The Lower School Family STEAM Night, on Jan. 14 from 5:30-7:45 p.m., is the perfect opportunity for parents to engage in intriguing, hands-on activities with their children.

With the inclusion of art and design, the “A” in this acronym acknowledges the key role that creativity, imagination, and innovation play in the STEM-related fields both in schools and in the work place.

This year will feature presenters from the University of Colorado Science Discovery Program, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, and Scale ‘N Tails’ Reptile Party Safari, as well as Mr. Bones, the paleo-puppeteer, all to help foster the STEAM initiative:

Alien Empire: Explore insects, spiders and other arthropods from around the world.

CSI Jr.: Mr. Bear Mystery: Gather evidence and conduct forensic tests to help decide what came into the class and committed a “crime.”

The Great Space Escape: See the stars inside a 15-foot tall and 30-foot diameter walk-in digital planetarium. Learn constellations and ancient legends using new digital images.

Mr. Bones: The paleo-puppeteer “Mr. Bones” presents his life-size dinosaur puppets as participants help put a dinosaur skeleton together.

Muggle Magic: The Science of Harry Potter: Learn how to make liquids change color, make things disappear and reappear, and explore density, polymers, Non-Newtonian fluids and pH.

Party Safari: Meet reptiles and amphibians like snakes, lizards and frogs, and learn about their habitats, characteristics, and abilities as hunters and survivors.

Wonderful World of Scratch 2.0: Create a complete video game from Scratch using drag and drop, event-driven programming.

CryptoKids: Learn the difference between a code and a cipher and become an expert code maker and breaker.

iLab Explorations: Program and control a robotic Sphero ball all with your iPad, or program Makey Makeys to trick your computer into thinking anything is a keyboard.