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Discovery Day

Gear Up For School

Hosted by the Nauticus’ Youth Action Council, join them on August 27 for $7.57 reduced admission to celebrate the start of a new school year! Let’s get students “Geared Up to Go Back to School” with STEM and drone themed programming! Learn the secret skills to flying a drone, how drones are used around the world (by humans and animals) and more activities led by Nauticus educators and community partners.

Participate in activities around campus, like:

  • Growing Green: Learn how you can contribute to minimizing stress on systems of food production. Educators will guide visitors on how to live sustainably through gardening.
  • Where’s Your Watershed?: Learn about the animals and plants of the Elizabeth River watershed and how it is connected to the agriculture industry.
  • Planes and Weather Vanes: How many times a day do you see or hear an airplane? Learn how weather affects flight patterns, and to how to track the different types of planes while they’re in the sky.
  • Make an Anemometer: Build, test and, track the wind speed and wind pressure with a homemade anemometer.
  • Slippery Situations: Guests will learn the fundamental causes and effects of oil spills, as well as the methods of cleaning them. They will also be able to test various methods of cleaning spills through a hands-on oil spill activity involving actual oil.
  • Simply STEM: After learning about the “slippery situation,” use simple machines to create your own solution to an oil spill.
  • Dronology: Come explore the language of drones! There are many words and phrases that drone pilots and enthusiasts use every day that we may not recognize or understand.
  • AUV vs. ROV: Almost all of us have heard of drones and ROVs, but how much do we really know about them? Guests have the opportunity to compare and contrast aquatic remotely operated vehicles and underwater drones to learn a little more about their purposes, history, and design.
  • Drone Zone: Pilot a drone! Fly a small drone through an obstacle course with the challenges of flying through a hoop as well as successfully landing and taking off from the correct landing pads. It even has a camera!
  • Pioneer RPV: Check out the drone technology that our own battleship sported to help out during wartime. Guests will get to see and learn about the evolution of on-board drone technology, as well as observe a 3D printing of the Pioneer, the remotely piloted vehicle on the Iowa class battleships.
  • Sea Glass Mural: Learn the importance of recycling glass objects and watch the glass tumbling process.