CSUEB to host 'Discovery Days,' Star Party events as part of Bay Area Science Fest
Science experiments and demonstrations for all ages will be offered at CSUEB's Science Festival.
- September 26, 2011
The Bay Area Science Festival will open at Cal State East Bay’s Hayward Campus with “Discovery Days” Oct. 29. Then CSUEB will help bring the festival to a memorable conclusion by providing the public with a look to the heavens through the Hayward Star Party on Nov. 5.
The purpose of the Bay Area festival is to show how the region is an unparalleled world leader in science and technology. CSUEB is among the universities, professional research laboratories, world-class museums, and businesses taking part in the 10-day science festival. Events will take place each day from Oct. 29 through Nov. 6 at locations throughout the Bay Area.
On Saturday, Oct. 29, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Cal State East Bay’s College of Science hosts Discovery Day, featuring experiments, demonstrations, exhibits, hands-on activities, and lectures “to delight everyone young and old,” according to Michael Leung, dean of CSUEB’s College of Science.
Although the region’s collaborative effort to highlight science is in its first year, science festivals are not new for the university. They’ve been a Cal State East Bay biennial tradition since 1974.
The university’s science festival will offer approximately 50 activities, including a chemistry magic show. Among the scheduled presentations – many of which include participation from the audience and school-age children, will be: Life of a Criminalist; Geophysical Prospecting; Observing the Sun (through a telescope); computer simulation; Robot in Action; sea slugs; mathematical puzzles; fossil casting; potpourri of physics; and bugs and other creatures.
For the Hayward Star Party, Gary Weston, associate professor of physics, will lead two telescope observation sessions. The first will focus on the sun, looking at sunspots and solar flares, from 4 to 4:30 p.m. Weston will present summaries of recent discoveries by the Cassini mission to Saturn from 4:45 to 5:45 p.m.
With the start of night fall, the star party will return outside for observations of the Moon and Jupiter. The latter session takes place from 6 to 8 p.m. Both of the outdoor sessions will take place in the picnic area east of the Science buildings, while the Weston’s lecture will be held in room 143 of the South Science building.
“The Science Festival is an important event to the university,” said Leung. “Cal State East Bay is committed to an increased focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education as a way of preparing our students to fill the current and future workforce needs of this region.
“California State University, East Bay’s College of Science has a tradition of opening its facilities to the community, with the goal of bringing science awareness to the largest possible audience,” Leung said. “By joining forces with the Bay Area Science Festival, we will make that happen.”
Additional information on CSUEB’s Discovery Day festival and the Hayward Star Party is available at , while further information on schedule and location of other events of the Bay Area Science Festival is available at .