Public Science Day

2013 Events

View the Public Science Day 2013 Event Schedule!

Background

For more than 15 years Public Science Day has been an integral part of the AAAS Annual Meeting. Through collaborations with local science centers and schools, Public Science Day is shaped by the needs of the community where the AAAS Annual Meeting is held, engaging the area's school children in science through interactive and hands-on experiences.

• Public Science Day 2004, held at the Pacific Science Center, connected over 1,200 Seattle Area students with engineering students from the University of Washington's Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Program. Students also met with scientists in order to learn more about what they do and about careers in science.
• Public Science Day 2005, held at the University of the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C., engaged 1,000 students in science, mathematics, and technology activities. At the AAAS headquarters University of Maryland John S. Toll Professor of Physics Dr. James Gates spoke to 175 high school students about pursing careers in science.
• Public Science Day 2006 took place at the Saint Louis Science Center, where over 1,200 students from the St. Louis Public and Parochial school systems took a close look at the science involved in everyday living.
• Public Science Day 2007 took place at the California Academy of Sciences, where 1,000 San Francisco school children interacted with Academy staff, learning about the diversity of animals inhabiting our Earth.
• Public Science Day 2008 introduced students across Boston to cutting edge research at local universities. Scientists and engineers hosted the fourth and fifth grade students, whose schools were already involved with several local initiatives including Boston Mayor Menino's Step-up, NSF GK12 projects and the Boston Science Partnership.
• Public Science Day 2009 in Chicago, billed as the "Middle School Science Summit on Evolution," was co-sponsored by AAAS and The Field Museum. To celebrate the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth, students explored the museum's halls and delved into its collections. They also learned about evolution from Darwin interpreter Brian "Fox" Ellis. In character as a young Darwin, Ellis shared tales from the naturalist's explorations with more than 200 Chicago-area middle school students.
• Public Science Day 2010 in San Diego attracted more than 500 local elementary school students to the Ruben H. Fleet science center in San Diego's Balboa Park for a jam-packed day of science activities and exploration for the 2010 Public Science Day at the AAAS Annual Meeting. The Science Center teamed with local science partners including the San Diego Zoo, San Diego Air & Space Museum, and the San Diego Natural History Museum to offer several hands-on activities highlighting sound wave science, the fundamentals of flight, fossil investigations, and hissing cockroaches. Additionally, each student received a grab bag containing hands-on activities to investigate at home.

With Public Science Day, AAAS shows students, teachers, and parents how to access their local scientific community. By taking science outside of formal education settings, Public Science Day helps turn learning science into a lifelong pursuit.