Family-friendly offerings at Science and Technology Expo

More than 50 interactive, hands-on activities and displays will be featured during the UNC Charlotte Science and Technology Expo, set for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sunday, April 21, on the plaza near the Student Union.

This free, public event will offer something of interest for virtually every member of the family, according to expo organizers.

Examples of expo activities include:

• Build a solar cell – Chemistry Department faculty/students will show participants how to use juice from blackberries to build a solar cell
• Combustion chemistry demonstration involving exploding hydrogen gas
• Displays showing “fluids behaving badly,” “magnetic levitation” and “resonance” by the Physics Department
• A virtual human designed by students in the College of Computing and Informatics
• A NASCAR car from the Lee College of Engineering
• Future oceans time machine that mimics the conditions of oceans in years to come and shows how scientists can measure responses to global warming in shellfish and corals by the Biology Department

Representatives from the NASA Educators Resource Center will be on hand to talk about space science, and they will have freebies and activities for children and families.

The UNC Charlotte Science and Technology Expo is a signature event of the University’s participation in the N.C. Science Festival. It follows a series of five public lectures on STEM topics, including one by noted Caltech physicist Sean Carroll, and a “star party” that kicked off the festival.