Rediscovering Science
Join us for science exploration with activities you can do at home! We have different themes to keep you curious about the world around you. Once you complete the featured activity, email it to us and we’ll send you a WET Science Center prize – a pencil, magnet, or stickers. Thurston County residents can also enter our monthly drawing by sending us a photo of any Science in Action activity.
Think Like a Scientist
What makes you curious about the world around you? How often do you ask questions? You’re thinking like a scientist! Make observations, try an experiment, and use your scientific tools! This week we are all scientists.
Featured Activity
Draw yourself as a scientist.
Science in Action
Think Like a Scientist!
Will it sink or will it float?
Does it dissolve?
What makes a penny shiny?
Can you power a car with a balloon?
Teeny Tiny Worlds
Pause to take an up-close look at the tiniest of creatures. Explore pond life, search for insects in your neighborhood, or create a miniature habitat. There’s a tiny world out there!
Featured Activity
What can you find in one square foot?
Science in Action
Become a Water Bug
Plankton in Puget Sound
Build a Plankton Net
Microbe Terrarium
LOTT’s Wastewater Microbes
What Did Dinosaurs Drink?
How is it possible that the water on Earth today is the water from millions of years ago? The water cycle, that’s how. Go back in time to see how Earth’s animals have changed, while water has stayed the same.
Featured Activity
Create a timeline of Earth’s major events.
Science in Action
Clay Fossils
Homemade Dinosaur Bones
Outside Dinosaur Nest
“What Did Dinosaurs Drink?” Book Reading
Super Science Sleuths
You can be a Super Science Sleuth anywhere, anytime. A sleuth is a detective! All it takes is the power of a question. Find patterns in nature? Will you be able to decode the message? What else might you uncover?
Featured Activity
Look for patterns in nature.
Science in Action
Save Fred the Gummy Worm
Test pH with Cabbage Juice
Watercolor Secret Messages
Cipher Wheel
Discover with your 5 Senses
Humans use five senses to observe our world. Dive into the world of sight, sound, hearing, touch, and taste. Create visual illusions, try a taste test, and listen to a water xylophone.
Featured Activity
Experience water in five ways.
Science in Action
Paper Spinner
Taste Bud Mapping
Nature Sound Map
Fizzy Bath Balls
Seven Days of STEAM
Ever wonder how scientists study the world around us? With our STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) activities, you’ll ask a question, then answer it. STEAM is for everyone!
Featured Activity
Design a marble maze with objects around your house.
Science in Action
Toilet Paper Tube Binoculars for a Biologist
Density Tower Experiment for a Chemist
Robot Hand for a Robotics Engineer
Banjo Lids for an Inventor
ARTrageous Kids
Pull out your art supplies because we’re about to get ARTrageous. Using supplies in your home and a little creativity, you can create a masterpiece. Share photos with us so we can admire your creations too!
Featured Activity
Create an Andy Goldsworthy masterpiece.
Science in Action
Recycled Plastic Shrinky Dinks
Popup Cards
Water Drop Collage
Recycled Gratitude Rainbow
A Drop in the Bucket
Earth is called the blue planet for a reason. But how much of the world’s water is clean and fresh? With simple science experiments you can find out. Plus you’ll discover more about how you can protect water, one of our most precious resources.
Featured Activity
If all the world’s water could fit in a bucket.
Science in Action
Water Drop Maze
Be a Water Superhero
Drops on a Penny
Wastewater Calculator
Discover Water Computer Game
Explore the Outdoors
Embrace your curiosity for the outdoors and prepare to use all of your senses. You’ll be exploring the amazing ecosystem right outside your door. What do you think you might see?
Featured Activity
Be an outdoor explorer to see what you can find and hear.
Science In Action
Olympia Parks Junior Ranger
Nature Paint Brushes
Nature Weave
Backyard Ecosystem
Roly Poly Science Experiment
At Home Camp-A-Thon
Ready, set, camp! Who said you have to camp only outside? Indoors or out, you will build the camping skills to make you a successful camper. Maybe you can even make s’mores.
Featured Activity
Practice the skills to be a great camper.
Science in Action
Build a Blanket Fort
Natural Balance STEM Challenge
Tie Strong Knots
Campfire Recipes
TP Roll Campfire
Endless Possibilities of Green Design
With green and blue design, we can build a beautiful world for not only humans but also plants, bugs, and birds. The whole ecosystem! Dig into the big ideas of sustainable design and become an engineer that builds for all of Earth.
Featured Activity
Go on a green design scavenger hunt.
Science in Action
Tour a LEED Certified Building
Solar Oven
Sponge Sprout House
Recycled Magazine Bowl
Bursting Blooms & Bubbles
Flowers and bubbles burst in all colors of the rainbow! Get creative with bubbles, and explore the diverse world of flowers from bud to bloom.
Featured Activity
Go on a bloom hunt to find different types and colors of flowers.
Science in Action
Flower dissection
Blooming paper flowers
Paper Hyacinths
Super bubble solution
Recycled Bottle Bubble Paint
Show Love for Orcas
Southern Resident orcas love Chinook salmon almost as much as we love orcas! Orcas of the Salish Sea are important to our ecosystem, but face many challenges from human disruption. Celebrate the start of Orca Month.
Featured Activity
Show off your orca knowledge.
Science in Action
How blubber works experiment
Echolocation experiment
Whale origami
Orca markings are like fingerprints
Live cameras of Orcas
Powerful Pollinators
Bees, butterflies, birds, bats, and beetles all play an important role in pollination. Did you know 75% of all plants need pollinators? Get to know some amazing pollinators with our activities!
Featured Activity
Take a walk around your neighborhood to find pollinators.
Science in Action
Homemade Hummingbird Feeder
Pressed Flower Sun Catcher
Pollination Cheetos Experiment
What’s Your Pollinator Knowledge?