Education

Atlanta Science Festival Brings Experiments Out Of The Lab

March 20th, 2015

Atlanta Science Festival Co-founder Meisa Salaita talks STEM, citizen research and favorite events.

Do you need any extra credit to help improve your science or math grade? There will be some special opportunities to demonstrate or expand your interest in science and technology in the coming week.

The Atlanta Science Festival, now in its second year, kicks off Saturday, with science-based activities and celebrations occurring across the city through March 28. Co-founder and director, Dr. Meisa Salaita, visited “A Closer Look” to talk about it.

Georgia Tech, Emory University and the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce are the leading institutions that teamed up to create the festival. Families won’t want to miss the “Exploration Expo,” free at Centennial Olympic Park on Saturday, March 28. But there are well over a hundred presentations that will be held around town before then.

Dr. Salaita confirmed that the interest in STEAM – Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math – is attractive to Atlanta’s educational institutions and support for the festival is strong.

Not all the activities will take place inside these institutions, however. Active research projects invite “citizen science” contributions, where neighbors might monitor rainfall in their own backyard or contribute other local data to scientific studies.

New this year is a session on the science of sports safety, presented by the College Football Hall of Fame. Teens and their parents can participate in interactive sessions that include helmet fitting, hydration essentials and applied physiology, among other topics. A prototype called “iDetect,” a medical device to screen and assess concussion risk on the sidelines, will also be demonstrated.

To register for free and low-cost events, visit atlantasciencefestival.org.