N.C. Science Festival to feature expanded educational workshops, Science and Technology Expo

There is a lot of science going on in North Carolina, and on April 1, the state begins the 2018 N.C. Science Festival, a statewide public “celebration of science,” featuring almost 700 events, throughout the entire month.

Now in its seventh year of participation, UNC Charlotte is again part of the N.C. Science Festival’s (NCSF) mind-expanding activities. In addition to the University’s popular (and always growing) Science and Technology Expo on Sunday, April 29, UNC Charlotte is offering an eight-event series of kid-stimulating science and technology workshops, as well as the always-cosmic Star Party on Friday, April 20.

The Science and Technology Expo remains the University’s largest NCSF event and its grand finale, closing out the festival from noon to 4 p.m., Sunday, April 29. The expo includes an ever-expanding set of activities, including robotics, rocketry, virtual people, live animals, lab experiments, explosive chemistry, exotic plants, fire engines, race cars, boats, and an interactive artificial intelligence and lifelike machine or two. The event is for the science-curious of all ages, featuring 100-plus hands-on activities and presentations. Many of these offer public-friendly glimpses into some more-than-cool current research work, developed by UNC Charlotte science and technology departments and labs.

The April 29 expo has grown to be much more than a showcase of University expertise — a host of industry and community organizations is involved in what has become a regional festival of ingenuity and education. Among this year’s partnering organizations are STEM-oriented institutions such as Discovery Place, the N.C. Zoo, Carolina Raptor Center, Great Outdoors University (N.C. Wildlife Federation), Makerspace Charlotte, Charlotte IOT, NASCAR Hall of Fame, N.C. First and First Tech Challenge Robotics (100 Black Men of Charlotte). Various K-12 schools will participate, showcasing creative STEM activities taking place in local classrooms. Finally, a number of N.C.-based industries and research institutions are involved, including Duke Energy, Corning Corporation, FMC Corporation, Sealed Air, the N.C. Research Campus (Plants for Human Health) and Johnson & Wales University – Charlotte.

As the expo has grown over the years, a number of distinctive “shows within the show” have developed, including chemistry professor Tom “Dr. Boom” Schmedake’s always popular Combustion Chemistry Show