This month our mission was to visit the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown, PA. I’m sort of from that neck of the woods so it was fun to go back. This place wasn’t there when I was growing up and we had the best time exploring and learning!
As part of this special scavenger hunt the kids each got their own safari hat and binoculars to go hunt for clues. They were ready to roll! The clues were pretty easy yet still challenging enough to keep it fun. Along the way we learned a lot about energy consumption and the best choices to make to save.
One of the first clues in our hunt sent us to this cool display of how much water the average person uses in one day. 7 gallons a day in the kitchen! And that’s just one person. I have a family of 4 so you can see how fast it adds up.
A really educational part of the Center is this PPL exhibit. In each room of this ‘house’ you find info that will help you save money on energy costs and make your home more efficient.
One of our clues had us testing out these three light bulbs to see which one is the most energy efficient. Do you have a guess? The LED was the winner!
Not only did we have a great time completing the scavenger hunt and learning a lot along the way about energy efficiency, but when we were done we stayed and played a while longer. This was hands down the favorite exhibit for all of us. Do you remember those desktop pinart things you could put your hand in and make a ‘print’? Well this was the same, with the goal of demonstrating what a pixel is, but it was full body size! Omigosh we had so much fun with this thing!
There are 2 floors to the Da Vinci Science Center so there’s plenty to explore and everything is really interactive. My son Leo and I tried to build some sort of structure here using the center of mass concept to keep it from tipping over. I didn’t have very much luck! But he did pretty well. Smart cookie!
And I’ll leave you with family favorite. These reflection tubes were a hit with the kids! They loved seeing themselves over and over and over and over again. Well who wouldn’t? They’re super cute little scavenger hunters!
Dana Waters says
Hi! I love these ideas! Is there a chance that you can share the scavenger hunt questions/clues? I’m heading there with my class this Friday and would love to provide them with a purposeful agenda during the trip.
Lindsay Frank says
Hi Dana, I don’t have a copy of the questions. This was something they gave us when we arrived. I hope you have a great time with your class!