Crazy Colin's Super Science Season 1

Gopher Steam is back for the 2026-2027 with 24 brand new STEM classes for kindergarten and up.  Come sign up for some serious STEM fun with Gopher STEAM this fall! 

Topics we will explore include: 

Rocket Science

Let’s launch into rocket science! We will learn about the forces of flight and engineering that go into rocket science by building our own flying model rocket. Explore how Newton’s third law allows rockets to fly. What goes up comes down. We will learn about the various recovery systems model rockets use to land safely. The rocket your Jr. Rocket Scientist will build is a custom 3D printed design specifically adapted for first time builders.

Blast off!

Are you ready to rocket? In this class we will give your Jr. Rocket Scientist a crash course in model rocketry. We will head outside and learn how to safely launch the model rockets we build. Each student will get a chance to launch their own rocket.

Digging Dinosaurs

Become a junior paleontologist as we explore the features and characteristics that make dinosaurs fascinating. Learn about how we know what we know as you get hands on with a collection of interesting fossils. Go on your own tabletop dinosaur dig and learn how paleontologists share their fossils as we make a cast of a T-rex tooth to take home.

Bugs!

Everywhere we go we are surrounded by a miniature world creeping and crawling with bugs. We will explore the amazing arthropods that make up the bugs we find all around us. Learn how insects, arachnids, myriapods and isopods are the same and different. We will discover how bugs use camouflage to hide in plain sight and mimicry to confuse predators. How do bugs around us help us and the environment? What bugs do we find here in Minnesota, other than mosquitoes? We will use what we learn to build our own bug to take home.

Bubbles!

Let's explore the chemistry and physics of bubbles. What is the chemistry that makes bubbles possible? How do bubbles make all those beguiling colors? What shapes can bubbles make? Students will make their own bubble wand to take home and older children can make a 3D bubble wand. We even bring our own special device that will put you in a bubble.

Under the Sea

We will explore the ocean from the sunlight zone to the depths of the midnight zone. What amazing animals we find as we go deeper. We will compare the features and habitats of whales, sharks, sea turtles and much more. Explore the ecosystems that cover 70% of our planet. As we explore the oceans, we will build our own ocean in a bottle.

Our Solar System:

Take a tour of the planets, moons, asteroids and other amazing objects that make up our solar system. Discover why Pluto is classified as a dwarf planet and discover the other dwarf planets in our system. We will explore the relative sizes and distances as we build a kid solar system using a roll of TP. Your amateur astronomer will make their own planet to take home.

Shocking Science

What you will learn about static electricity will shock you. We will examine how electrons move to make electricity and how static electricity is different. Students will learn how to create static electricity and how to store their charge as they build a leyden jar to take home. If weather conditions cooperate you might even make your hair stand on end and play with 50000 volts with our Van De Graaff generator.