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🌪🐢🔬🔍 Inspiring everyone in the joy of scientific discovery and wonder of nature
📍Burlington, Vermont

⚙️🥒🔨 Rube Goldberg Week is underway! Gui

⚙️🥒🔨 Rube Goldberg Week is underway! Guinness World Record holder and Rube Goldberg expert Zach Umperovitch @zachscontraptions is here at the museum building a unique machine in real time.

Stop by the alcove outside Engineer It this week to watch Zach incorporate everyday objects — and some not-so-everyday objects, like our famous giant pickle – into this one-of-a-kind contraption.

Visit Zach while he builds to ask questions and offer suggestions. Then come back this Friday and Saturday, April 18–19, to watch the machine launch in real time or join Zach on Saturday to build and test your own Rube Goldberg machine at our Rube Goldberg BUILD Workshops. Learn more at the link in our bio!

#rubegoldberg #zachscontraptions #rubegoldbergmachine

📣 Weekly Field Trip Forecast! In this weekly u

📣 Weekly Field Trip Forecast!

In this weekly update, we share how many field trip attendees we’re expecting each day to help you plan your visit to ECHO. We’re expecting busy days this Wednesday and Thursday with less traffic toward the beginning of the week.

Please note that this forecast only includes field trip attendees and does not predict the total number of guests in the building. For a real-time report of the traffic level in the museum, call the front desk at (802) 864-1848. Most field trips during the school year depart ECHO before 1 pm.

📆 Rube Goldberg WEEK starts tomorrow, Sunday, A

📆 Rube Goldberg WEEK starts tomorrow, Sunday, April 13! Guinness World Record holder and Rube Goldberg expert @zachscontraptions will be here to build the BEST Rube Goldberg machine ever made on the Burlington Waterfront. Zach will incorporate everyday objects from ECHO’s storage in this one-of-a-kind machine to span the length of ECHO’s upstairs alcove. The installation continues through the week with items added daily. Visit while he builds to ask questions and offer suggestions and be part of the construction process.

Sponsored by VT Public.

#RubeGoldberg #ScienceMuseum #Contraptions

♾️ April is Autism Acceptance Month. Join us i

♾️ April is Autism Acceptance Month. Join us in learning more about what acceptance looks like in action! Today we focus on how we as a society can do a better job of accepting neurological differences and reducing the barriers that Autistic people face. Here are some ideas:
💡 Listen to Autistic voices and prioritize them in decision-making
💡 Embrace & celebrate neurodiversity by valuing the unique strengths of each individual and perspectives of all neurotypes
💡 Challenge harmful stereotypes and elevate positive represenations in the media
💡 Advocate for inclusion and equal opportunities and accommodations in education, employement, and public spaces
💡 Support policies that support Autistic people, especially in healthcare and other areas
💡 Support LGBTQIA+ affirming laws and policies (there is a high rate of overlap between autism and LGBTQIA+ identities)

Learn more: https://neurodivergentinsights.com/autism-awareness-acceptance/

#Autism #AutismAcceptance #ScienceMuseum #Vermont

🥊💡Members, you are invited! After Zach Umper

🥊💡Members, you are invited! After Zach Umperovitch from @zachscontraptions builds his latest contraption at ECHO over Rube Goldberg Week, members are invited to celebrate the final chain reaction launch at a special member party on Saturday, April 19, 5:30–7:30 pm.

Zach will be on-site to discuss the genius of Rube Goldberg and the intricacies of his project. With images and video to illustrate his work, this tour of the physics that underpins the machine and the humor that guides his inspiration will be revealed. Once he’s explained what’s in place, Zach will set his contraption in motion! Enjoy a cash bar and light snacks provided by Sugarsnap.

RSVP at the link in bio.

#RubeGoldberg #ScienceMuseum #Vermont #BurlingtonVT

Join us for Sensory-Friendly Sunday this weekend!

Join us for Sensory-Friendly Sunday this weekend! From 9-10 am, admission is FREE for anyone with sensory-processing differences. The museum will be closed to the general public, and lighting and sounds will be adjusted to allow visitors to enjoy the museum in a calm environment. Interact with ECHO’s exhibits, visit the live animals, and access our @kulturecity sensory backpacks! RSVP at the link in our bio!

Do you remember where you were one year ago today?

Do you remember where you were one year ago today?

We’ll give you a hint: if you were in Vermont, you were probably sporting a super fashionable pair of solar-filtering shades!

Today, we’re throwing it back to April 8, 2024, when over 1,000 community members, scientists, friends, and volunteers gathered at ECHO to experience a once-in-a-lifetime total solar eclipse. And we really do mean once in a lifetime: Burlington won’t be in the path of totality for a solar eclipse again until August 2, 2399!

A year later, we’re still celebrating the work that our staff, volunteers, and community partners put into sharing eclipse education and sparking the joy of science across Vermont. In total, ECHO staff, educators, and volunteers:

📦 Distributed 52 custom eclipse education & activity kits to schools, libraries, and community centers across Vermont.

☀️ Interacted with over 1,400 community members and visitors at ECHO & the Burlington Waterfront.

🔭 Live streamed a telescope view of the eclipse to over 6,400 viewers around the world.

📰 Participated in interviews, appeared in news segments, and hosted local and national broadcasters at the museum to share the eclipse with the world.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for Eclipse 2024. We’ll see you in 374 years for the next one!

#eclipse #2024eclipse #throwback

Machines can do a lot of things, from washing our

Machines can do a lot of things, from washing our clothes to keeping astronauts safe during space travel. But what about a machine that uses a lot of steps to do something simple like opening a door or cracking an egg?

Rube Goldberg machines are hilariously silly, overly complicated inventions that solve a simple problem in a fun new way. Whether a Rube Goldberg machine works well isn’t quite as important as whether it makes you laugh.

Learn more about Rube Goldberg and his iconic inventions at Rube Goldberg™: The World of Hilarious Invention Exhibit! now through September 7 at ECHO.

Plus, join us April 13–19 for Rube Goldberg week to learn more about Rube Goldberg machines and watch Rube Goldberg expert Zach Umperovitch build a giant contraption in the museum. Interested in building a machine of your own? Sign up now for our Rube Goldberg build workshops on Saturday, April 19 and create your own invention with Zach! Learn more at the link in our bio.

Rube Goldberg™: The World of Hilarious Invention Exhibit! is created by the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh in partnership with the Heirs of Rube Goldberg.

Thank you to our local sponsor, @nsbvt

#rubegoldberg #rubegoldbergmachine #museum

📣 Weekly Field Trip Forecast! In this weekly u

📣 Weekly Field Trip Forecast!

In this weekly update, we share how many field trip attendees we’re expecting each day to help you plan your visit to ECHO. We’re expecting light field trip traffic this week, making it another great week to visit the museum before the busy school trip season.

Please note that this forecast only includes field trip attendees and does not predict the total number of guests in the building. For a real-time report of the traffic level in the museum, call the front desk at (802) 864-1848. Most field trips during the school year depart ECHO before 1 pm.

🎉Guinness World Record holder and Rube Goldberg

🎉Guinness World Record holder and Rube Goldberg expert Zach Umperovitch is coming next week to start building the biggest Rube Goldberg machine ever made on the Burlington Waterfront. In two weeks, you too can learn how to build your own contraption in Zach’s BUILD Workshops.

⚙️There are two workshops to choose from on Saturday, April 19. These dynamic, interactive 1-hr sessions combine learning with hands-on fun as visitors explore the principles of Rube Goldberg Machines and apply them to create their own unique designs. (Suggested ages: 5+ up) Sponsored by @vermontpublic.

Sign up at the link in our bio.

#Vermont #RubeGoldberg #BTV #BurlingtonVT

♾️ April is Autism Acceptance Month. This mont

♾️ April is Autism Acceptance Month. This month was created by and for autistic people to respect the rights and humanity of all autistic people and center the perspectives and needs of autistic people with intellectual disabilities, non speaking autistic people, and autistic people with the highest support needs — not by speaking over them, but by listening and looking to them as leaders. Acceptance is only the first step!

🧠 Learn more about acceptance and resources here: https://autisticadvocacy.org/about-asan/what-we-believe/

👀 And then keep an eye out on our socials to learn more about ways we can support the autistic community year-round.

#BurlingtonVT #Vermont #AutismAcceptance #ScienceMuseum

🚀 This just in: ECHO’s annual Earth and Space

🚀 This just in: ECHO’s annual Earth and Space-tacular Festival is cleared for landing!

From April 20–27, get ready to take a trip through our solar system and learn about the Earth, our Moon, and all the planets in the Milky Way with daily out-of-this-world activities and demonstrations at ECHO.

Plus, celebrate what makes our home planet special with the return of the beloved Mud Fling! Join the mud parade and throw mud balls from the upper deck.

Learn more and prepare for blast off at the link in our bio!

#festival #sciencemuseum #vermont

Our next Masks On Sunday is this weekend! From 9 -

Our next Masks On Sunday is this weekend! From 9 - 10 am, discover and explore ECHO in a safe, masked environment during this dedicated time for those in our community who are most at risk — including but not limited to seniors, visitors with disabilities, or those with compromised immune systems. Note: everyone age 2 and older will be required to wear a mask. During this hour, admission is free. RSVP at the link in our bio!

BURLINGTON, VT — ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Cha

BURLINGTON, VT — ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain today announced that the role of Executive Director will be assumed by the lake monster known as Champ, effective immediately.

This news comes after a thirty-page report, published by ECHO one year ago today, deemed Champ “definitely a myth” and “completely unsubstantiated by science.”

An anonymous source close to the issue told the ECHO News Network that Champ came ashore and assumed leadership of the museum to refute these allegations of mythicality and set the record straight.

When asked for comment, Champ gargled a large volume of water and spat it directly into the microphone before vanishing back into the lake. Plesiosaur experts tell us that this is the creature’s way of saying “Happy April Fools’ Day.”

With Champ’s swift exit and return to the water, ECHO has no other option but to allow human Ted Lawson to resume the role of Executive Director.

#champ #vermont #aprilfools

🎉🎂 We want to wish a very happy 85th birthda

🎉🎂 We want to wish a very happy 85th birthday to Senator Patrick Leahy — the real Champ! 😉

We hope you and Marcelle are enjoying a wonderful day by Lake Champlain.

@marcellepleahy

🎉 Throughout March, ECHO has been highlighting

🎉 Throughout March, ECHO has been highlighting extraordinary women making STEM history in New England from the collection of scientists who have been selected to be part of the American Association for the Advancement of Science IF/THEN Ambassador program. As we did our research, we saw that no one from Vermont was represented in this collection! So we reached out to our community and are happy to highlight the following Vermont women who are doing amazing things in their STEM careers!

Meet:
🩺 Dr. Julie Alosi is a general surgeon with over 20 years of experience, specializing in breast cancer, melanoma, and sarcoma care. Affiliated with several hospitals, including the @uvmmedcenter and St. Vincent Hospital-Worcester, she is known for her expertise in treating damaged tissue and her multidisciplinary approach to cancer care.

🐝 Amber Jones, a native of Vermont, serves as a staff biologist at the @vtecostudies, where her deep-rooted connection to the state‘s landscapes fuels her passion for conservation. Her work focuses on studying wildlife behavior, habitat restoration, and biodiversity, helping to shape strategies that protect Vermont's unique habitats.

🦇 Alyssa Bennett is a small mammal biologist at @vtfishandwildlife. She oversees the conservation and recovery of small mammal species and their habitats, researches and conducts surveillance on emerging bat diseases, and conducts public outreach and education about Vermont's bat species.

🦆 Erin Talmage is the executive director of the @birdsofvermont, where she leads efforts to preserve bird carvings and educate the public about birds’ roles in the ecosystem. Passionate about wildlife, she also serves on two Vermont scientific advisory groups and enjoys salamander hunting, collecting environmental data, and volunteering in her free time.

Thank you to all these women for all the work they do for Vermont. We know there are so many amazing women in STEM in Vermont. Tag your favorite in the comments!

#Vermont #WomenInSTEM #WomensHistoryMonth #ScienceMuseum

📣 Weekly Field Trip Forecast! In this weekly u

📣 Weekly Field Trip Forecast!

In this weekly update, we share how many field trip attendees we’re expecting each day to help you plan your visit to ECHO. We’re expecting light field trip traffic this week, making it a perfect week to visit the museum before the busy school trip season begins.

Please note that this forecast only includes field trip attendees and does not predict the total number of guests in the building. For a real-time report of the traffic level in the museum, call the front desk at (802) 864-1848. Most field trips during the school year depart ECHO before 1 pm.

#museum #fieldtrip #burlingtonvt #vermont

🗞️‼️Breaking summer camp news! A few spo

🗞️‼️Breaking summer camp news!
A few spots opened up in select 2025 ECHO Summer Camps. Spots are available in the following weeks:

🍃 Nature Explorers
June 16–20; July 7–11; Aug 18–22

🔎 Spy Camp
June 23–27; July 14–18; Aug 4–8

🎨 Science Loves Art
June 30–July 3; July 21–25

Open registration is available to everyone, regardless of ECHO membership. Space is extremely limited and registration is first-come, first-served — so don’t wait!

To register, visit echovermont.org/camps or click the link in our bio.

Questions? Check out the Camp FAQs on our website or email our Camps team at camps@echovermont.org

#camp #summercamp #vermont

🌬️ Humans have used wind energy for over 2,00

🌬️ Humans have used wind energy for over 2,000 years to accomplish tasks like grinding grain and pumping water. Currently, wind energy is also used to create electricity and is a fast-growing industry.

Drop by our Engineer It lab on the third floor to harness the power of wind! Design a wind turbine to transform the movement of wind into electrical energy. How fast will your turbine spin?

#STEM #Wind #WindEnergy #ScienceMuseum #BurlingtonVermont

🎉 Join ECHO in celebrating Women’s History Mo

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1-802-864-1848
info@echovt.org
1 College St., Burlington, VT 05401
Lake Temp: / Air:

About Us

ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain is a 501(c) non-profit organization. ECHO’s mission is to inspire and engage families in the joy of scientific discovery, wonder of nature, and care of Lake Champlain.

What are your pronouns? ECHO is dedicated to creating a safe space where equity and diversity are sought and celebrated. All staff wear name tags with their pronouns. All visitors should feel welcome letting ECHO Staff know their pronouns.

Find Us

Address: 1 College St., Burlington, VT 05401
Phone: 1.802.864.1848
Toll-Free: 1.877.324.6386
E-mail: info@echovermont.org
Hours: 10 am-5 pm Daily

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