images.

Do It Yourself Game Design
The Junkyard Track Meet: Tabletop Game Design for the Whole Family
When: Saturday, April 28th, 6:00-9:00pm
Where: MIT Museum, 265 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Ages: Youth and family
Cost: $5. Pre-registration required.

In this workshop, families work together to create and practice their own competitive tabletop sports, and then compete in the sports created by others. The workshop is facilitated by Dr. Scott Nicholson, visiting professor for the Comparative Media Studies program and visiting scholar at the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT game lab at MIT. He runs the blog Because Play Matters. 

For a complete list of the festival’s family events, visit the Cambridge Science Festival blog.

For an interactive map of the event locations with family events marked, visit this page on the Cambridge Science Festival website.