Imagine holding science right in your hands – launching rockets toward the sky, building robots, operating on a “patient” or holding a colorful lizard. For thousands of Northern California families, this isn't just imagination, these are just some of the activities they did at the North Bay Science Discovery Day on March 8 in Santa Rosa.
This annual, free festival turns learning into adventure, bringing science, technology, engineering and mathematics – known collectively as STEM – beyond classrooms and textbooks into interactive experiences. At this event, organized by University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, science comes alive, giving children, youth and adults a chance to touch, explore and engage directly with the concepts that shape our everyday world.
“This is an event designed to spark children’s interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics,” said Steven Worker, a UC Cooperative Extension youth development advisor for the Northern Bay Area. “We had about 10,000 people show up to engage in interactive STEM activities.”
Kids donned white coats and hairnets to help Medtronic employees operate a medical device in the chest of a mannequin.
NorCalBats representatives held small, live bats and explained the role of bats in the ecosystem, such as helping farmers by eating plant-damaging insects.
California members of the American Chemical Society gave kids blue ice cubes made of fresh water to drop into cups of red saltwater and yellow fresh water. They demonstrated how blue freshwater ice cubes dropped in yellow fresh water melt and create green water while the fresh water sinks and remains separate in the red saltwater.
Rubbing balloons on their hair, kids learned firsthand from California Association of Science Educators how friction produces static electricity that can repel a soda can.
Visitors could feel the soft fur pelts of animals that live at Pepperwood, a reserve that serves as a refuge for over 900 species of plants and animals.
As kids watched bees working in their live bee habitat, UC Liberty 4-H Beekeepers asked them what bees pollinate.
"Our goal is simple but powerful: to engage children in science is exciting and within their reach," said Worker. “When young people do science firsthand, they discover possibilities for their future that they might never have imagined.”
Through activities like North Bay Science Discovery Day, the California 4-H youth development program inspires youth to consider careers in STEM fields and educates the entire community about the profound impact science has in our daily lives.
The event was supported by 107 exhibitors, 70 generous sponsors and about 150 dedicated volunteers who worked to ensure every child could engage directly with the wonders of science.
“Events like this show how STEM education is connected directly to our daily lives,” Worker added. "We want children, families and communities to see science not only as important, but also inspiring."
To learn more, visit www.northbayscience.org.