Category: Events

Snowfest!

Snowy Science Facts

Is it true that no two snowflakes are alike?

It is! The appearance of snowflakes is determined by the temperature, humidity, wind, and other environmental factors. There are so many factors that go into forming snowflakes, it would be very unlikely to have two look exactly the same.

How cold does it have to be to freeze bubbles?

Technically, soap bubbles can freeze at any temperature below the freezing temperature of water (32 degrees F) but they don't last long. As soon as the water in a bubble freezes, the bubble starts to implode. The colder it is, the faster the water freezes, and the better chance you have to observe the frozen bubble before it pops.

What's the record for inches of snow in Kansas?

The most inches of snow ever recorded in Kansas, according to the Wichita Eagle, was thirty inches, in Pratt, Kansas on March 27-28, 2009. That's taller than an average two-year-old!

Winter Fun Programs

Serious Fun Mondays to Celebrate a Summer of Learning

Serious Fun Mondays summer lunch and learning program is wrapping up a full summer of activities with a special community-wide celebration on Monday, August 6 in Chesney Park at 18th and Clay in Topeka from 11 to 2. 

Three local organizations collaborated this summer to offer Serious Fun Mondays every Monday from June 4 to August 6. Raise Kansas, a local coalition of women dedicated to reducing the number of hungry kids in Shawnee County, was the primary organizer of the events and provided free books to children who came. Hy-Vee provided free, healthy sack lunches. The Kansas Children’s Discovery Center provided educators and activities for hands-on-learning.

“We are proud to be a part of such a unique program. Serious Fun Mondays is providing a needed service in our community,” said Mikki Burcher, the Director of Marketing for the Topeka Hy-Vee. “For Hy-Vee, this is about helping keep these children healthy and happy.”

Over 670 lunches were served at Serious Fun Mondays this summer.

The final two Serious Fun Mondays also featured a farmer’s market sponsored by the Sunflower Health Plan. The market offers free take-home snacks and produce to children, many households struggling with food insecurity.

“We know that 20 percent of our kids here in Shawnee County, that’s one in five, are food insecure, meaning they don’t have regular access to enough affordable, nutritious food,” said Ximena Garcia, founder of Raise Kansas. “Serious Fun Mondays has been an effort to reach these kids with food alongside opportunities to play and learn.”

Party with Potter

Wizards to gather on Friday, March 22 at 6:30 at the Kansas Children's Discovery Center | tickets $30 | 21+ | all proceeds support KCDC

House Cup

Wizards will be sorted into houses and earn points throughout the evening...

Harry Potter Trivia

Costume contest 

Flying keys

Magical quests

Food & Drink

Dinner and cash bar provided by Hy-Vee

Steam Engine's Butter Beer Brewery

Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans

Magical Fun

Quidditch

Ollivander's Wand shop

Magical creatures from Sunset Zoo

Platform 9 3/4

Fan Art Silent Auction

Hogwarts

Party with Potter Supports KCDC Cares Programs

Medical Warriors

Honors medically fragile children or those battling life-limiting illnesses who need private play time.

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Puzzle Pieces

Provides children who have an autism spectrum disorder with a safe, fun place to play.

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Play Free

Helps children with incarcerated caregivers get the love and support they need to heal.

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Admission Access

Increases access to underserved and low-income families so finances are never a barrier to play.

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Dino Week 2018

Dynamite Dinosaur Facts

What dinosaurs used to live in Kansas?

Pteranodon, a giant flying reptile with a 20-foot wingspan, and Tylosaurus, a huge, predatory marine lizard, are two of the many dinosaurs who lived in what is now Kansas. Those two are our official Kansas fossils.

Learn more

What dinosaur was the biggest?

One of the largest known dinosaurs is the Argentinosaurus (meaning "Argentine lizard"), which was probably over 100 feet long and weighted over 80 tons—that's heavier than 12 elephants!

What do you call someone who studies dinosaurs?

A paleontologist! Paleontologists use fossils and other sources of information to tell us about the creatures that lived during the time of the dinosaurs 12,000 years ago.

Dino Week Programs

Down on the Farm Week

Fabulous Farm Facts from Kansas

Does Kansas rank #1 in the United States in any crop production?

Kansas is ranked #1 in the United States in sorghum production. Sorghum, a grain, is used to feed people and animals, and is used to make fuel. In Kansas, we grow over half of the nation's sorghum!

Learn more

How much wheat do Kansas farmers grow?

A lot. In 2017, Kansas farmers grew 467,400,000 bushels of wheat, enough to make 93.6 billion white bread sandwiches, or 15 billion boxes of cereal!

Learn more

What is a bucket calf?

A bucket calf is an orphan or newborn calf typically bottle-fed, and later bucket-fed, by a young person learning how to raise cows. Visitors will be able to meet a bucket calf on Friday of farm week!

Learn more

Down on the Farm Week Programs

Shark Week | July 24 to 28, 2018

Shocking Shark Facts

How many different kinds of sharks are there?

There are over 500 species of sharks on earth, from the giant 40 foot whale shark to the tiny six inch dwarf lantern shark. Sharks are found in all five of the earth's oceans and many freshwater lakes and rivers across the world.

How are shark teeth unique?

Unlike humans, who are born with all of the teeth we'll use in our lifetimes embedded into our jaws, sharks grow more teeth in their gums to replace the ones they lose. Sharks can lose up to 30,000 teeth in their lifetimes.

Are sharks dangerous to humans?

Sharks are rarely dangerous to people. Of the 500 species of sharks, only four have attacked humans unprovoked, and less than five humans every year are killed by sharks across the world. Humans are far larger threats to sharks than sharks are to humans.

Shark Week Programs

Super Sensory Week | July 3 to July 7, 2018

The Scoop on Sensory Play

What is sensory play?

Sensory play is anything that engages the senses, encouraging children to feel, see, smell, taste and hear.

Why is sensory play important?

Sensory play builds motor skills and helps build connections in the brain that help children learn. Kids also really enjoy it!

What words can kids learn during sensory play?

Hot, cold, wet, dry, sticky, loud, quiet, fluffy, hard, rough, smooth, bumpy, smelly...

Super Sensory Week Programs

Insect-O-Rama! Week | June 26 to 30, 2018

Inspiring Insect Facts

How many insects are there in the world?

Scientists believe there are between six and ten million species (types) of insects in the world. More than two-thirds of all the species catalogued by scientists are insects! At any given time, more than 10 quintillion insects are alive on the planet. That's a lot of bugs!

How big or small can insects get?

There's a lot of variation in the world of insects! The Goliath beetle, one of the world's largest insects, can get up to 4.3 inches long, while the microscopic featherwing beetle measures just 0.013 inches long.

Which insect is the most intelligent?

Honeybees are certainly among the smartest insects. They calculate angles and and distances to locate food and communicate them to other bees using waggle dances.

Un-bee-lievable Insect Fun

Serious Fun Mondays

Soap, Suds and Bubbles Week | June 19 to 23, 2018

Bubble Facts

Why do we see colors in bubbles?

Bubbles are created from a layer of water sandwiched between two layers of soap molecules, all surrounding a bubble of air. Light strikes the bubble at different places and is reflected from both the inside and outside surfaces of the bubble, creating unique and beautiful colors!

How cold does it have to be to freeze soap bubbles?

Technically, bubbles can freeze at any temperature below the freezing temperature of water (32 degrees F) but they don't last long. As soon as the water in a bubble freezes, the bubble starts to implode. The colder it is, the faster the water freezes, and the better chance you have to observe the frozen bubble before it pops.

How big can soap bubbles get?

Gary Pearlman set the world record for the largest outdoor free floating soap bubble in July 0f 2015. His bubble measured 3,399 cubic feet. That's big enough to fit 7,500 basketballs inside! Gary used two fishing poles with string tied between as his bubble wand. It took a lot of practice!

Soap, Suds and Bubbles Week Programs