Contact: Ann Hatch
214-378-1819;
ahatch@dcccd.edu
For immediate release — Feb. 6, 2017
News brief
(DALLAS) — Before R2-D2 and C-3PO came Erector Sets. Then pulleys and gears became gadgets and gizmos — powered first by the imagination and then by circuits and computers. Discovery and the power of the mind have brought robots to life and cars that drive themselves. What’s next?
Keeping that enthusiasm and imagination going is the focus of “Discovery Day: Gadgets and Gizmos” at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas on Saturday, Feb. 11, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. — a full day of family fun sponsored by the Dallas County Community College District and Lockheed Martin.
Children and parents alike are invited to discover amazing gadgets and gizmos throughout the museum as they explore the world of inventing, making and engineering. Participants can build their own inventions, create their own circuits, program robots and see how a 3-D printer actually works.
Even better, they can see robotic inventions created by students who are enrolled in the El Centro College robotics program.
“Visitors for the day-long event can learn more about the world of electro-pneumatic robotics on display from the El Centro College robotics program through a demonstration of student robotics prototypes,” said Molly Bewley, DCCCD’s director of outreach.
Representatives from DCCCD’s STEM Institute also will help visitors explore STEM career fields and opportunities that include computer science, medicine and other areas, using an interactive platform.
Scheduled activities for the day include: “Bookworm Reading Time”; “Hands-on Engineering With Lockheed Martin”; “Robotics With Dallas County Community College District”; “Robot Models With Oil and Cotton”; “Robot Friends: Toddler Takeover Table With Oil and Cotton”; “Sound Waves: Sketching in the Galleries With Oil and Cotton”; “Code a Bee”; “3-D Printing”; “What Can You Build?”; “Little Bits”; “Makey-Makey Music”; and “Drawdios.”
Discovery Day: Gadgets and Gizmos on Feb. 11 is free with a general admission ticket; museum members are admitted at no charge. The museum recommends purchasing tickets in advance. For more information, contact the Perot Museum of Nature and Science at 214-428-5555.
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