Family-friendly Discovery Days explore themed natural history topics through hands-on activities, engaging community partners, exhibit exploration, and more – all included with your general admission!

Discovery Days: Birds of Prey
April 11, 2026
11:00am – 3:00pm

Step into the wild and wonderful world of raptors! Get up close to live raptors, chat with their handlers, and dive into hands-on activities about flight, feathers, adaptations and more.

Activities will include:

  • Beak Secrets: Discover the purpose of beak design as you race against time.
  • Lunchtime Leftovers: Dig in to find out what YOUR owl was eating!
  • Eyes to the Skies: Scan for birds on the Cranbrook grounds.
  • Bird Boogie: Can you dance like a bird?
  • Dino to Now: Explore the journey from dinos to modern raptors.
  • Name that Bird: Play a game to identify common metro-area raptors.
  • Who’s Your Mamma?: Can you match the baby raptor to its parents?
  • Soaring Eagles: Make a paper glider to explore how raptors soar on the wind.
  • Masking Up: Make Your Own Great Horned Owl Mask.
  • And more!

Discovery Days: Community Science
May 2, 2026
11:00am – 3:00pm

Curious about community science but unsure how to jump in? Spend the day exploring hands-on ways to contribute to real research happening right in your neighborhood. Chat with CIS staff and local partners, try out easy tools, and discover projects you can join from home.

Possible activities and topics may include:

  • Tools of the Trade: Get comfortable with popular community science apps and simple field methods.
  • Biodiversity Boost: Practice identifying birds, insects, plants, and other living things.
  • Night Sky Wonders: Explore projects that focus on stars, darkness, and the nighttime environment.
  • Water Watchers: Learn how everyday observations can support water quality studies.
  • Species on the Move: Find out how to spot and report invasive species.
  • …and plenty more!

Discovery Days: Rock On!
June 13, 2026
11:00am – 3:00pm

Rocks are wonderful! Whether you are interested in minerals, fossils, space rocks or Earth processes, there is a hands-on activity here for you.

Activities to include:

  • Mineral Gallery Scavenger Hunt: Find them all and win a prize!
  • Breaking Up: Investigate geodes with our geologist and then crack open your own (geode purchase required).
  • Walking Tour: Take a guided tour of the CIS Boulder Trail.
  • Earth on the Move: Join an auditorium program about volcanoes and earthquakes.
  • Earthquake Proof: Build a home that can withstand an earthquake.
  • Identification Station: Test the tools geologists use for mineral identification.
  • Space Rock Challenge: Can you separate the meteorites from the imposters?
  • Minerals in our Homes: Match the unexpected ways that minerals are used in housing construction.
  • Fossil Process: Explore how fossils are made with a hands-on activity.

Discovery Days: Water Wonderland
Saturday, July 18, 2026
11:00am – 3:00pm

Make a splash this summer! Dive into hands-on activities and experiments to discover all the ways water shapes our world, our culture, and our everyday lives.

Interactive activities include the following and more!

  • Mini Beasts in the Water: Meet the unexpected tiny creatures that live in our freshwater world.
  • Less and More: Use the warmth of your hands to investigate the principles of water contraction and expansion.
  • Great Lakes Cleanup: Design and build a device to remove garbage from our Great Lakes.
  • Pressure Everywhere: Experiment with bottles, bags, and more to explore water pressure. Be careful – you might get wet!
  • Caddisfly Creation: Explore the changing lives of Caddisflies and make your own to take home.

Discovery Days: Partial Solar Eclipse
Wednesday, August 12, 2026
11:00am – 3:00pm

Get ready to eclipse your expectations! Join us for hands-on fun as we watch a partial solar eclipse together.

Stay tuned for updates. Join our email list and more info will be radiating your way soon!