Community STEAM night offers evening of family science adventures in Bellefonte

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — What do a slime room, a wind tunnel, and a robotic arm have in common? They’ll all be on display at the annual Eberly College of Science Exploration-U event on Wednesday, Nov. 8. Families from across Centre County and beyond are invited to attend the free community science night.

This year’s event will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at Bellefonte Area High School. The large-scale community science program will focus on innovative, hands-on science activities led by collaborations between Penn State faculty and students, high school teachers and students, and community businesses and partners. 

Some exhibits planned for this year’s event include a slime science room, the PA KidWind wind tunnel, materials science activities, and a robotic arm from OriginLabs. There will be hands-on activities and demonstrations from the Science-U summer camps team, WPSU and Ozobots (a mathematics education student group), as well as volunteers from the MUSL lab (upper-arm movement science), Booker lab (enzymes), and Center for Language Science (language science). Student volunteers from the Society of Women Engineers, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, MRSEC K-12 outreach team, and the Penn State Student PSEA organization also will be in attendance. Bellefonte Area School District Advanced Placement science students and middle school art students also will share presentations.

“Exploration-U is one of several annual events our Office of Science Outreach plans throughout the year to bring science experiences into our communities,” said Teresa Diehl, associate dean for administration in the Eberly College of Science. “This large-scale program rotates between local K-12 schools each year and is an excellent example of our college’s unique science outreach mission.”

The event also will feature a raffle with prizes donated from the community, a book donation table, and an area for toddlers to play.

Community partners contributing to the event include Lincoln Caverns in Huntingdon County, Restek Corp., the Intermediate Unit 10, the U.S. Army, and the Builders Association.
 
More information about the event is available on the Eberly College of Science Office of Science Outreach website.