2020 AAAS Family Science Days

 

2020 Family Science Days Stage Schedule

Saturday, February 15		Sunday, February 16
Journey into the Brain Eric H. Chudler Research Associate Professor University of Washington	11:30am	Supercold! Presented by: Pacific Science Center This stage show is sensory friendly
How to Make a Science Podcast Lindsay Patterson Creator, Producer, and Co-Host Tumble Science Podcast for Kids	12:00pm	#FindThatLizard: Ecology, Photography, and Science Communication Earyn McGee Ph.D. Student University of Arizona
Let’s Talk Basketball Science: How My Interest in Sports Turned Me Into a Scientist John Drazan Post-Doctoral Fellow University of Pennsylvania	12:30pm	A Scientist’s Journey Beyond Gender and Genes Atom Lesiak Director of Education Outreach University of Washington
Combustion! Presented by: Pacific Science Center	1:00pm	Saving Sea Turtles with Technology and Dance Lekelia Jenkins Associate Professor Arizona State University
Being Batwoman: A Glimpse Into the World of Bats! Kristen Lear Bat Conservationist University of Georgia	2:00pm	Inclusion in Design and Invention- People with Disabilities Rory A. Cooper Director, Human Engineering Research Laboratories University of Pittsburgh and US Dept of Veterans Affairs
How Can We Produce Energy From the Ocean? Cailene Gunn and Julia Indivero Earth Scientist and Research Associate Pacific Northwest National Laboratory	2:30pm	Superheroes, Radiation, and Medical Physics Jessica Fagerstrom Medical Physicist Northwest Medical Physics Center
	3:00pm	Forest Detectives: Wildlife and Fire Jenny Briggs Ecologist and Outreach Specialist University of Colorado, Boulder

 

2020 Family Science Days Exhibitors

Welcome to AAAS Family Science Days
aaas.org/fsd
@MeetAScientist
Get a quick orientation to the event and ask any questions you might have, while collecting your AAAS activity book!

AAAS IF/THEN Ambassadors
ifthenshecan.org/ambassador
@IfThenSheCan
Explore art and science with AAAS IF/THEN Ambassadors: women scientists from a broad range of scientific backgrounds, careers, and experiences.

AI4ALL
ai4all.cs.washington.edu and tcat.cs.washington.edu
Interested in Artificial Intelligence? Come learn how neural networks are built to recognize patterns.
Explore how AI perceptrons work by creating a computational model of neurons- using you as the “computer”! Play Snap (sorting network algorithmic programming), a game where participants learn how a neural network works at the level of perceptrons. In our design challenge, participants will build a neural network that can send data through different nodes in order to classify the information.

American Association for Anatomy
anatomy.org
@AnatomyOrg
We will feature several hands-on activities that will engage and educate children and their families about how their bodies are put together and how different body systems function. These activities will highlight the brain, skeleton, and heart. Participants will figure out and demonstrate how the heart is put together and how it pumps blood throughout the body.

Clean Energy Institute
acei.washington.edu
@UW_CEI
Come build and test solar cars on a race track using a variety of solar cells and model cars. Participants can measure the output of the solar cells with electric meters and then try different circuits.

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center – Science Education Programs
fredhutch.org/en/research/education-training.html
@SciEdHutch
What kinds of tools do cancer researchers use? Come learn how to use micropipets! Micropipets are used to measure small amounts of DNA and other substances used in research. Our activity is based on a real-life Fred Hutch project that increases access to cancer diagnosis and treatment. Patients who live in low-resource countries mail blood spots (or, in our case, food coloring) to Fred Hutch. We can then diagnose them for leukemia and help them receive appropriate treatment.

Genome Sciences Education Outreach at University of Washington
gsoutreach.gs.washington.edu
@UWGenomeSciEdOutreach
DNA makes RNA codes for proteins: these are the central building blocks of life. In this activity we will model the process of gene expression: turning DNA into Lego proteins. We will explore what happens if our DNA becomes mutated and how we can use gene editing technology to make new proteins. Lastly, we will reverse engineer Lego proteins to build new genes.

Immunology Frontier Research Center (IFReC), Osaka University
ifrec.osaka-u.ac.jp/en
See and touch immune cells! We research the immune system, which protects the body from various diseases. So how do immunocytes fight against them? At our booth you will see immunocytes, which protect the body from diseases, and cancerous tissues (colon cancer) through a microscope, and play games using blood cell models. Explore the world of cells like a scientist!

Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences (I-LABS)
ilabs.uw.edu
@UW_ILABS
The I-LABS booth will feature activities that demonstrate executive functioning skills for a variety of ages. In each of three games, children and families will have the opportunity to test their own executive functioning skills (like organizing and planning), discover ways to practice these skills, and learn how these skills impact all areas of daily life.

Language Science for Everyone
You use language all the time, but what do you know about how it actually works? See what speech LOOKS like and how scientists study the sounds of language. Learn how the human mind processes the meanings of words and sentences. Discover the science behind your everyday communication.

Math Matters to Me
mathmatterstome.com
@_MathMatters2Me
Math Matters to Me explores the math happening all around us every second of every day. Electricity flows throughout our bodies and the space we live in. Rubbing socks on a rug, taking warm dry clothes out of a dryer and even the unexpected zap exchanged in a handshake shows math happening. Experience positive and negative charges through the hair-raising and shocking wonderment of static electricity in a Van de Graaff generator. Visit the Math Matters to Me booth for a truly awesome experience.

Museum of Flight
museumofflight.org
We will be programming Beebots and creating structures with Zoobs. These are hands-on activities for children ages 4 to 10.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
pnnl.gov
@PNNLab
Why is the ocean blue? What does it mean when you see a bright green pond or muddy brown creek? Join environmental scientists from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to find out! Explore the chemistry behind water color with hands-on activities about how scientists measure water color, why it matters for the environment, and how YOU can participate in our research too!

Pacific Science Center
pacsci.org
@pacsci
Pacific Science Center ignites curiosity in every child and fuels a passion for discovery, experimentation, and critical thinking in all of us. Come make your own discoveries with our hands-on traveling exhibits. Explore an interactive model of our watershed. Learn how stormwater runoff carries pollutants through the watershed to a pond, lake, river, bay, or ocean – and the best management practices to prevent this type of pollution from occurring. Learn how acids and bases and chemistry can affect our oceans. Code robots using colors and more.

Pacific Science Center’s Science Communication Fellowship Program
pacificsciencecenter.org/fellowship
@PacSciFellows
These local Seattle scientists and engineers want to talk to you about their passion! Check out the hands-on activities they created during their Science Communication Fellowship at the Pacific Science Center, ask them your questions, and get a Family Science Days tattoo.

Pacific Science Center’s Tinker Tank
pacsci.org
@pacsci
At Pacific Science Center, we believe in experimentation to help spark innovation. In our hands-on design space, Tinker Tank, we use a variety of materials to invent, create and experiment. Join Tinker Tank education staff to design, build, and launch your own paper rocket! What shape will your rocket be? Will it have wings? How many? Explore physics and engineering as you design, test, and redesign your creation!

Science Storytellers
sciencestorytellers.org
@scistorytellers
Get to know some of the scientists at the AAAS Annual Meeting with Science Storytellers! Pull up a chair and have a one-on-one conversation with a scientist, then share what you learned with us (we’ll provide tips on telling stories about science from professional science journalists). You’ll leave with your own reporter’s notebook, filled with new ideas, questions, and maybe some new discoveries, too.

SciStarter
scistarter.org
@SciStarter
To meet today’s local and global challenges, science needs more eyes, ears, and perspectives than what current scientists possess. Enter citizen science: collaborations between scientists and people who are curious, concerned and motivated to make a difference, and who can give a little time and thought to solving problems.
Citizen scientists assist researchers by taking photos of clouds or streams, by documenting changes in habitat, by using sensors to monitor water and air quality, and by playing online games to detect diseases, and this work can directly support local environments and our health. Further, with today’s tools – often smartphone apps – local data can be fed into larger regional and global datasets that support climate models, water quality models, fire risk predictions, and more.
At this booth, we will engage in citizen science projects facilitated by SciStarter (SciStarter.org), the largest online resource for citizen science of all types.

SoundBio Lab
sound.bio
@SoundBioLab
Join the SoundBio Lab to learn how to micro-pipet small amounts of liquid and make a fun design. We’ll also be hosting two other hands-on scientific activities: the Black Box Challenge & our unique Filtration Challenge! We want to make access to the life sciences available to everyone, and that starts with you – so please join us!

University of British Columbia
At this booth, participate in experiments looking at the relationship of stimuli and our responses to them using a laptop and sound attenuated headphones. Also watch a demonstration of caps used to track brain wave patterns.

University of Washington – Astronomy Department
depts.washington.edu/astron/outreach/uw-mobile-planetarium
Explore the solar system, galaxy, and beyond with the University of Washington’s mobile planetarium. Microsoft’s WorldWide Telescope (WWT) software allows us to view the night sky and fly through space. It uses real observational data, providing an accurate and vast map of our universe. Come learn about the many things astronomers have been able to discover and what else we’re hoping to find in the future.

University of Washington – Bothell
sites.uw.edu/joeykey/space-public-outreach-team-spot
Astronomers use light and gravitational waves to learn more about the universe around us, and in our hands-on activities, you’ll get to learn more about both! Discover the properties of light by looking at light sources through different diffraction gratings. Join LIGO scientists in the search for gravitational waves by learning how gravitational waves are detected, and improving LIGO’s sensitivity by searching for glitches in real LIGO data! You’ll also get to understand the size of our solar system by creating a scale-model of it which will fit in your pocket!