On April 10, he’ll share his experiences as a meteorologist and extreme storm chaser when he kicks off the third annual Nebraska Science Festival.
This year’s festival runs April 10-18 and again features an array of science and technology-related activities in communities across the state.
“This year’s festival will be bigger and better than ever,” said Kacie Baum, coordinator of the Nebraska Science Festival and science outreach programs coordinator at UNMC. “We’re planning lots of great educational activities and extending both the length and the geographic reach of the festival.”
Programming will be available for all ages and span hands-on activities, tours, talks and nature experiences (much of it free to the public). Already planned: the opportunity to walk through an 18-foot-long by 14-foot-wide by 12-foot-high inflatable brain at the April 18 Science Expo, attend a science of beer talk (adults only) or engage preschoolers in a Little Scientist Expo.
For those who love science, why wait until April? Teenagers can create a 30-second video explaining what a germ is to a fifth-grade audience. Scientists can volunteer to share their expertise with middle schoolers. And, fourth- through 12th-graders can enter the SciFest essay contest for a chance to meet Timmer, who has appeared on the Discovery Channel’s Storm Chasers and When Nature Strikes.
Today, Timmer is CEO of Weather Fusion, LLC and Extreme Tornado Tours, LLC, offering forensic meteorology and consulting services, extreme weather media, and storm chasing tours. His tornado, hurricane, and blizzard footage has been licensed to more than 100 production companies and television networks since 1997, and has been seen by hundreds of millions of people worldwide on television, Internet and mobile video devices. He also is working on a Ph.D. in meteorology from the University of Oklahoma.
Presented by UNMC, the Nebraska Science Festival is a collaboration of organizations and individuals interested in the advancement of science literacy. The Science Festival is designed to make science accessible, interactive, relevant and fun for kids and adults alike.
In addition to UNMC, other sponsors, to date, include Nebraska Medicine, the Nebraska Coalition for Lifesaving Cures, Metro Credit Union, HDR, West Corporation and media sponsors KETV and the Omaha World-Herald.
In addition to the web site, updates also are available on Twitter (@NESciFest) and Facebook (NE SciFest).