Join us for our annual Junior Insiders: Take Your Kid to Work Day event, open to all WSU staff and faculty. 

Children ages 4 to 18 are invited to participate in a variety of activities between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Use the itinerary below to plan your day on campus.

8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

Wayne State University Bookstore
82 W. Warren
Stop in and 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 a.m.-11 a.m.

WDET tours and activities 
101.9 FM WDET station, University Towers 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.-noon   

Puppet making
Hilberry Gateway lobby
Stop by and get a glimpse at the beautiful new Hilberry Gateway, where supplies will be available to make a fun sock puppet. 

9-9:45 a.m.    

Make a 3D hologram device
STEM Building, Maker Space (Room 122)
Students will learn how holograms work and create their own 3D digital hologram projector. A holographic pyramid will be created to view images and videos projected three-dimensionally. At the end of the session, students will understand the law of reflection and describe how a ray of light bounces off surfaces.

9 a.m.-4 p.m. 

Student Center Makerspace
063 Student Center (lower level)
Stop into the Makerspace for coloring and crafts for all kids and kids at heart. Coloring pages, “W” decorating and other paper crafts will be available throughout the day. 

10-10:45 a.m.

Galaxy super slime engineering
STEM Building, Maker Space (Room 122)
Who can engineer the best slime? Beginning with a preset recipe, students make slime, observe it, and then decide on what and how they want to improve it, such as making it stickier or less sticky. Students then make their updated slime by implementing the changes they want to make. They are introduced to product optimization, material science and polymer engineering.

10 a.m.-11 a.m.         

Housing tours
Chatsworth Suites
Check out what it’s like to live on campus in one of our FYRE (First-Year Residential Experience) buildings. Tours of the Chatsworth Suites will depart from the front desk every 15 minutes. 

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
Come 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. 

11 a.m.-noon                  

“Science Can Be So Cool” demonstration
Science Hall, 1117
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.-1:30 p.m.      

Lunch
Towers Café, 655 W. Kirby
$10.75 adults and $8 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
Inside Towers Café, 655 W. Kirby
Hang out with “W.” (tentative)
Coloring and activity sheets to take back to your office.
Pick up some WSU swag and enter to win prizes.

11 a.m. to 2 p.m.        

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.

Gordon L. Grosscup Museum of Anthropology
Old Main, room 1219
Paint plaster of Paris animals that kids can take home with them. These are similar to Frankie the Dachshund, the mascot of the Frankenmuth Brewery, who we have a plaster of Paris figure of in our current exhibit. (*The current museum exhibit explores material culture emerging from the production and imbibing of grain-based alcoholic beverages and features related artifacts.)

WSU falcon team
Old Main, outside Woodward front entrance (weather permitting)
Did you know the fastest animal on the planet lives at Wayne State? Take a walk on the wild side and observe Wayne State's peregrine falcons! Visit our WSU falcons information table and get a bird's-eye view – almost! – with our spotting scope. Learn fascinating facts about the majestic predators who call the iconic Old Main clock tower home. You can also watch them live 24 hours a day at go.wayne.edu/falcons. 

11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Open gym activities and bouldering
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, volleyball, pickleball, yard games and jump ropes will be available. Kids can also test their skills with rock climbing by learning how to boulder. A signed safety waiver will be required to participate on the rock wall. Parents are asked to be active participants as spotters for kids on the rock wall. 

11:30 a.m.

Planetarium Show
Old Main, 0209

Polaris, the Space Submarine and Mystery of the Polar Night (film, best for ages 9 and under) *Film is approximately 30 minutes, with a short star talk following for those interested in staying

12:30 p.m.

Planetarium Show
Old Main, 0209
Big Astronomy (film, recommended audience 9 and up)
*Film is approximately 30 minutes, with a short star talk following for those interested in staying

1-3 p.m. 

Warrior kids crafting in the libraries
David Adamany Undergraduate Library atrium
Join the libraries for an opportunity to explore creativity through yarn crafts. Participants will make a bookmark they can take home as well as other fun crafts with a Wayne State twist. 

WSU Art Collection scavenger hunt
David Adamany Undergraduate Library
Come learn about Cass Corridor Art while touring the library to find and then draw unusual items and imagery found in the artwork.

1:30 p.m.

Planetarium Show
Old Main, 0209
Joe’s Galaxies Talk (recommended for 8 and up)