Celebrate STEM-giving!
Family activities on Nov. 23, 24 & 25
Open Nov. 19-29 (closed Thanksgiving Day)
This Thanksgiving Week, create and explore with the people you’re most thankful for! We’re serving up science fun for the whole family, including special activities November 23, 24 and 25: step into a video game, race robots, try your hand at aero-gami (that’s paper airplane stunt flying), solve a scavenger hunt, meet new-to-the-Mill reptiles, and enjoy a mini science movie marathon. Activity stations will be outdoors and inside, with space to celebrate together safely.
For Black Friday and the weekend, skip the big-box retail crowds and shop local at our Science Store, offering the Hill Country’s best selection of STEM toys, kits and books. Shopping complete, stick around for Lights Spectacular, a twinkling wonderland of 1.3 million lights on the nearby PEC campus and throughout downtown Johnson City (Nov. 27-Jan. 3, 6pm-midnight; visit the event website for details). Or, shop in your jammies! Our Science Store is also online and can ship anywhere in the U.S. To help narrow down your shopping list, check out our Science Outside Gift Guide for toys, kits and books to inspire kids’ love of nature and wonder for the world around them.
Thanksgiving holiday schedule:
Open Thursday, Nov. 19-Sunday, Nov. 29, except for Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 26)
Special activities on Nov. 23, 24 & 25
Sunday noon-4pm; all other days 10am-1pm and 2-5pm
ACTIVITIES - 10:30am-12:30pm, 2:30-4:30pm M/T/W
Step into a Video Game: You’ll need fancy footwork to play this dance-powered virtual game where the floor is your controller! Go for a solo performance or synchronize your steps with friends and family. (Cool Alert: We created this game using Scratch, a beginner-friendly coding program available free online—try it!)
Location: Lobby
Time: 10:30am-12:30pm, 2:30-4:30pm
A-maze-ing Robot Racers: It’s a battle of the mBots—cue the training montage! Start in the Practice Pit, where you can test drive your mBot and get a feel for the controls. Once you are road ready, head to the starting line to take on a twisting maze at top speed.
Location: Studio 5
Time: 10:30am-12:30pm, 2:30-4:30pm
Aero-gami Obstacle Course: What’s the science behind a great paper airplane? We’re turning the Science & Art Park into an airfield to test it out! Experiment with folds and flaps to engineer a new design, then send your plane sailing through our obstacle course.
Location: Start in Lobby, course is outside in Science & Art Park
Time: 10:30am-12:30pm, 2:30-4:30pm
Outdoor Scavenger Hunt: I spy…10 secret clues hidden around the Science & Art Park. You’ll need a smartphone and your observation skills to unravel each riddle. Work together or split into teams for some friendly competition. But take your time: there are fun activities to try out at every stop!
Location: Science & Art Park
Time: ongoing
Live Animal Talks—Reptile Round-up: Meet lizards, turtles and snakes and ask an expert all your reptile-related questions! Ryan, our Animal Care Technician, will introduce the Mill’s African spurred tortoises and some of his favorite cold-blooded creatures.
Location: Lookout Patio
Presentation Times:
Reptile Round-up at 11am, 3pm
Tortoise Talk at 11:30am, 3:30pm
Mini Movie Marathon: Travel to the rainforests of Borneo, across wind-swept glaciers and inside animals’ dens and nests with a trio of spectacular science movies. Special screenings of Bugs! A Rainforest Adventure and Wonders of the Arctic join our newest film, Backyard Wilderness.
Location: Movie Theater, Studio 5
Showtimes:
Bugs - 10:30am, 12pm, 3:30pm
Wonders of Arctic - 11am, 2:30pm, 4pm
Backyard Wilderness - 11:30am, 12:30pm, 3pm, 4:30pm