The UCCS Center for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Education is working with other community organizations to create a community-wide Colorado Springs Cool Science Festival Oct. 15-22.
Building on last year’s one-day campus event, CSTEME, the Colorado Springs Science Center Project, Cool Science Inc., and the Biological Science Curriculum Services engaged organizations from throughout the Pikes Peak region to create multiple science-related events. A week of activities will begin with a science carnival from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 15 at UCCS.
Budding scientists, engineers and inventors can participate in more than 80 hands-on science-related activities ranging from crawling into a planetarium to star gaze or into a simulated cave being careful not to disturb the bats. Participants can also launch a rocket or watch battling robots, explore electrons and photons, watch how neurons fire, or pet a skunk.
“There’s a universe full of activities to explore,” Kathleen Fitzpatrick, programs manager, CSTEME, said.
In addition to the fun activities, the UCCS Mathematics Center will demonstrate several math exercises including “Russian Finger math,” a kinesthetic way to learn multiplication, Rubik’s cube races, origami, and Mobius band bracelets.
At 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. in Centennial Hall, Ron Furstenau, assistant professor, Department of Chemistry, United States Air Force Academy, will present a fun, interactive magic of chemistry show. Furstenau is also a Cool Science board member.
“Chemistry is all about ‘stuff’, how it looks, feels, smells and works,” Furstenau said. “In our show, we’ll explore lots of different ‘stuff’ that looks like magic, but it’s not.”
The events are free and open to the public. Advance tickets are suggested to help gauge attendance and reduce lines. Tickets are available at http://csscp.org/csfest/cool-science-carnival-day-uccs/.
Other scheduled events include Garden of the Gods nature walks, a cool science scavenger hunt downtown, a tour of the El Paso County Coroner’s Office, a tour of Agilent Technologies and trivia contests.
For a complete schedule of events, visit http://csscp.org/csfest/
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