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Student Indoor Lab Activities

Grassland Birds of the Midwest  (grades K–5)
Did you know there are an estimated 9,000 species of birds in the world? In this activity, students will learn how to identify some of the many birds that inhabit Missouri’s grassland areas. Students will also learn where these birds make their nests, what many of these species eat, hear their unique calls, and learn many other interesting birding basics. Following this presentation, students will get to create and decorate their own one-of-a-kind bird feeder out of materials provided by our staff.

Insects of the Prairie  (grades K–5)
Explore the creepy-crawly world of the insects that call Missouri prairies home! This hands-on program consists of exploratory activities that help students learn about the classification and parts of insects. Students will create their very own bug mask and may also tour our native plant garden to observe insects such as the dogbane leaf beetle, yellow garden spider, and the red milkweed beetle in their natural habitat.

Solid, Liquids, and Gases  (grades 2–8)
This program introduces the concepts of how atoms are arranged in solids, liquids, and gases. Following this presentation, students will work in small groups to create a simple chemical reaction that further demonstrates the properties of solids, liquids, and gases. For higher grade levels, properties of plasmas will also be introduced.

Tower of Power  (grades 3–8)
Students will learn about some of the many types of engineers and gain basic information about how engineers solve problems and how engineers construct different types of towers. Following this short presentation, teams of students will apply what they have learned and race against each other to see who can build the best tower, which must pass a series of fun and exciting tests in order to win. This indoor activity may also be performed outdoors.

pHear Factor (grades 4–12)
Water quality testing is done on a regular basis at the Weldon Spring Site and pH is one of the most fundamental tests. In this activity, students work in teams to explore the meaning of the pH scale and then put the test to a variety of substances using laboratory-grade materials. Students will also be able to see other types of technical equipment to test pH and other parameters.