AAAS Meet the Scientists presenter Melissa Garren collects coral samples during a dive on the Palmyra Atoll. Learn about Melissa's adventures on Saturday, 20 February at 1:00 pm.

Meet the Scientists at AAAS Family Science Days!

Visit Family Science Days during the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Browse interactive tabletop exhibits, learn about cool science jobs, and have your questions answered by experts convened by AAAS. This free event is open to all, but organized especially for middle- and high-school students.

All events will take place Saturday and Sunday, 20-21 February in the San Diego Convention Center Exhibit Hall B1, 111 West Harbor Drive.

This community science showcase—featuring hands-on demonstrations and other family and kid-friendly activities—shines a spotlight on a broad range of formal and informal science educators who promote an interest in science among the general public.

It is a FREE event for the general public and one of our most popular.

Want more science? Register for the scientific sessions at the AAAS Annual Meeting.

A special thank you to our sponsors:

Exhibitors at Family Science Days

American Society of Plant Biologists

What’s so cool about plant biology and scientific thinking? Visit the ASPB booth to find out. Join John Cushman, professor of biochemistry at University of Nevada, Reno and his team of experts for fun, informative, hands-on plant science activities. Dig in and plant a Lilliput garden. Peek into plants with some easy-to-use microscopes, ones you can make and take with you. Use real plants, real tools, and real science while doing cool activities from two of the Huntington Botanical Gardens’ award-winning programs. Collect fun plant biology materials to share with your school or community.

Ask a Biologist

Dr. Biology from the award-winning “Ask a Biologist” online science program will be offering inside tips for would-be kid contestants for the Ask a Biologist Podcast Contest, showing off the new Web site, and providing hands-on activities for use inside and outside the classroom.

Association for Women in Science, San Diego Chapter

Everyone has probably wished at some time or place for the ability to disappear, but would always want to COME BACK! Explore the Hidden Message Activity. Write a message, make it appear, and then disappear while learning some acid and base chemistry.

Birch Aquarium at Scripps

Explore where the wonders of the ocean come alive! The mission of Birch Aquarium is to provide ocean science education, to interpret Scripps Institution of Oceanography research, and to promote ocean conservation. Our booth at AAAS Family Science Days will explore the underwater world of the kelp forest. Learn about this amazing seaweed, what animals call it home, and how we use seaweeds everyday.

California Institute for Regenerative Medicine

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the state stem cell agency, funds research at California institutions that is designed to bring therapies based on stem cell science to patients.

Carnegie Mellon University, School of Computer Science

Graduate students from the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University invite you to find out what computer science is really about. Our interactive presentation will include: Guess who is the computer scientist? What is computer science, and what can you do with it? Solve a problem and other puzzles to tickle your brain cells. Watch video of robotic Sony AIBO dogs competing in the Robot Soccer World Cup. Meet “Billinda” the robot dog.

ClimateChangeEducation.org

ClimateChangeEducation.org will provide demonstrations and experiments, including Global Warming Discovery. Explore the oceans, Antarctica, and the atmosphere. Create global warming cartoons with an animator. Make climate change art with a professional instructor. See NASA’s new hands-on climate science program for San Diego high schools.

Elementary Institute of Science

The Elementary Institute of Science is a premiere science enrichment program which nurtures the intellectual curiosity of San Diego’s young people by providing “hands-on” experiences to stimulate an ongoing appreciation and understanding of science and technology. It is our vision to create a widely respected model for science and technology enrichment where community resources partner to provide students of all ages with the opportunities, facilities, role models, and academic tools to build a bright future.

General Atomics

General Atomics will offer an interactive booth and an engaging stage show for San Diego families. Moms, dads, grandparents, and kids alike can explore the concepts of plasma science and fusion energy through the world of arcs, sparks, and glow discharges using Tesla coils, gas tubes, and plasma balls. You can learn about the states of matter and the role energy plays in turning liquid to gas by observing the strange behavior of liquid nitrogen. You can also investigate the concepts of electricity and magnetism and witness the amount of human energy required to light different types of light bulbs.

How the Weather Works

How the Weather Works is a full-service weather education provider. This includes conducting teacher workshops, leading in-school field trips, offering public science education programs, providing quality weather-based photography to clients, and writing books and web content about weather. How the Weather Works prides itself in having a unique meteorologist-educator team to ensure that science and education are blended through multidisciplinary thematic study units. Mathematics, geography, language arts, history, and much more are “webbed” in our programs and products.

Kinetic City

The AAAS Kinetic City project features a variety of educational science opportunities for kids, including Science Gym, SmartFoot dance pad, the Science of Yo-Yos, and the award-winning Kinetic City After School program.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Have you talked on the phone, watched a DVD, downloaded a movie trailer, been to a rock concert, or driven a car? Then you have experienced the power of lasers. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory celebrates the 50th anniversary of the invention of the laser. At AAAS Family Science Days you can see the power of light, talk on a laser beam, and touch glowing laser crystals. Don’t miss the exciting 3-D laser beam ride into the target chamber of the National Ignition Facility, the world’s largest laser, which will be used to create a miniature “star” right here on Earth.

NASA

NASA Earth System Science conducts and sponsors research, collects new observations from space, develops technologies, and extends science and technology education to learners of all ages. We work closely with our global partners in government, industry, and the public to enhance economic security and environmental stewardship, benefiting society in many tangible ways. We conduct and sponsor research to answer fundamental science questions about the changes we see in climate, weather, and natural hazards, and deliver sound science that helps decision-makers make informed decisions.

Reuben H. Fleet Science Center

The Reuben H. Fleet Science Center seeks to inspire lifelong learning by furthering the public understanding and enjoyment of science and technology. With exhibits to touch, virtual reality to experience, films to see, and fun to be had, the Fleet is an educational and entertaining experience for visitors of all ages.

San Diego Air & Space Museum

Learn the basic forces that make airplanes and rockets fly using simple household materials. This fun, hands-on activity is suitable for all ages. The San Diego Air & Space Museum offers a wide variety of exciting and family-friendly activities year-round.

San Diego Natural History Museum

Founded by citizen naturalists in 1874, the San Diego Natural History Museum is the second oldest scientific institution in California. An active research institute, the museum specializes in the study of biodiversity of our region. The results of the research are shared with the community through the museum’s numerous education programs and exhibitions. At AAAS Family Science Days, scientists and volunteers will be on hand to showcase highlights of the museum’s natural collections. Visitors will be able to peer into microscopes to see the big world of little insects and microfossils. Paleontologists will demonstrate the preparation of fossils collected from our region.

San Diego Science Festival

The San Diego Science Festival strives to create exciting and interactive experiences that showcase the remarkable science of greater San Diego, a community recognized as one of the nation’s scientific leaders. Our wide variety of programs and events inspire all ages, with a special focus on building a pipeline of future scientists and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) thought-leaders. The second annual San Diego Science Festival will be held 20-27 March 2010 with activities and events throughout San Diego County, culminating on 27 March with Expo Day at PETCO Park.

San Diego Supercomputing Center, UC San Diego

The San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) mission is to enable scientific discovery by providing tools such as high-performance computers, integrative software technologies, and deep interdisciplinary expertise to the academic research community. SDSC is a data-intensive leadership resource provider for the NSF-funded TeraGrid, a national, large-scale and production grid infrastructure for open scientific research. SDSC has served more than 10,000 researchers at 300 academic, government, and industrial institutions in the United States and around the world. Scientists and engineers increasingly rely on the availability of globally accessible data cyberinfrastructure tools like those at SDSC to drive research and education.

San Diego Zoo’s Institute for Conservation Research

The San Diego Zoo’s Institute for Conservation Research, the research arm of the San Diego Zoo, is an organization committed to generating, sharing, and applying scientific knowledge vital to the conservation of animals, plants, and habitats worldwide.

Science, Naturally!

Science, Naturally! is an independent press creating products that teach the science of everyday life. Our materials are geared to kids ages 8-14 and include both fiction and nonfiction titles. Our goal is to make potentially intimidating science and math topics accessible and compelling for kids and adults alike. To date, all of our titles have been recognized with the NSTA Recommends designation. Be sure to find us at Family Science Days, where you’ll have a great time during our stage show “Name that Mammal.”