DIY Science Fun

Science is everywhere, and learning can happen anywhere

For the family that loves to experiment, this Do It Yourself series is sure to inspire your inner scientist.

We’ve got hands-on games and activities that range from getting your hands slimy to crafting gravity-defying chutes to exploring the nature in your backyard.

These easy-to-follow guides are simple, fun, and appropriate for most ages (with adult supervision).

Pick an activity below to get started.

 

Area of Interest:

Photo of a completed mammoth ramp walker going down a ramp.
Build a Mammoth Ramp Walker

Bring a mammoth to life at home! Use the fundamentals of physics to create your own “walking” prehistoric mammal. Experiment with different materials, surfaces and curvatures for maximum mammoth fun.

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  • Things to Make
  • Experiments
A child mixes ingredients in a bowl.
Homemade Play Dough

Play with chemistry as you measure, mix and knead ingredients to create play dough you can pull, squeeze, twist and poke!

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  • Things to Make
A Science Centre host folding paper.
Soaring Science

Make an easy, unlikely-looking paper plane that really soars.

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  • Things to Make
  • Experiments
  • Flight
A loaf of bread.
Science of Sourdough

Harness the power of fermentation to make a simple sourdough starter from scratch.

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  • Fun With Food
  • Experiments
A folded paper toy.
Fold the Facts

Expand your knowledge of volcanoes by unfolding all kinds of fun facts! Create a fortuneteller that erupts with questions and overflows with answers.

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  • Puzzles + Games
A rocket launching into space.
Build a Bottle Rocket

Set up your launch pad, build your bottle rocket and prepare for an impressive display of Newton’s three laws of motion. Create an equal and opposite reaction to remember with this explosive experiment!

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  • Get Outside
  • Flight
  • Space
A girl holding a pitcher of lemonade in front of a lemonade stand.
Make Fizzy Lemonade

Experience a classic summer refresher with a science twist! Gather your lemons, sugar and baking soda for this experiment with acids and bases—and finish with a fizzy drink.

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  • Fun With Food
A photo of a maple leaf and a twig from a cedar tree
Leaf Identification Game

Do you know your white oaks from your red maples? A Quercus alba from an Acer rubrum? Challenge yourself and learn something new by matching leaves to their trees in this play-at-home game that will have you looking up on your next trip outside.

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  • Puzzles + Games
  • Get Outside
A young boy stands on a diving board looking down.
Face Your Fears

What’s the difference between a fear and a phobia? Find out as you test your knowledge of phobias with this easy-to-play trivia game. Give it a try—there’s nothing to be afraid of here!

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  • Puzzles + Games
  • Spooky
The Earth's moon.
Lunar Word Search

There are more than 200 moons in our solar system, and they come in different shapes, sizes and types. Learn about select moons in our solar system as you look for their names in this lunar word search.

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  • Puzzles + Games
  • Space
Close up of s'mores.
Solar Oven S'mores

Ever wonder how much heat the Sun delivers? Get a taste of solar power by making s’mores in a solar oven that you’ve built. This ooey-gooey activity is sure to satisfy your curiosity—and your taste buds!

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  • Things to Make
  • Fun With Food
  • Get Outside
A weather instrument made out of household items.
DIY Weather Instrument

Catch the wind and measure its speed with a homemade Robinson anemometer made from recycled materials. Test your anemometer at different times and record your observations in your science notebook. Do you notice any weather patterns?

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  • Get Outside
A constellation drawn on top of the night sky.
Animal Constellations

Even though we’re all looking at the same sky, cultures all over the world have created their own constellations to make sense of star patterns. These constellations reflect the stories that were important to the ancient peoples that named them.

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  • Get Outside
  • Space
A pile of fabric arranged by colour according to the rainbow.
From Closet to Coast

Plastics are everywhere … including in our clothes. When clothes are washed, tiny particles called microplastics make their way from our washing machines to wastewater plants before finally flowing into our lakes and oceans. Check to see if your dirty laundry is adding microplastics to the environment with this informative activity.

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  • Puzzles + Games
A close up of the tips of many different coloured crayons.
Make your Own Rocks

Explore the three different types of rocks and learn how they’re formed. Once you’ve created your own sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks out of old crayons, grab your notebook and head outside to see what types of rock you can find.

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A wetland scene with plants, trees and water.
Wetland in a Bottle

Wetlands like swamps, bogs, marshes and floodplains are covered with water during at least part of the year. These ecosystems help clean our water and provide homes to wildlife—and they’re fascinating to visit, too! Create your own wetland environment in a container to learn more about this distinctive ecosystem.

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  • Experiments
  • Get Outside
A close-up image of soap bubbles.
Make Bubbles at Home

Blow big, beautiful bubbles using our tried, tested and true bubble recipe!

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  • Experiments
  • Get Outside
Bags of dried spices.
Pepper Power

From jalapenos to bhut jolokias, explore the science of peppers that pack a punch. Find out about the potential medicinal power of capsaicin and how the Scoville scale measures spiciness.

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  • Fun With Food
A boy looking at an ice cream cone.
5-minute Ice Cream

Make delicious, creamy vanilla ice-cream using five ingredients--and science, of course!

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  • Fun With Food
  • Experiments
A S'more with graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallow.
Soft, Sweet and Spongy Science

Make vegetarian (gelatin-free) marshmallows in time for camping season.

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  • Fun With Food
A Science Centre host.
Make Sensory Seed Balls

Celebrate spring by planting your favourite flowers, herbs or vegetables. Enjoy some sensory play as you mix up a batch of seed balls. Then, toss them in your garden and watch them grow!

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  • Get Outside
Orange sky with glowing yellow sun.
Make a Sundial

Chart the passage of time using a homemade sundial, and observe how the shadows change their length.

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  • Get Outside
A hanging bottle garden.
Create Your Own Bottle Garden

Repurpose a plastic pop bottle to create your very own indoor or outdoor bottle garden. It’s a perfect springtime activity for both big and little hands!

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  • Get Outside
A Science Centre host in a kitchen with sprouted plants.
Seed Starting

Learn how to start seeding indoors using recycled materials like egg cartons, take-out containers and pop bottles.

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Fireworks exploding in the night sky.
The Science of Fireworks

These dazzling displays may look like magic, but the secret behind fireworks is no spell: It's science, of course! Learn about the chemistry behind the stunning effects of your favourite summer spectacle.

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A Science Centre host.
Pollinator Power

Adore apples? Passionate about peaches? Crazy about cukes? Thank a pollinator! Discover the variety of pollinators, including bees and butterflies, and how flowers attract them. You’ll also learn how you can help your friendly neighbourhood pollinators and keep all your favourite plants growing.

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  • Get Outside
A tensegrity structure made out of LEGO.
Build a Tensegrity Structure

Surprise your eyes with a structure that seems to defy gravity and learn how to use tension to create structural integrity in your own tensegrity build.

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  • Experiments
Homemade carnival headpieces.
Create a Carnival Headpiece

Use your design and engineering skills to create a headpiece for this year’s virtual Toronto Caribbean Carnival.

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A Science Centre hosy surrounded by potted plants.
Grow Your Own Food

Turn seeds and scraps into something delicious.

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  • Fun With Food
A toy beaver being used to make tracks in cookie dough.
Animal Track Cookies

Lots of wildlife lies low during the colder months, but many creatures stay busy as ever. They leave behind traces of their activity everywhere, especially after a fresh snowfall! Create your own animal tracks from the warmth of your kitchen—and prepare a tasty treat while you’re at it. Once you’re done munching on cookies and studying the toes, claws, size and gait of common creatures, why not head outside and look for the real thing?

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  • Fun With Food
The underside of a parachute.
Parachute Shapes

Explore gravity and air resistance by making and testing different shaped parachutes.

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  • Experiments
  • Flight
A Science Centre host holding a popsicle.
Ice Core Freezer Pops

Interested in ice cores? Play paleoclimatologist to create a layered ice pop that tells a story as you study the science of ice core cylinders. Then, enjoy your tasty frozen treat!

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  • Fun With Food
A wall of speakers with their covers removed to show details.
Make a Flame Dance

Turn up the bass to experiment with sound vibrations. Light a candle and place it near speakers. Does the candle keep up with the beat? There’s only one way to make a flame dance, and that’s to get down!

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  • Experiments
  • Get Outside
A beaver sits in a swamp.
Who Am I? Trivia Countdown Game

From the mighty moose to the grumpy goose, test your knowledge of Canadian critters with this simple trivia game—and learn lots along the way!

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  • Puzzles + Games
Plastic toys casting shadows.
Summer Rays and Shadow Play

Sunny summer days are a great time to experiment with shadows! Learn how shadows are created and produce your own shadows to trace using a toy of your choice.

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  • Experiments
  • Get Outside
Sandwich cookies are laid out on a plate in a circle, with their cream centres carved away to look like different phases of the moon. A toy moon lander sits in the middle of the cookies.
Moon Munch & Match

Grab your favourite Moon-shaped munchies for this yummy activity. Create waxing, waning and full-Moon shapes from your snacks to learn about the lunar cycle.

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  • Fun With Food
  • Space
Trees changing colour in the fall.
Preserve Fallen Leaves

Can't get enough of fall? Preserve the reds, yellows and oranges of freshly fallen leaves using simple household materials, and learn the science of fall colours along the way!

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  • Things to Make
  • Get Outside
A Science Centre host holding popsicle sticks.
Kinetic Popsicle Stick Burst

Weave popsicle sticks together and release them to unleash a burst of kinetic energy, sending the sticks flying.

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A close-up of finished toffee candy, showing the bubbles inside the candy.
Terrifyingly Tasty Toffee

Some Halloween science is spooky, and some is sugary! Get a taste of some terrifyingly tasty toffee with our Lava Toffee experiment. Measure and mix like a seasoned witch preparing a potion, then observe bubbling ingredients in your cauldron (or pot) as you learn about thermal decomposition. Once your mixture has cooled, let the snacking begin!

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  • Fun With Food
A child stretches out green slime.
Spooky Slime

Ready to get goopy? Nothing says Halloween like a big bowl of ooey-gooey slime! There are lots of ways to add a haunted holiday twist to our classic slime recipe. Add green food colouring for a Halloween feel, or plop your slime in a beaker and pair it with a mad scientist costume. You can even use it as part of your at-home haunted house decorations.

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A plastic projection screen attached to a smart phone.
Haunted "Hologram"

Take your Halloween décor to the next level with your very own Pepper’s ghost illusion! With just a few basic materials, you can construct an authentic-looking apparition fit for the most haunted of houses—all while learning the science of optics!

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Tissue paper ghosts.
Floating Ghosts

Some ghosts say "boo," but others prefer "boogie"! Explore the spooky science of static electricity and host a ghost dance party using simple household materials and the hair on your head. Help your ghost friends defy gravity as they groove to the beat of your favourite dance tunes.

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  • Experiments
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A smiling child hovers over a dish of pink Oobleck. Their hands are covered with Oobleck, which drips down into the dish.
Oozing Oobleck

Witches cast spells, but scientists are capable of true transformation! Using just cornstarch and water, you can create a nifty non-Newtonian fluid that transforms before your eyes: Oobleck! Is this mystery substance a solid, a liquid or both? The more you play with your ooey-gooey Oobleck, the more it will change. Throw in some fake spiders or other toys for a special Halloween twist!

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  • Spooky
A white fox in the winter.
Wildlife in Winter

From monarch butterflies to raccoons, animals have different strategies for surviving the winter. Find out about the most common strategies and then test your knowledge.

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  • Puzzles + Games
A crystal snowflake used as a Christmas tree ornament.
Grow a Crystal Snowflake

Winter weather can be so unpredictable. One day, the sky is full of flurries; the next day, there’s not a flake to be found. Luckily, there’s no need to wait for the perfect precipitation—it’s easy to make your own crystallized snowflakes at home! All it takes is a few simple materials and some snowy science to create a beautiful crystal you can admire from the warmth of your kitchen.

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A frozen ice orb sits outside in the snow.
Make Ice Orbs

It’s always the season for bubbles! Mix up a batch of our famous bubble recipe inside, then bundle up and head outside on a cold day to put a new twist on this traditional summer activity. Watch as your bubbles freeze to create beautiful, glass-like ice orbs.

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  • Things to Make
  • Experiments
  • Get Outside
A ball bearing after landing in a pile of flour.
Make an Impact

Simulate the crashing and smashing of a meteor impact at home using flour, cocoa and marbles to learn how craters are made—from rim to rays.

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  • Space
Different coloured water travels between cups through paper towels.
Send Water Walking

Play with primary colours to create a rainbow using the forces of cohesion, adhesion and gravity.

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A child makes leaf tracings with crayons.
Create Colourful Leaf Art

Collect as many different types of leaves as you can find for this leaf rubbing activity. How many trees can you identify based on their leaves?

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  • Get Outside
A Science Centre host with a large telescope.
Make a Constellation

Simon shows you how to bring your favourite constellation to life at home in this fun and easy activity.

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Bees working on a honeycomb.
Honey Hexagons

Find out how to harvest honey—from capping to extracting—from our friends at the Toronto Beekeepers Collective.

Plus, learn why geometry is essential to the strength and space-efficiency of honeycombs.

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  • Fun With Food
  • Get Outside
Slices of banana bread next to a loaf.
Banana Cricket Bread

Bananas... Check! Sugar... Check! Cricket flour... Check! Gather your ingredients and whip up a sweet, high-protein treat with this tasty recipe from Entomo Farms.

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A Science Centre host at a counter with laundry detergent on it.
Science of Laundry

Explore the best way to remove stains through a series of controlled experiments.

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A reef made up of many different corals, surrounded by colourful fish.
Coffee Filter Coral

Want to create a colourful coral craft? All you need is a pipe cleaner, some food colouring and a few coffee filters! Discover the beauty of coral reefs with this fun, easy activity.

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  • Coral
A smiling woman and child.
Make a Colourful Rainbow Explosion

Combine milk, food colouring and dish soap to create a colourful chemical reaction that results in rainbow explosions.

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A folded paper toy.
Ice and Snow Fold the Facts

Make an origami finger game that reveals snowy science facts—from the coldest temperature to the biggest snowfall.

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  • Puzzles + Games
Two young girls in lab coats using kitchen tools to make ice cream.
Bake Ice-Cream in Your Oven

How can you put ice-cream in the oven without having it melt? Conduct this edible experiment to find out!

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  • Fun With Food
An onion, sliced in half.
Test Your Taste Buds

Do other senses affect your ability to taste? Find out by conducting an experiment- blindfolded!

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  • Fun With Food
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A Science Centre host holds up two pieces of paper.
Memory: Math Edition

Test your memory and math skills all in one game! Easy to create at home, this game can be adapted to any math level. The goal is to match equivalent math expressions.

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  • Puzzles + Games
Heptagones multicolores assemblés par du ruban adhésif
Hyperbolic Heptagons

Investigate the negative curves of hyperbolic geometry by creating your own coral-inspired structure. Cut out colourful heptagons, then use them to build a hyperbolic model inspired by the round shapes and curves found in nature.

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  • Coral
A folded paper fish.
Make a Twirling Paper Fish + Helicopter

Make two simple paper objects and explore their aerodynamics--how they move through the air.

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  • Things to Make
  • Experiments
  • Flight
A hand squeezing drops of colour into a bowl of water.
Make a Rainbow in a Jar

Explore the densities of different liquids through an easy layering experiment. Try creating a five-layer rainbow in honour of Pride Month.

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  • Experiments
A boy holds a magnet while utensils fly comically towards it.
Make a Magnet

You can’t see atoms with your naked eye, but you can move them around to make a magnet.

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  • Experiments
A Smiling woman and child.
Marble Paper

Learn to marble paper with Fotini and Zoey and create beautiful art using shaving cream and food colouring.

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A sketch of a human's internal organs beside a Science Centre host.
Science of Hormones

Learn how your body uses hormones to send messages to itself. From transforming food into energy, to responding to stress and beyond, different hormones play many important roles to keep your body running!

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Side view of a completed cardboard rover.
Make a Cardboard Rover

Learn about the forces of potential energy, kinetic energy and friction when you create your own rover from simple materials and test its ability to move over different terrains.

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  • Experiments
  • Space
A girl holds snowballs while dressed for winter.
Homemade Snow

Create a winter wonderland indoors by making your own snow using common household supplies. Easy to make, this packable, rollable and buildable snow keeps for up to a week.

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  • Experiments
Coloured swirls in a jar of liquid.
Make Fireworks in a Jar

Experiment with immiscible liquids to create a colourful, slow-mo show in a jar.

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  • Things to Make
  • Experiments
Several drinking glasses.
Do-It-Yourself Crystallophone

Make a percussion instrument out of ordinary glass containers. It’s as simple as Do, Re, Mi!

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A Science Centre host holding up a paper with a map of the tongue on it.
Science of Taste

Try this tongue-based experiment to determine where you’re most sensitive to the five basic tastes: sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami.

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A young child cuts paper with scissors.
Play Science Doodle

What do you get when you combine Pictionary with science? Science Doodle! This fun, family game gives players a chance to sharpen their drawing skills while reviewing—and picking up!—science vocabulary.

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  • Puzzles + Games
Several jellyfish of the same species swimming in the ocean.
Make a Pet Jellyfish

Upcycle a plastic bag to create your own pet jellyfish and learn about the dangers ocean plastic poses to sea turtles.

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A boy squirting ketchup into a lightning-filled sky.
Electrify Your Ketchup

Use ketchup to conduct an electrical current in this easy, overnight experiment. It’s not just for fries!

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  • Fun With Food
  • Experiments
Two jars containing a transparent liquid and an egg; one is labelled "saltwater" and the other is labelled "vinegar."
Coral Reef Acidification

Get the basics on pH as you learn about the impact of acidity on marine life. Test how long it takes an eggshell to dissolve in vinegar—and don't forget to write down your observations!

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  • Fun With Food
  • Experiments
  • Coral
A pinecone on the ground surrounded by fallen leaves.
Backyard Biodiversity Bingo: Fall Edition

Explore your neighbourhood or nearby greenspace to look for signs of a healthy fall habitat. 

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  • Puzzles + Games
  • Get Outside
A child shows off their Lego creation in the Towers of Tomorrow exhibition.
Build Your Own LEGO® Tower

Design a structure using LEGO® bricks to learn all about gravity and stability. Try different brick combinations and put your SNOT skills to the test!

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  • Things to Make