North Carolina Science Festival 2018 is a statewide collection of events during the month of April, intended to ignite an interest in science in both kids and adults. Events take place at a number of venues in the Charlotte area, including Discovery Place, UNCC, CPCC, libraries, schools, and ImaginOn. Some events are free, some have a cost, and others are free after admission into the venue, like Discovery Place. Here is a list of some of the free events in the Charlotte area. Follow each link for more detailed information, such as address and intended age range.
Some require registration and may be filled up by the time you read this. Note: this is just a small sample of the free events going on, and only includes events for the first few days of April! Make sure to check them all out.
3D Printed Prosthetics: A Community Service Project for Teens
Monday, April 2nd, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Thursday, April 5th, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Main Library
Come celebrate this year’s NC Science Festival AND give back to your community. Learn about 3D printing and assist staff in assembling 3D printed prosthetic hands that will be donated to children in need.
STEM 101: Molecular Gastronomy
Monday, April 2nd
4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Beatties Ford Road Library
Can you use a chemical reaction to make an exciting and delicious food? Preteens and teens are invited to join us as we explore the science of molecular gastronomy, the practice of cooking using physics and chemistry!
We will learn about the spherification process while making boba treats!
Glow Science Series
Mondays from April 2nd to April 30th
5 p.m.
Beatties Ford Road Library
Are you excited about everything that glows in the dark? Are you flabbergasted by fluorescence? Then join us at Beatties Ford Road Regional Library for our Glow Science Series!
Each week in April we will explore different experiments and activities involving Glow Science. Activities will feature STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) concepts and range from glow-in-the-dark art to chemical reactions to volcanoes!
Glow Science activities are recommended for ages 5-11. Please be advised that all events will include special lighting effects. Registration is required.
Playtest: Video Game Design Workshop
Tuesday, April 3rd
11 a.m.
ImaginOn
Do you love playing video games? Do you want to learn how to make your own? Join us to learn about the career of video game designing and how to enter the field. We’ll also discuss what elements make a good video game and learn how to create a storyboard. Participants will have hands-on opportunities to begin creating their own basic video game levels.
For preteens and teens ages 10-18 only. Please register online.
Exploring Tropical Rainforests with The Nature Lady
Tuesday, April 3rd
2 p.m.
Matthews Library
Join us for a program with the Nature Lady, Sandi McGarrah. Participants will have an opportunity to experience science up close with hands-on activities and live creatures.
Discovery Place Robotics
Wednesday, April 4 p.m.
3 p.m.
Independence Regional Library
Unleash the power of technology by learning how to build and program robots to follow your every command. Learn different ways we put robots to work and test your skills as you program your robot to perform a series of challenges.
Rookie Science: Cryptozoology & the Study of Hidden Animals
Thursday, April 5th
1:30 p.m.
ImaginOn
How much do you think you know about Bigfoot? Cryptozoology is the study of hidden animals, and we invite you to come be an honorary cryptozoologist! In this special NC Science Festival program, we will read the book The Sea Serpent and Me, then discuss and view photos of animals that hide through camouflage in nature.
We will then work as a scientific team to unveil the history of hoaxes and not-yet-disproven images of Sasquatch, the Loch Ness Monster, and the Lake Champlain Thunderbird, with discussion of other possibly mythical animals such as the Chupacabra and the New Jersey Devil. At the end of the program, junior cryptozoologists will have the opportunity to create their own newly discovered animal species, name it, and determine its habitat, diet, and identifying traits.
Handheld 3D Modeling
Thursday, April 5th
3 p.m.
University City Regional Library
The future is here! Come learn a new artform by 3D printing. Teens will be introduced to the basic concepts of 3D printing by sketching in three dimensions using the 3D printing pen.
Marshmallow Challenge
Thursday, April 5th
5 p.m.
Scaleybark Library
Ready for the challenge? Teams must build the tallest free-standing structure out of 20 sticks of spaghetti, one yard of tape, one yard of string, and one marshmallow. How high can you go? Put your engineering skills to the test and find out!
STEM Design Challenge: Build a Boat
Friday, April 6th
2 p.m.
Scaleybark Library
Students will understand the concepts of buoyancy and water displacement to design a watercraft that will support a given amount of weight. Supplies will be provided: Tin foil, pennies, scissors, bowl and water
“Spare Parts” Movie Screening
Tuesday, April 10th
2 p.m.
Steele Creek Library
13620 Steele Creek Rd
Join us for a showing of the 2015 film, Spare Parts. Four high school students compete against top tech colleges in a robotics competition. Based on a true story. Featuring George Lopez as the teacher who challenges them to be their best. Rated PG-13. Register online at cmlibrary.org. Light refreshments will be available.
Scaleybark Library Junior Science Fair
Tuesday, April 10th
4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Scaleybark Library
101 Scaleybark Rd.
Join us at Scaleybark Library for an afternoon filled with hands-on, kid friendly science and engineering experiments! Children will visit various stations throughout the library and learn concepts such as the laws of motion through the construction of craft stick catapults, chemistry by making their own rock candy, engineering by building spaghetti structures, and so much more!
The Science of Home Brewing
Wednesday, April 11th
6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Independence Regional Library
6000 Conference Dr
Join Brian Trippodo of Queens University Library and Dylan Manion of Old Mecklenburg Brewery as they discuss the process of home brewing. Find out what ingredients and equipment are needed to make your own beer at home. There will also be ample time for Q&A session with these experts.
The Science of Liquor with Doc Porter’s Distillery
Thursday, April 12th
6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
South County Regional Library
5801 Rea Rd
Have you ever wondered how liquor was made? Come join Doc Porter’s Distillery as they speak about the chemical processes behind distilling liquor from grain.
Honey Bee-havior: From Nectar to Honey
Friday, April 13th
9:30 a.m.
CPCC Philip Van Every Culinary Arts Center, Ampitheater, Room 200
425 N Kings Dr
George McAllister, a CPCC Culinary Arts Student will present a brief 15-20 minute demonstration about bees with a display bee hive. Attendees will then watch a one hour documentary about bees and their influence in our lives. CPCC Students and others interested are invited to attend. Culinary Department will make some drinks and snacks featuring honey. After the documentary, there will be a brief Q & A period.
Statewide Star Party at UNC Charlotte
Friday, April 20th
8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.
UNC Charlotte Observatory
9201 University City Blvd
Join us for a free evening of star-gazing and fun astronomy activities, including a chance to view planets, moons, star clusters and nebulae with our collection of telescopes. Online registration is recommended. All ages welcome!
Statewide Star Party at Discovery Place
Saturday, April 21st
7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Discovery Place Science Parking Deck
220 W 6th St
Bring the family and have an evening of stargazing, celestial viewing and astronomy activities on top of the parking deck of Discovery Place Science (weather permitting).
Carolinas Aviation Museum’s Community Day
Saturday, April 28th
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Carolinas Aviation Museum
4672 First Flight Drive
Carolinas Aviation Museum will be hosting its 5th Annual Community Day on April 28th. This year’s Community Day will highlight and promote STEM industries around our region in addition to continuing to foster a family friendly environment with hands-on, minds on activities like our recyclable plane build challenge, air pressure demos, and our hypothermia penny challenge race. We have invited local STEM organizations including MakerSpace Charlotte, the Civil Air Patrol, Central Pedimont Community College and Queen City Robotics to bring their interactives to the museum to educate the public about possible applications for STEM learning in the workforce.
Visitors will also get the chance to sit in the cockpits of our interactive Cessna 150, F-4, and 727 trainers. Guests will learn more about the Miracle on the Hudson when they see the US Airways Airbus 320 airplane that was guided to an emergency landing on the Hudson River in 2009. They will get the inside story as they interact with passengers that were on the flight and experience what it is like to sit in a life raft. This will be the first Community Day where both engines from the Airbus 320 will be on display, and to celebrate this CAM will have American Airlines volunteers that restored the engines available to discuss the project and their careers as mechanics for a major airline in the region.
UNC Charlotte Science & Technology Expo
Saturday, April 29th
12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
UNC Charlotte Campus, Cato Plaza
9201 University City Blvd.
The UNC Charlotte Science and Technology Expo will feature over 100 activities for the science-curious of all ages! A fun packed day will include hands-on educational presentations and fascinating displays. Activities may involve engineering demonstrations, computer and software explorations, hourly live science shows, cool robots in action, lab tours in the life sciences, STEM education activities, environmental science, rockets, drones, the nearby UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens in full bloom… and much, much more.
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