Saturday, February 24, 2024, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Sensory-Friendly Hour 10-11 a.m.

Colorado State University, Lory Student Center

Free and open to the public! Science fun for all ages!

We’re Back!

LSOP celebrated our 29th Annual Open House on February 29, 2020. We were super excited to celebrate our 30th, but the world got kind of crazy and we had to cancel the big in-person event and move things online. We’re super excited to be back in person for the sequel in 2024!

What Is Open House?

Every year, thousands of people flock to the Lory Student Center for a day of fun, hands-on science at the Little Shop of Physics Open House!

This event is free and open to the public. It is appropriate for folks of all ages, from pre-K to gray! Along with over 300 hands-on homemade science experiments, you can check out interactive presentations and activities hosted by our Science Partner Groups from CSU, Colorado, and beyond!

Guide

Check out the official Open House guides!

Presentations

Interactive presentations will be held in the Lory Student Center Lory Student Center Theatre. Come join the fun!

  • 11 a.m. Magical Maths, Jørn Hafver and Monica Karlsen, Jærmuseet Science Circus
  • 12 p.m. Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream, CSU Chemistry Club
  • 1 p.m. The Physics of Music, Ansel Foxley, University of Northern Colorado
  • 2 p.m. 15 Demos in 30 Minutes, Wendy Adams, Colorado School of Mines
  • 3 p.m. Heat Transfer, Adam Beehler, University of Utah

Science Partners

We are lucky to be joined by some amazing partners who are as passionate about teaching as we are!

  • Adaptive Robotics Lab, Department of Mechanical Engineering
    • We conduct research to design and build novel, small, and adaptive robots that can reconfigure their shapes, structures, or functionalities to fulfill tasks in diverse environments.
    • https://www.engr.colostate.edu/laboratories/adaptive-robotics-laboratory/
  • BROADN (Aerobiome Research)
    • The BROADN project, funded by the National Science Foundation, works to understand the microbiome of the air, and how it impacts human, animal, and environmental health.
    • BROADN volunteers will show the kids and their families how to use a microscope while talking about BROADN’s research and how different particles such as pollen or fungi that move through the air.
    • https://broadn.colostate.edu/outreach/
  • Bug Zoo
    • Our Bug Zoo and Agricultural Biology K-12 programming gives kids and adults alike the opportunity to interact and engage with arthropods. Our research demonstrates that children learning about bugs when they are are less likely to develop fears associated with insects.
    • https://agsci.colostate.edu/agbio/the-bug-zoo/
  • Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA)
    • CIRA is a leading atmospheric science research institute – come learn about how we see the Earth from space!
    • More at: www.cira.colostate.edu
  • FORTCAST (FORT Collins Atmospheric ScientisTs)
    • FORTCAST is a student chapter of the American Meteorological Society and is comprised of students within the CSU Department of Atmospheric Science. Let’s learn how the atmosphere works! We will have several hands-on science demonstrations to help you learn about weather, chemistry, and climate.
    • http://fortcast.atmos.colostate.edu/
  • Human Anatomy Interactive Room
    • Engaging kids in science and health through hands on anatomy exercises.
    • Gain a broad understanding of the human body through our Virtual Reality anatomy models, isolated human organs, and interactive human anatomy stations.
    • https://vetmedbiosci.colostate.edu/outreach/
  • Gregory Allicar Museum of Art
    • Gregory Allicar Museum of Art invites individuals to engage with art and each other to inspire fresh perspectives and wonder. Always free and open to all, the museum is a catalyst for visual literacy and critical thinking that instills a passion for learning.
    • artmuseum.colostate.edu
  • Illusions and other Psychological Processes
    • CSU Psychology Department
    • As a contemporary science and applied profession, psychology represents a rational and systematic attempt to understand human behavior by studying the processes of development, perception, learning, motivation and thinking, and the relationship of these processes both to the physiological and social functioning of humans.
    • https://psychology.colostate.edu/
  • Lakota Star Knowledge Star Dome
    • Presented by Generations Indigenous Ways and Oglala Lakota College Math and Science Department.
    • https://www.giways.org/
    • https://www.olc.edu/current-students/degree-programs-areas-of-study/math-science-tech/
  • Madison-Macdonald Observatory (MMO) 
    • Solar viewing (weather permitting) outside in Plaza.
    • https://www.physics.colostate.edu/about/astronomy/
  • Muscles Alive! 
    • Muscles Alive! is a neuroscience educational outreach program. Participants get to see, hear, record, and experience their own brain’s command to the muscle and experience very robust, fun, and attention-getting illusions and phenomena related to reflexes and proprioception (ability to sense the position and orientation and movement of one’s body).
    • https://stem.colostate.edu/events/muscles-alive/
  • Sci On the Fly: Mobile Outreach Learning Lab
    • High-end gaming computers run advanced team-based programs focused on teaching youth across Colorado about the deep connections between humans, animals, and the environment.
    • https://vetmedbiosci.colostate.edu/outreach/
  • Physics Bus
    • The Ithaca Physics Bus is about doing science for fun. It is a mobile exhibition of upcycled appliances reimagined by kids that showcase unfamiliar physics phenomena. The mission of the physics bus is to awaken interest and creativity in physics for all ages and walks of life — especially those underserved by science enrichment.
    • https://freescienceworkshop.org/physicsbus/
  • The Physics of Flight
  • UCAR Center for Science Education
    • https://scied.ucar.edu
  • Walter Scott Jr., College of Engineering Exploration
    • Walter Scott Jr., College of Engineering
    • The College of Engineering will be hosting a variety of activities around engineering our world in Mechanical, Electrical, Civil and Environmental and Biomedical Engineering. Stop by to explore 3D printing, electrical playdough circuits, bridge strength tests, and more!
    • https://www.engr.colostate.edu/outreach

Food Court

Doing science can make folks hungry. If you need a lunch break, head on down to the Lory Student Center food court. The following restaurants will be open:

Additionally, Cam’s Lobby Shop Convenience Store will be open at the North End Transit Center on the first floor.

Transportation

Colorado State University, Lory Student Center
1101 Center Ave Mall, Fort Collins, CO 80521

Open House will be in the CSU Lory Student Center, on the 3rd floor. We recommend parking in the Engineering Parking Lot or the Morgan Library Parking Lot on CSU Campus. Public transportation is also a great option: CSU is served by several bus routes, including the MAX.

Most parking on campus is available free of charge on Saturdays, but please check the signage in the lots to confirm. For more information, visit the Parking and Transportation Services Website.

We’ll have more details about Open House 2024 as the date gets closer, but here’s what we know for sure: It’s going to be free and fun! Check out this video from Open House 2018.

Major funding for the Little Shop of Physics is provided by the Colorado State University College of Natural Sciences. Funding for Open House is provided by the Matthew A. McCausland Memorial Fund.

Stuff From Previous Years

This year will be our 30th Annual Open House. Check out all of the fun we’ve had in the past!