Each April, the Nebraska Science Festival brings science to life for kids of all ages.
Recently, the festival’s signature Public Science Expo drew oohs and aahs from the nearly 750 attendees that went booth to booth to make seed bombs with recycled paper, learn about Monarch butterflies, touch a sheep’s heart and more.
Held at The Durham Museum, the April 27 expo included a record number of participants from UNMC colleges, departments and programs (cue the applause!).
“It was so great to see so many participants this year from UNMC,” said SciFest coordinator Kacie Baum, senior manager for events and community engagement in UNMC’s Department of Strategic Communications. “We do such great work here; it’s fantastic to see the community getting a chance to see it up close and personal and in a fun, unique way.”
These UNMC teams participated in this year’s expo:
UNMC College of Dentistry – Kids learned how to properly brush their teeth thanks to a giant toothbrush and oversized set of teeth.
Warren Neuroscience Lab – Kids enjoyed brain games and crafts to learn more about the wonders of the brain. Some built DNA strands out of candy, assembled their own play-dough brain and built pipe cleaner neurons.
UNMC Medical Laboratory Science Program – Through interactive kid-friendly activities, attendees learned how medical lab scientists interact with blood in different ways.
UNMC Cellular and Integrative Physiology with UNMC Cardiology – Kids had the opportunity to see science up-close – by looking inside the dissected eye of a sheep, touch a sheep’s heart and watch sheep lungs inflate.
UNMC Department of Biostatistics – Kids learned how to plot data by jumping plastic frogs (and themselves) and measuring the distances.
UNMC Strategic Communications – Attendees made wildflower seed bombs with recycled newspaper and bouncy rubber balls.
UNMC HEROES Program – The team planned to teach kids about the importance of handwashing and the power of soap, but HEROES was called into action after the April 27 storms and unable to attend.
Interested in boosting science literacy? Contact Baum with questions on how you and your department, unit or college can get involved in next year’s Nebraska Science Festival.
Terrific representation at this year’s festival! Thank you to all who participated, and congratulations to the event organizers for another successful festival!