Dancing through life (and science)

For Jeffrey Vinokur, science is fun.

That’s the reason the “Dancing Scientist” — who is also a Ph.D. student in biochemistry at UCLA — does what he does.

Vinokur will be bringing his dancing shoes back to Nebraska beginning today for the second annual Nebraska Science Festival. UNMC Today spoke with him about science’s popularity and the first SciFest event.

After the inaugural event last year, what did you find most successful about Nebraska’s Science Festival? What makes you look forward to coming back?
I really enjoyed the student audiences at the event last year. I do a lot of presentations, and the audiences at your event were a lot of fun — the perfect combinations of energetic excitement while also being well behaved and listening when I was explaining. I did four shows last year and they were all full. This year the festival is much bigger than last year, and I am so happy to see it grow.

Teaching science is an important aspect of your life. Is there a point during the show that you especially enjoy?
The favorite experiments from my presentation last year was exploding a can of pringles using hydrogen gas, and launching fog rings through a hoop. Young students are very vocal and you can easily tell what they like because they shout WHOA and want to talk to their friends about it right away. This year I am bringing some new material and hope to top last year’s show.

Is the idea that science is fun making a comeback? What do you think is driving this sense that science is cool?

Spreading the excitement of science has definitely been helped with social media. There is so many experiments and amazing ways to be inspired by science which have been spread by social media sites like Youtube and Facebook. Much of the material is not new, but it is reaching more people.

While seeing things on video is great, nothing beats seeing it in person, and the only thing that beats that is doing it with your own hands. That’s what is great about the Nebraska Science Festival. There are stage shows were you get to see cool science in person, and there are booths and activities which allow you do so some science demos with your own hands. These provide memorable experiences that are essential to sparking interest in science at a crucial age.