Don Harrington Discovery Center
Connect2Texas - Virtual Content Enrichment Programs
Explosions, melting metal and fire eating? It's all in a day's work at the Don Harrington Discovery Center (DHDC)! Serving our five-state region since 1976, DHDC is an interactive, hands-on science learning center which hosts over 80,000 participants through our Education Program each year.
Our distance learning sessions feature our Science Live! shows and Guest Lectures. Science Live! shows are hour-long edu-tainment events bursting with hair-raising demonstrations and explosive results, live-streamed into your classrooms and auditoriums in spectacular high definition. Funny, engaging and jam-packed with learning, Science Live! will leave your students cheering for more!
All of our education programs align with both the TEKS and NGSS, and a cross-curricular Correlation Chart is available to view with each and every program we offer.
To reserve a custom date/time for one of our programs, email DLeducator@dhdc.org. Be sure to follow us @DHDCamarillo for more information.
A Cosmic Special Event
Grades: Prek-12
Cost: $165 (up to 500 students)
In honor of World Space Day, we’ve put together a cosmic set of experiments that you’re sure to never forget! Come and learn about the forces that push rockets off the ground, what brings the northern lights, and how stars can change colors!
Amphibians and Reptiles
Grades: Prek-12
Cost: $165 (up to 500 students)
Turtles, frogs, and snakes, oh my! If you love our Critters, Live demo, but you're looking for something a little more targeted, this is the program for you! Learn about some of your favorite reptiles and amphibians and what makes them all unique!
An EGG-cellent Science Show!
Grades: Prek-12
Cost: $165 (up to 500 students)
In honor of the Easter holiday, we’ll have a whole show dedicated to egg experiments! Yes, there are many kinds of egg experiments! We’ll show you how to make an egg that bounces and even an egg that turns silver! Oh my, come and see all of these remarkable experiments.
Animals of the High Plains
Grades: Prek-12
Cost: $165 (up to 500 students)
From horned lizards and the ever-famous diamondback rattlesnake to roadrunners (meep! meep!) to the majestic ruby-throated hummingbird, come and learn about Animals of the High Plains! Concepts explored include food webs, ecosystems, and habitats.
Archaeology Hour (Monthly Topic)
Grades: K-12
Cost: Free
Connect with a real, live Archaeologist on staff at DHDC to learn exciting news about discovered artifacts from the past.
Autism Awareness Special Event
Grades: Prek-12
Cost: $165 (up to 500 students)
In honor of Autism Awareness month in April, we will be offering a special science live show to demonstrate how our five senses work and how these might operate differently among people with autism. We’ll go over all of the fascinating functions of the brain and foster an understanding of how these functions operate among those with autism. It’s okay to be different, and being different always presents an opportunity to learn that there are a lot of different ways to be!
Chemical Reactions
Grades: 4-12
Cost: $165 (up to 500 students)
Explore the how, why and WOW! of chemical reactions in this amazing program! Audiences will discover how chemical reactions create giant pools of never-ending foam, molten metals and another explosive creations! Students will dive into chemistry like never before when they watch our chemical concoctions create some astonishing results! Click here for a preview.
Christmas Tree Science (SEASONAL)
Grades: PreK-11
Cost: $165 (up to 500 students)
Why are Christmas trees shaped the way they are? Why are Christmas trees mainly found in cold places? How is a pine tree different from a fir or spruce tree? Why do these trees have cones? Why do their needles smell nice? Learn the answers to these questions and so much more in Christmas Tree Science.
Critters Live
Grades: Prek-12
Cost: $165 (up to 500 students)
Meet the DHDC’s smallest residents in this interactive program. Students will have the opportunity to get up-close with the DHDC critters which include snakes; lizards; tarantulas; and small mammals, like a sugar glider or chinchilla! Concepts explored in Critters Live! include life cycles; habitats; differences within species; and learned vs. inherited traits. Click here for a preview.
Fighting for Recognition: Women in Science
Grades: K-12
Cost: $165 (up to 500 students)
In honor of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we will highlight some of the most outstanding scientists of all time and explore what made their work so important. These women's contributions, through their respective fields, still inspire women and girls to follow their dreams and make a difference in the world today.
KABOOM
Grades: Prek-12
Cost: $145 (up to 500 students)
Oxygen, fuel and an ignition source. That’s all you need for this spine-tingling Science Live! From coffee creamer fireballs to barking dog rocket reactions, KABOOM! explores the science of combustion with demonstrations that will leave your students cheering for more. Click here for a preview.
Science Below Zero
Grades Prek-12
Cost: $165 (up to 500 students)
Science Below Zero examines some of the chilliest science on the planet. Students will discover the physical changes which occur when solids, liquids and gases are exposed to the extreme cold of liquid nitrogen. Audiences will be amazed as we use liquid nitrogen to demonstrate the EXPLOSIVE power of expansion for the grand finale! Click here a preview.
Sciencepalooza
Grades PreK-12
Cost: $165 (up to 500 students)
Sciencepalooza features the zaniest experiments in the Science Live! collection and explores a variety of science concepts. With a brand new series of demonstrations (eddy current guillotine, anyone?) exploring everything from optical illusions to materials science, every presentation provides an unparalleled science adventure! Click here for a preview.
The Science of Magic
Grades PreK-12
Cost: $165 (up to 500 students)
Magicians' secrets revealed! For years magicians have relied on scientific principles for their most amazing illusions. Students will witness tricks such as disappearing objects and the bed of nails, and uncover the science behind the magic. Click here for a preview.
Science Spooktacular (SEASONAL)
Grades: Prek-12
Cost: $75
Want to know how to level up the fear factor in this years Halloween party? Explore what reactions take place to make a pumpkin OOZE from it's face, how to make ink disappear, and how to catch a ghost in a bubble. Your students get a scare-your-lab coat off kind of education that will all lead up to an exciting, explosive finale!
St. Nick's Science Show (SEASONAL)
Grades: Prek-5
Cost: $75
Ever wonder how Santa fits down the chimney? Or how his sleigh flies? Well, a little bit of Christmas Spirit, joyful cheer, and Santa's magic is all you need to be a part of this winter wonder Science Live show! Join us for St. Nick's Science Show as we use hands-on demonstrations and delve into how Santa and his elves make Christmas happen.
St. Patrick's Day Special Event
Grades: K-12
Cost: $165 (up to 500 students)
Ever wonder how rainbows form or how to make that gold at the end of one that we’ve all looked for? Well, you’re in luck, because the Don Harrington Discovery Center is offering a special event just for St. Patrick’s Day to show you a fortune of science! Don’t forget to wear green and we’ll see you there!
Unseen Forces: Physics at Work
Grades: PreK-12
Cost: $165 (up to 500 students)
Everything in our Universe moves and interacts, and forces play a major role in that movement. With giant cannons, a hovercraft and other crazy demonstrations, Unseen Forces investigates the relationship between force and motion and explains how these unseen forces are at work in our daily lives. Click here for a preview.
Weather Wonders
Cost: $165 (up to 500 students)
The atmospheric elements that combine to create weather work largely unseen. Weather Wonders uncovers these elements through dynamic demonstrations which examine the conditions necessary to create clouds, precipitation, lightning, thunder, tornadoes and other weather phenomena. Click here for a preview.
Talking Bones and Rocks
Grades: Prek-12
Cost: $165 (up to 500 students)
Did you know that bones and rocks could tell a story? Yes, they can! Some of them have even been used to describe parts of the story of the human past! Join us for a great lesson on bones, rocks, fossils, rock art, and the history of our world!
Texas Insects and Their Relatives
Grades: Prek-12
Cost: $165 (up to 500 students)
Learn incredible stories of birth and rebirth, and we'll even touch on some of the world's special creepy crawlies called arachnids and arthropods. Concepts explored include habitats, insects vs. arachnids, insects vs. arthropods, ecology, and ecosystems.
The Difference a Dream Makes
Grades: K-12
Cost: $165 (up to 500 students)
In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and celebrating Black History Month through February, The Don Harrington Discovery Center will be offering "The Difference a Dream Makes." This Science Live! will highlight some of the many contributions that Black Scientists have shown the world.
RECORDINGS
Lecture Series: Biomes and Biodiversity (RECORDING)
Grades: 6-12
Cost: $65
Our Earth showcases an amazing array of biomes and organisms that occupy them. Learn about these major environments including their climatic parameters, origins, physical geography and topography, soil compositions, the organisms (and their adaptations to such environments), and other characteristics. Students will also get a virtual tour of different ecosystems within each of these biomes from around the world and discover the amazing variety of life on Earth.
Lecture Series: Fossil Finders (RECORDING)
Grades: K-5
Cost: $65
Learn about paleontology and the study of prehistoric life including: what a fossil is and how they are made, different types of fossils, what the Earth and life was like in the prehistoric past, and meet some interesting animals and plants that existed in the deep past. The lecture can be modified to talk about a particular prehistoric time period or in a more general format.
Science Lab! Grossology (RECORDING)
Grades: 1-5
Cost: $25
Just as the name implies, Grossology examines the science at work behind the most impolite bodily biology. Where does poop come from? Why do we burp? Your students will never forget this hands-on, interactive tour of the digestive system!
Science Lab! Mysteries of Matter (RECORDING)
Grades: 1-5
Cost: $25This lab walks through 3 of the 5 states of matter and explains what makes each one unique. We'll also discuss how to cause changes in states of matter and how to use that knowledge to create fun experiments.
Science Lab: Ooey Gooey (RECORDING)
Grades: 1-5
Cost: $25
Do your students love slime? Shapes, states of matter, solutions, and physical and chemical changes are just a few of the scientific principles examined in this highly entertaining lab.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the contributing members of Connect2Texas and do not necessarily represent the views of the Education Service Center Region 11. While some content is deemed appropriate for various curriculum standards used by viewers nationwide, most content providers make an effort to tie their content to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).
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