Grades 2-3 Class Descriptions

3-2-1 Blast Off!
Count down to adventure with real rockets. Discover fun facts about the history of space rocketry. Then design and build your own rocket, launch it and learn how to track a rocket’s flight. This class is a blast!
Date Location Member/Nonmember
June 24-28 Conestoga $275/$325
July 8-12 PCC $275/$325
July 15-19 Conestoga $275/$325
July 22-26 OMSI $275/$325
July 29-Aug 2 OMSI $275/$325


Can You Dig It?
Why do volcanoes erupt? Why does the Earth shake? Dig into this geologic adventure and find out. You’re sure to take home at least one prehistoric treasure of your very own. Visits to Mt St Helens, the Rice Museum in Hillsboro and the OMSI Earth Science Hall are included.
Date Location Member/Nonmember
Aug 5-9 OMSI $275/$325
Aug 12-16 OMSI $275/$325

Computer Explorations
Be creative with computers as you design your own t-shirt, compose electronic
music, create a virtual car, make art and more. We’ll go on a field trip to Free Geek,
a nonprofit community organization that recycles used computer parts in amazing ways. This hands-on class is for students at all levels of computer knowledge.
Date Location Member/Nonmember
June 24-28 PCC $275/$325
July 1-3
(Mon. thru Wed)		 PCC $165/$195

Cooking Up Science
This program builds on our popular Kitchen Chemistry class for grades K-1, exploring more-complex chemistry concepts and delving deeper into the science of cooking. The class also highlights the science of nutrition. Note: Please consider any food allergies before enrolling in this class.
Date Location Member/Nonmember
July 15-19 OMSI $275/$325
Aug 12-16 OMSI $275/$325


Cool Concoctions
Mix, measure and pour chemicals in amazing combinations to create Flubber and slime. Make ice cream and cookies. Grow crystals and create your own paper and dyes. After this class, you’ll see connections between chemistry and everyday creations everywhere.
Date Location Member/Nonmember
June 17-21 OMSI $275/$325
June 24-28 OMSI $275/$325
July 1-3 
(Mon. thru Wed.)		 OMSI $165/$195
July 8-12 OMSI $275/$325
July 15-19 Conestoga $275/$325
July 22-26 Conestoga $275/$325


Crazy Constellations
Learn the legends behind the constellations and the science that makes our night sky so amazing. How high could you jump on the Moon? How can you tell what time it is by looking at the sun or stars? Why does the moon look different throughout the month? We’ll use astronomy tools in the OMSI Physics Lab and stargaze in the Kendall Planetarium.
Date Location Member/Nonmember
July 8-12 PCC $275/$325
Aug 12-16 OMSI $275/$325


Dinosaur Discoveries
Set your time machine for Cretaceous adventure in the age of giant reptiles. Discover how scientists learn about dinosaurs: their colors, what they ate, what sounds they made and how fast they ran. Just how accurate are the dinosaurs we see in movies?
Date Location Member/Nonmember
June 24-28 OMSI $275/$325
July 29-Aug 2 OMSI $275/$325


Engineer This!
Construct towers, build bridges, wire electric circuits, and explore the worlds of civil, electrical and mechanical engineering. Each day has a theme that directly relates to the world of engineers, including plenty of brainteasers and math fun. We’ll take a field trip to the OMSI Physics Lab for information and inspiration.
Date Location Member/Nonmember
July 1-3 
(Mon. thru Wed.)		 Conestoga $165/$195
July 8-12 Conestoga $275/$325
July 15-19 PCC $275/$325
July 22-26 PCC $275/$325
July 29-Aug 2 Conestoga $275/$325


Hit the Road
Experience OMSI’s most popular field trips during a week of action-packed adventure. Each day we’ll “go mobile” with OMSI naturalists to explore the most fascinating areas around Portland and beyond. An overnight stay at Newport South Beach is included. Note: Our itinerary may require that students leave OMSI by 8 a.m. and return to OMSIlater than 4 p.m. Parents will receive the week’s schedule two weeks prior to the first day of class. Each grade range will participate in separate activities each day.
Date Location Member/Nonmember
June 17-21 OMSI $300/$350
Aug 26-30 OMSI $300/$350

OMSI Animation
Animation brings math, science and the creative arts together in extraordinary ways. Experience this expressive medium as we investigate stop-motion techniques and motion picture perspectives. We’ll use digital video cameras, clay sculptures, drawn characters, cutout scenes, found objects and time-lapse portraits during this class. Students will develop ideas, design storyboards, create sets and characters, and produce mini-movies to take home on DVD.
Date Location Member/Nonmember
June 24-28 OMSI $300/$350
July 15-19 OMSI $300/$350
Aug 5-9 OMSI $300/$350

Seaweed, Snails, & Gray Whale Tails
Is a jellyfish made of jelly? Is it even a fish? What is the largest animal in the world and where does it live? Observe marine life up-close and learn about incredible adaptations. This class includes a trip to the Oregon Zoo and an action-packed day combing the shoreline for tide pool life at Cannon Beach on the Oregon coast.
Date Location Member/Nonmember
June 17-21 OMSI $275/$325
July 1-3 
(Mon. thru Wed.)		 PCC $165/$195
July 8-12 OMSI $275/$325
July 15-19 OMSI $275/$325
Aug 5-9 PCC $275/$325
Aug 19-23 OMSI $275/$325

Urban Farming - New!
Each day brings a new adventure as you spend a week exploring the 16-acre Sauvie Island Organics farm and adjacent grounds of Metro’s Howell Territorial Park. Sauvie Island Center’s education staff will guide students through exploration activities, daily nature journaling and gathering produce from the Grow Lunch Garden. Students will be dropped off and picked up every day at OMSI and bused out to the farm.
Date Location Member/Nonmember
July 8-12 OMSI $275/$325

Getting Here

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Science Store

Visit the OMSI Science StoreThe OMSI Science Store has the perfect mix of educational and entertaining gifts, games, and gadgets. Shop in the museum or online.
Visit the OMSI Science Store