The University of Chicago’s South Side Science Festival is gearing up to return on Saturday, October 5, following a successful event in 2023 that drew more than 4,500 attendees. The annual event—co-organized by the University’s Biological Sciences Division, Physical Sciences Division, Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, and Office of Civic Engagement—aims to bring the campus and broader South Side communities together to explore science in a fun, accessible way.
Organizers have built off the success of previous years’ festivals and this year are planning even more activities and entry points for a broader array of participants. Attendees can create and command their own robots at this year’s event, for instance; reveal secret messages with lemon juice; get a front-row seat to the surprising properties of liquid nitrogen with Fermilab’s own Mr. Freeze; hold a 200-million-year-old fossil; and wind their way through a 20-foot-long replica of a human colon; among dozens of other hands-on experiences.
Science for all
Those interested in deeper engagement can attend three Science in Your Life panels throughout the day. Panels will explore the intersection of artificial intelligence and art, the recent rise of weight-loss medications and their impact, and global and local sustainability initiatives and what they might mean for humanity’s future. UChicago academics and students will additionally face off to see who can present their research findings in the most creative or entertaining way—and ask audience members to vote for their favorite presentation—as part of the festival’s Science Slam competition.
New this year, attendees can put their own STEM skills to the test with a paper airplane design and build contest and participate in the Upgoer 5 challenge, where scientists try to describe scientific concepts using only the 10,000 most common words in the English language and then challenge audience members to do the same.
Festivalgoers can also enjoy local food vendors, photobooths, face-painting, raffles and giveaways, and live bands and DJ sets, and learn about UChicago resources available throughout the year, including more than a dozen free STEM programs for local youth.
Forging inclusive connections
Creating opportunities like the festival for South Side residents to learn about emerging areas of science is also at the heart of the broader Inclusive Innovation initiative UChicago is leading in partnership with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Argonne National Laboratory, and Fermilab. The initiative seeks to engage local students, educators, and workers and connect them to the city’s growing scientific ecosystem, thereby helping to generate a diverse talent pipeline in the sciences and spur economic growth on the historically under-resourced South Side.
“The South Side Science Festival allows for wide-reaching public engagement, with the aim of stimulating curiosity and excitement about STEM,” says Nadya Mason, Dean of the UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering; Robert J. Zimmer Professor of Molecular Engineering; and Interim Vice President for Science, Innovation, and Partnerships. “The next generation of innovators may well find their passion from our hands-on science activities and demonstrations during the festival. We’re excited to engage with our neighbors and share our activities and enthusiasm. Everyone benefits when science and engineering are inclusive.”
For UChicago’s Vice President for Civic Engagement Christian Mitchell, the festival embodies the University’s commitment to leverage its strengths in a way that positively impacts its broader shared community: “This event is a chance for the campus community and the broader South Side community to come together and really take advantage of all the incredible STEM resources the University has to offer. Science only gets better when it draws on more perspectives so opportunities like this to spark and stoke curiosity about STEM are critical—especially when those sparks are igniting in people who haven’t always seen themselves in these spaces. We’re looking forward to our students, faculty, and staff sharing their passion for STEM with attendees and we’re hopeful that the exchanges and experiences will inspire especially our young attendees to see science as a place where they can belong.”
RSVP for this year's festival here.
