STEAM Fest, which drew more than 800 attendees during its successful first year, is returning Nov. 16 and promises to be even better.
The event takes place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Natural Science building on the Lake Worth campus and features new displays, as well as indoor and outdoor interactive science demonstrations, food, activities and more.
“STEAM FEST 2019 is a must attend for families as it is a free, engaging educational opportunity for them to learn more about STEAM and also to experience PBSC and know more about PBSC STEAM offerings for future school needs,” said Dr. Sankaranarayana Chandramohan, known as Dr. Chandra, who collaborated with PBSC’s Institute of Excellence in Early Care & Education to launch the event last year. “They are going to learn so much through hands-on STEAM demonstrations with professors and from other STEAM professionals across Palm Beach County.”
New this year is an arts and craft station, where families can create prints using a cyanotype photographic process presented by PBSC adjunct instructor David Durbak.
Also new is a BLUECUBE Aerospace display that shows students how to build and launch mini-satellites for space exploration. It is presented by Kevin L. Simmons, science educator at The Weiss School and principal investigator for the WeissSat-1, the first middle school CubeSat launched into space through NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative program.
There will also be interactive displays designed especially for young children, including a Tinkering Station, the Marvelous Maker Machine, building and experimenting with a xylophone, and much more. There will also be STEM stations on physics, math, chemistry, brains, fossils and more. Wellness activities such as yoga and story time featuring “A Turtle’s Tale” are also being planned for the event.
Representatives from the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium will present robotics, magnets, virtual reality and dry ice activities. Loggerhead Marinelife Center will present engineering contraptions to clean up area beaches.
Other presenters will be PBSC’s Science and Math Club students and professors from the Division of Math and Science, as well as representatives from PBSC’s Institute of Excellence. Sponsors for the event are PNC Grow Up Great and Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County. The event is open to children and youth pre-kindergarten through 12th grade and their families.
STEAM Fest is a spinoff of STEM Saturdays, which began in February 2017 by Dr. Chandra and his team to introduce children to STEAM areas such as biology, anatomy, chemistry and physics. For more information and to RSVP for STEAM Fest, visit www.palmbeachstate.edu/events/steam-fest/
