Ariana and Cameron, two STEAMbassadors, a STEM Pathways Co-Op program, led activities, handed out prizes and greeted attendants in the early afternoon on the lawn in Hyde Park. Photo by Project Exploration.

Last weekend, Saturday October 5th, Project Exploration (PE) tabled at UChicago’s South Side Science Festival. Staff and STEAMbassadors led students to investigate gold fish scale specimens in the microscope; a dogfish shark dissection; and gave away tee shirts, stickers and petri dishes for at-home experimentation. 

“Southside Science Festival was an amazing opportunity to connect with our community and familiar partners, while seeing the excitement of families discovering and learning new things,” said Maria Fernanda Avila, the program assistant at PE. “It was inspiring to explore new STEM activities that could benefit us all, and this pop-up event truly helped me feel more connected to our city and the STEM community!”

A Saturday full of Activities

UChicago’s free South Side Science Festival, featured 100 incredible hands-on demonstrations, panels, food and activities and was held all day, from 11:00 am to 6 pm, in the University of Chicago Hyde Park Campus. The University is a member of the Chicago STEM Pathways Co-op, an initiative by project exploration.

Stacking the marble tower is harder than it looks, especially when you have to reach to the top! Photo by Project Exploration

“It’s our hope that the festival sparked inspiration and showed that STEM can be fun and accessible, especially for our youngest attendees and those who might not otherwise be exposed to these subjects,” said Sara Tinsman in a news story by the University of Chicago Office of Civic Engagement. She was the lead organizer for the event. 

“We would love for events like this to be an entry point for our neighbors to keep the scientific momentum going by participating in one of the University’s STEM programs for local residents and, ultimately, consider exploring a career in a STEM field.”

Construction, Inspection and Dissection

PE Outreach and Community Partnerships Manager Perriyana Clay led a marble run activity which served as a fun introduction to engaging activities and games at Project Exploration. She said this activity is usually a hit with a younger crowd. 

In this activity, students use their creativity to construct a self-standing tower and let gravity create exciting marble runs!

The microscope station allowed participants to look at various specimens like goldfish scales. PE staff said this exercise was to help demonstrate the beauty of science in everyday life.

Finally, the crowd favorite at the Project Exploration exhibit was the dogfish shark dissection. The line was out of the  tent to get a chance to touch the specimen. Students learned more about the unusual fish and its organs for a study in biology and anatomy.

A curious student reaches out to touch the soon-to-be-dissected dogfish shark with a gloved hand. Photo by Project Exploration.

After engaging in the activities, students had the opportunity to collect giveaways. Attendants took tee-shirts, coloring pages and petri dishes for more fun at home.

“Southside Science Festival was an amazing opportunity to connect with our community and familiar partners, while seeing the excitement of families discovering and learning new things!”

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