Submitted by The Evergreen State College
Could the Science Carnival be the best day of your life?
That’s what a local seven-year-old said about the Science Carnival last year, according to Evergreen faculty and Science Carnival organizer Dharshi Bopegedera.
“She was so excited about the experiments that she came both days,” recalled Bopegedera.
Now in its 11th year, the Science Carnival and Research Expo at The Evergreen State College offers more than 200 presentations by Evergreen science students designed to be participatory, hands-on, accessible, and fun. The carnival is an opportunity for Evergreen students to present their work to an audience with diverse ages and backgrounds.
“This is an opportunity for our students to explain science to a broad spectrum of people and to learn by teaching—which is a rewarding challenge,” said Bopegedera, who teaches chemistry at Evergreen. She emphasized the value of the carnival for children and the schools they attend.
“Many local teachers use this as an extra credit opportunity for their students and many children use ideas they saw at the carnival to inspire their own science projects,” said Bopegedera. “Children see what our students are doing and think ‘I, too, can do that’.”
This year’s topics and presentations will include how cola can dissolve certain foods; how oxygen affects the appetite of crabs; how sea slugs convert light and a shellfish touch tank. This event, which runs May 30 to 31, is free and open to the public on Evergreen’s Olympia campus, 2700 Evergreen Parkway in Olympia from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. To park free, request a pass at the parking booth by saying you are here for the Science Carnival. Visit evergreen.edu/events/sciencecarnival for more information.
