This year, MSU is holding their 10th Annual Science Festival. For the entire month of April, there are activities daily both online and in person where you can learn about a certain field of science from an expert! 

“The mission of the MSU Science Festival is to celebrate the many ways science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (the STEAM disciplines) touch our everyday lives and shape our future, broaden public access to informal learning environments, create meaningful direct interactions with scientists, and inspire the workforce of the future.”  MSU Science Festival Website said. 

Many of the in-person events are catered to the whole family, so many kids come to learn about new things or more about what they are already interested in. 

“If we didn’t have science, we wouldn’t learn new things, and if we didn’t learn new things, then technology would never do anything and we would just be stuck in one place.” Matthew Crippen Jr. said. 

Matthew is a Grand Ledge scout with Troop 260. He attended “The Future of the Universe: Statewide Astronomy Night at the MSU Observatory” because he loves astronomy. He says that when he is older he wants to work in the observatories. 

The science festival is a great place for kids, like Matthew, to show their love for science. 

“The MSU Science Festival is important because it’s an opportunity to inspire a lot of folks for science… I find science so fascinating, and I think that a lot of the folks here at the MSU Science Festival feel the same way and it’s a chance to step out and see how science is connected to their ordinary to their daily lives, but to see a little bit deeper into it and perhaps get inspired” MSU chemistry professor Tim Warren said.

Warren works with students ranging from high school to post-doctorate to research and as Warren said, “understand how to make new molecules, how they react and how we can use those for good purpose in society.” Warren gave a presentation to an audience of mostly kids demonstrating how chemistry can be fun!

The presentation started with him and his MSU student helpers making elephant toothpaste (green, of course, to show their MSU spirit) and then brought out the liquid Nitrogen. The little ones “ooed” and “awed” as Warren poured it on the ground making a ring of fog expand from the presentation area. 

He finished off the show by making ice cream from milk, cream, powdered sugar, and liquid Nitrogen! Everyone in the crowd was able to taste the ice cream if they wanted too! 

Activities like this help inspire kids to interact with science in a fun and new way! The science festival is continuing through the month of April, visit thislink if you want to check it out!