field trips
Field Trips 2023/24
The Bend Science Station offers dynamic STEM field trips which expose students to hands-on, laboratory-based science. The NGSS-aligned content is tailored to the K-5 classroom.
Lab experiences are 1.5 hours long and cost $600 for classes of up to 32 students. Students are split between two labs with no more than 16 in each lab. Program costs include hands-on instruction time, consumable materials, and setup/cleanup of 2 classroom laboratories. We are currently working to create a Field Trip Fund to offset the cost of these experiences. Please reach out with questions about funding availability for your school!
If you do not see a topic below which fits your classroom needs, BSS works with teachers to create custom curriculum! To book a field trip, please send a request to bss@bendsciencestation.org.
Amazing Arthropods: From ancient trilobites to their modern-day ancestors, we focus on animals with jointed legs and exoskeletons. Students hold live walking sticks and fiddler crabs.
Extreme Explosions: Students ignite + compare the energy in different types of candy and then perform the highly exothermic thermite reaction.
Eye Examination: How are images created? Explore how eyes work by investigating lenses and dissecting cow eyes.
Lego Levers: Experience mechanical advantage by first lifting the instructors and then using Lego kits to construct levers and see how much weight they can hold up.
Liquid Nitrogen: Investigate how different solids, liquids and gases respond to being cooled to -195°C with liquid nitrogen.
Mighty Mineralogy: Learn about the largest crystals in the world and conduct hammer tests on minerals to understand what makes rocks.
Shocking Science: Investigate the world of electrons and use a Van de Graaff generator to make foam, hair and mylar fly!
Sound + Waves: use giant springs to model waves, measure frequencies of “screaming rods”, make cup guitars and experience laser transmission of sound.
The following options can only be offered to schools outside Deschutes County public schools.
Combustible Chemistry: Investigate the energy stored in chemical bonds while learning about exothermic and endothermic reactions, and then incinerate a gummy bear.
Heart Smart: Learn about the anatomy of the heart by observing a real cow heart and then focus on physiology by conducting a heart rate experiment on your classmates.
Making Motors: Learn about magnetism-electromagnetism and construct electric motors that can be taken home.
Powerful Pressure: Learn about pressure with our full-sized bed of nails and then study the “blanket” of air that surrounds us by using it to deform marshmallows and crush cans.