This past Saturday, The College of Arts & Sciences at Indiana University hosted its annual Science Fest, a free event for all ages in and around science buildings throughout campus, with over 100 activities and experiments to see.

Starting in “The Circuit”, usually known as Franklin Hall, you could color your own paper brain, tape it together and wear it as a hat; or, you could design your own neuron with pipe cleaners. Outside you could test your motor skills with games like trying to give someone a high-five while wearing perception-altering goggles. 

In the next zone, “The Earthly Realms,” was a demonstration on Flintknapping - how our ancestors carved and used tools millions of years ago out of stone. From there, you could catch a few performances. The Grand Hall held "A Futuristic Dance: Journey to the Past" presented by the African American Dance Company Student Organization. Just next door, you could listen to songs about the brain by singing neuroscientist Dr. Taylor Woodward at the Owen Hall Plaza.

Following the map, we reach the next zone, the “Reaction Pathway”, at the Chemistry Building. If you arrived before noon, you could visit the Glass Shop in the basement for a demonstration on how the university fabricates lab-quality glassware from scratch. After that, you could go upstairs for a chemistry show, "The Magic of Chemistry," which explored colors, chemical reactions, flaming bubbles, and even had puppet appearances. More stations downstairs included playing with enzymes and making your own paper spectrometer that uses a CD shard to separate light into a home-made rainbow.

Our next stop, the “Biosphere”, had a tank full of bioluminescent bacteria, live tortoises, displays of various animal bones, and, of course, tours of the greenhouse. Members from the US Fish and Wildlife Service were also set up outside the Biology Building with preserved bats, an ultrasonic recorder, a camera trap setup often used to observe endangered species in the wild, some examples of invasive fish, and crawdads in a bucket.

Moving on to “Physics Field” at Swain West, you could interact with a number of exhibits of light, sound, and motion. You could even play with the Physic Department’s personal Moog synthesizer and Theremin (played by waving your hand through a magnetic field produced by antennas on each side). Despicable Physics, a comedy-science crossover, featured students from the physics department dressed as Minions launching soda cans with controlled vibrations, using a potato launcher, and playing with a tesla coil, among other physics antics. 

A walk through Dunn’s Woods brought attendees to “Cosmic Corner.” The Kirkwood Observatory was open for guests to take a tour of the historic telescope, which was installed in 1900. A second telescope used for viewing the sun was also on display. Visitors got to see a live image of the sun. Students were also raising awareness of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, a comet that will be visible in the western skies mid-October, with October 12 predicted to be the best date to see it. Outside the observatory, you could craft galaxy bracelets and dry ice “asteroids.”

And if all of that wasn’t enough for you, you could test your brain at the “Puzzle Patch” behind Rawles Hall. Around the corner at Lindley Hall was the “Body Works” zone, where you could learn about health sciences, get your blood pressure read, and learn to care for virtual babies.

With so much to experience, the fest had to end with a bang: a volcanic eruption right in front of Maxwell Hall! 

IU Science Fest is held each fall. For more information, visit their website.