By: Jennifer Haskell

Spring has now arrived and with it the excitement of warm weather and blooming flowers. Spring also brings with it more excitement happening at Explorit Science Center. Our dedicated teachers are gearing up for Spring Vacation Science Classes. They are enthusiastic about their classes and so are the parents and kids who have registered already. The excitement is catching on as classes are filling quickly.

The good news is that there are still some spaces available. Grades 1-5 will be enjoying a wide variety of topics during the week of April 5-9. The topics include: "Wings of Flight", "Secret Agent Science", "Construction Connections", "Hot Science is Cool" and "Wonders of Color and Light". Grades 1 & 2 classes will be held at 9:30-11:00am while classes for grades 3-5 take place 12:00-1:30pm.

Classes are $11.00 each for members or $14.00 for non-members. Please call Explorit for more information and to register your child. Don't wait too long as spring fever is spreading fast and filling the Vacation Science Classes.

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Now that it is officially spring, what kinds of changes do you typically expect to experience during this time of year? Whatever you like about spring, the truth is that our weather definitely does change.

Here's an exercise. Think for a minute about the changes in our weather and climate that occur in spring. What kinds of changes can you or your kids come up with? Do you expect changes in temperature, humidity, air pressure, number of daylight hours, cloud patterns, precipitation and occurances of lightning or wind?

Let's talk about lightning, shall we? Although not common in this area, heat lightning is a reflection of lightning off layers of dust particles in the atmosphere that results from thunderstorms off in the distance below the horizon. Speaking of electrical charges, did you know that you can make charges of 40,000 volts inside your house? Don't worry mom and dad, those electrical charges are small and can be generated as you shuffle across a carpeted floor on a low humidity day.

Explorit has a safe lightning chamber as part of the current exhibition, "Weather or Not: Forces Affecting the Earth," where you can charge a piece of PVC pipe by rubbing wool over the pipe. Then you can transfer the electrical charge over to a conductor, which allows you to feel a small spark. For those of you who are keraunophobic (afraid of lightning), don't worry there are many other hands-on activities to explore.

Can you believe that March, our month of spring initiation is almost over? Well, that means that it's once again time for a free admission day. That's right, it's free at Explorit tomorrow. There are only two weeks left in our current exhibition: "Weather or Not: Forces Affecting the Earth" and this will be the last free admission Saturday for this exhibit. Come check us out if you have never been to our fun hands-on museum or, for those who have been before, come visit again.

Explorit Science Center is located at 3141 5th Street in East Davis. The current exhibition is "Weather or Not: Forces Affecting the Earth". Public hours are Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Sunday from 1:00 to 4:30 p.m., and Tuesday through Friday from 2:00 to 4:30 p.m. Regular admission is $3; members, teachers (with school ID) and children under 4 are free.