April 17, 2023

Rocks and fossils, chemistry experiments and more: Wayne State Junior Insiders welcomes kids to campus April 27

A family visits a museum and enjoys viewing rocks and fossils with a scientist.
Children are invited to explore Wayne State University, including the David J. Lowrie Geology Mineral Museum, as part of a Jr. Insiders event April 27.

Wayne State faculty and staff are invited to bring their children, ages 4 to 18, to campus for the annual Junior Insiders event on Thursday, April 27, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event for future Warriors coincides with the national Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. RSVP now.

“Junior Insiders allows some of Wayne State’s most engaging faculty and inspiring spaces to shine while introducing kids to the energy and inspiration we enjoy daily on our campus,” said Julie Hasse, associate director of experiential marketing in the Office of Marketing and Communications. “Many children — including my own — look forward to this event each year and make lifetime memories.”

Accompanied by their parent or guardian, children will be able to participate in a variety of fun and interactive activities. Participants can attend a planetarium show; visit the David J. Lowrie Geology Mineral Museum; engage in a chemistry or geophysics demonstration; tour the College of Nursing’s sim labs, where they can get hands-on experience with modern health care technology; and more.

The Mort Harris Recreation and Fitness Center will have an open gym with basketball courts, hula hoops and jump ropes available. Families are invited to take a tour of campus housing so kids can see what it’s like to live on campus as a college student. Additionally, The Towers Café menu will feature kid-friendly fare from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and lunchtime activities include a visit with W, WSU swag and prizes, and coloring activities. 

Children ages 4 to 18 can participate in a day of fun and interactive events on campus.

Junior Insiders Schedule

8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Wayne State University Bookstore
82 W. Warren
Stop in to pick up some Warrior gear for you and your Junior Insider. Faculty and staff receive 20% off all full-priced WSU logo gift items. While there, visit the cafe and receive 50% off drinks all day. 

The Shield
Off Warren, outside the STEM Innovation Learning Center
Take a quick pic with WSU’s newest campus icon and share your photos on social media using #FutureWarrior. 

8:45 to 11 a.m.
WDET tours and activities
101.9 FM WDET station, University Toweres Apartments, 4600 Cass Ave
Tour WDET’s studios and learn what it takes to produce a radio show. Record a jingle or read a script and hear what you’d sound like on the radio, then take it home as a souvenir to share with your family and friends.

9 a.m.
Planetarium show
Old Main, room 0209
Polaris, the Space Submarine and Mystery of the Polar Night (film, best for ages 9 and under)

9:30 a.m.
Planetarium show
Old Main, room 0209
“Detroit Sky Tonight” (live talk, all ages)

9 a.m. to noon
David J. Lowrie Geology Mineral Museum
Old Main, room 0205
A rare collection of very precious minerals are on display — learn more about the properties that make them valuable.

9 a.m. to noon 
Gordon L. Grosscup Museum of Anthropology
Old Main, room 1219
Visit the museum's "The Science of Culture" exhibit, make your own handprint art — just like our ancestors once made — and enjoy other hands-on activities.

10 a.m.
“Geophysics: The Science of Seeing Underground Without Digging a Hole” Outside the Linsell House/STEM Innovation Learning Center, Gullen Mall (location will be moved indoors in the event of rain or unexpected weather)
Whether you are searching for groundwater, minerals, ancient artifacts or a place to lay a strong foundation, it’s useful to understand what lies beneath Earth’s surface. Geophysics uses vibrations, radio waves and magnets to figure out what’s down there without the need for a shovel. 

10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Human patient simulators and virtual, immersive world health care; happy birthday hand-washing stations
College of Nursing, Cohn Building, rooms 217 and 219
See how Wayne State is leading the way in health care education with human patient simulators and a virtual, immersive world. Future Warriors can step into the simulation lab and get hands-on experience with the same technology our nursing students use to become some of the best in the field. 

10:30 a.m.
Planetarium show
Old Main, room 0209
Earth to the Universe (film, recommended audience ages 8 and up)

11 a.m.
“Science Can Be So Cool”
STEM Innovation Learning Center, lab 312
Join chemistry faculty member Tom Kuntzleman to explore how the properties of various materials change when they are cooled hundreds of degrees below zero — as cold as the surface of the planet. 

11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Lunch
Towers Café, 655 W. Kirby
$9.50 for adults and $7 for kids (12 and under)
All-you-care-to-eat menu includes kids’ favorites like chicken nuggets, fries, salad bar, pasta, pizza, breakfast cereal bar and dessert bar.

Lunchtime activities
Outside Towers Café, 655 W. Kirby

  • Hang out with W.
  • Grab coloring and activity sheets to take back to your office 
  • Pick up some WSU swag and enter to win prizes sponsored by the Dean of Students Office, Academic Success Center, University Press and School of Medicine. 

11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Open gym
Mort Harris Recreation and Fitness Center, 5210 Gullen Mall
Stop by the basketball courts to burn off some energy or shoot some hoops. Hula hoops, basketballs and jump ropes will be available for use.

1:30 p.m.
Physics demonstrations
Physics Building, 666 W. Hancock, room 245
“The Story of the Universe: From the Lab to the Cosmos” — see what fun we can have learning about the physics of how stars move and the extremes of the universe, from playing with spinning water buckets and chairs to the air that we breathe, fire tornadoes and freezing things with liquid nitrogen!

1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Housing tours
Towers Residential Suites, 655 W. Kirby 
Check out what it’s like to live on campus. Tours of the Towers Residential Suites will depart from their front desk every 20 minutes. 

Subscribe to Today@Wayne

Direct to your inbox each week

Related articles