Admissions:
Public Admission:
$5.00 for adults and for children ages 3 and older
Special discounts for groups who schedule in advance.
Description:
Our unique exhibits and educational programs demystify science and engineering, and inspire interest and confidence in learning. The Works has provided kid-friendly STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) programs since 1995.
Our "hands-on, minds-on" exhibits are grouped into three major theme areas:
Build! — structures and shapes
Families who visit on Saturdays between 1pm and 3pm can participate in our special family activities. Can you build a tower out of raw pasta? How about solve the ultimate circuit challenge? Perhaps you want to mix up some gooey slime. The Works family activities change each month.
Gears & Gizmos
The Gears & Gizmos area is full of real-world and whimsical machines that invite you to explore how gears, pulleys, cams and other simple machines work. Intriguing discovery stations let you crank up an amazing assortment of mechanisms to learn how simple machines can change movement — speed, direction and force. You can also create your own gear-driven contraptions.
Some examples of what you'll see include:
- Giant Zipper: See wedges at work as you zip up a 6 foot tall zipper.
- Race Track: Experiment with wheels, weight and design as you build and race K'NEX cars.
- Pulley Power: Can you lift those heavy weights? Find out how & why pulleys help!
Build!
The Build! area features a tantalizing variety of bricks and blocks in many shapes to build constructions and imaginations.
Enjoy:
Foam Bricks: Stack up towers, houses, arches and igloos with The Works' custom foam blocks cut to the size of classical Roman bricks.
The Interactive Image
The Interactive Image exhibits let you explore imaging and optical technologies — from optical sensors to image manipulation to animation to fiber optics. Exhibits areas include Optical Sensors, the Digital Playground, Color Mixing, Animation, and Bending & Bouncing Light.
Enjoy Exhibits such as:
- Light Harp: Play a harp with "strings" made of laser light.
- Colored Shadows: Chase multicolored, full-size shadows of yourself.
- Strobe Stream: Watch a stream of water turn into gleaming, colliding drops under a strobe light.