May 4 is informally known as “Star Wars Day,” and the occasion prompted us at the Bradbury Science Museum to recall our very own close encounter of the Star Wars kind. Last High-Tech Halloween, our museum educators were honored with the presence of a Mandalorian! The force was with him that day — the force of static electricity — as well as the joy of STEM engagement.
At the Bradbury, science, engineering, technology and math are at the heart of our museum and its outreach programs, like Challenge Tomorrow and Summer Science on Wheels. Visitors to the museum will find hands-on experiences that encourage people of all ages to explore STEM subjects. The Tech Lab room is a hub for these explorations, and currently features our Big Blue Blocks for budding engineers. Our annual events, like High-Tech Halloween and ScienceFest center on kids’ STEM engagement with fun, weird activities. Our take on the Jedi code? “There is no ignorance. There is STEM.”
We also learn as much from our visitors as they do from us. At last year’s High-Tech Halloween, while our team wowed our young guests with a demonstration harnessing the invisible force of static electricity, we also learned some surprising things about the Mandalorian. For example, he is much smaller than one would imagine, about the size of a seven-year-old Earthling. We also observed the success of his recent bounty hunting, which appeared to be a substantial amount of candy in a blue pumpkin (this must be how gourds look in galaxies far, far away). While usually considered a lone wolf, during the Mandalorian’s High-Tech Halloween visit, he was accompanied by an assistant, believed to be named “Da’ad” or “Dadd”; we are unsure of the spelling.
Want the force of STEM to be with you and the young explorers in your life? Learn about the Bradbury’s educational resources or visit the museum.