December 1, 2025 – March 1, 2026: Winter Wonders

As the Queen City cools down, things heat up at Discovery Place Science. Experiment with heat and light, two things missing from most winter days, in the Tech Innovation Lab, unearth how plants and animals spend their winter in the Living Planet Lab, and diagnose winter injuries in Explore More Me. Young scientists will light up the season exploring color and electricity in KidScience and everyone will embrace the season as they tinker with coziness in Thinker Space.

Keep an eye out for special snowy popups throughout the season, from snowstorms in a jar to winter weather predictors.

Special Event Days

Winter Break | December 20, 2025 – January 4, 2026

From the Field

UNC Charlotte BITE | December 6, January 17, February 21
Students from UNC Charlotte’s Bat Immunology Training and Education (BITE) program will dispel myths and share their research about the world’s only flying mammals.

From the Field: Superhuman Event | December 20
Participate in engaging activities alongside scientists from UNC Charlotte to explore some of the medical marvels that make human bodies “super.”

KidScience

Bright Ideas | Daily
Young scientists will light up the season as they discover where light comes from, how light moves, and how we see—through color mixing, simple circuits, mirrored objects, and more.

Activities include:

• Experimenting with mirrors, reflective surfaces, and materials of different opacities to learn how light moves   
• Practice using scientific tools that change how we see—such as binoculars, magnifying glasses, and microscopes   
• Exploring heat and electricity through simple experiments 

Living Planet Lab

Nature on Low Power Mode | Daily
How does life survive the winter to reemerge in the spring? Find out how bees, bears, and even potatoes brave the cold by saving energy.

Activities include:

• Play a game of survival and discover the advantages of different survival techniques 
• Discover ways to help our local pollinators survive the winter 
• Get a close-up view of real animal specimens 

Tech Innovation Lab

Hot or Not | Daily
Are you missing the warm days of summer or loving the crisp winter weather? Discover the science behind temperature and test how warmth, color, materials, and cold all show the surprising ways energy moves through our world.

Activities include:

• Conducting experiments to determine which materials are conductors and insulators 
• Discovering why scientifically there is a lack of cold 
• Exploring light and color as energy 

Explore More Me

Icy Injuries | Weekdays
From ice skating to shoveling snow, winter is full of hazards. Diagnose winter related injuries and see the body like never before by exploring the ways in which high-energy waves can create images of bones, muscles, and more.

Activities include:

• Determining the correct scans for fictional patients 
• Reviewing real radiography scans 
• Diagnosing fictional patients based on the results of their scans 

Dynamic Discoveries | Weekends
Leave the lab energized after exploring an array of biomedical breakthroughs, from microscopes to laparoscopic surgery.

Activities include:

• Training with laparoscopic tools 
• Conducting simulated ELISA  
• Viewing tissue samples with microscopes 

Thinker Space

Cozy Creations | Weekdays
Settle in and get creative in Thinker Space this winter as we explore the art of hygge (hoo-guh), the Danish tradition of coziness and contentment. Warm up with fiber arts, design a cozy retreat of your own, or add your spark to our community fireplace!

Activities include:

• Fiber arts (knitting, crocheting, cross-stitching, and weaving) 
• Interior design (designing cozy spaces) 
• Collaborative fireplace (build ornaments or add LED “sparks” to the fire) 

Illuminations | Weekend Mornings
Light up the season and experiment with circuits while building skills using authentic tools.

Activities include:

• Using tools and circuitry to design mini-LED creations 
• Exploring light and shadow 

Make it Melt | Weekend Afternoons
Harness heat to create unique designs and build skills using tools focusing on melting, burning, and the power of heat.

Activities include:

• Woodburning 
• Soldering structures 
• Shrinky dinks