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Science Alive 2021

Location: Online

Science Alive 21

Enjoy a month of scientific discovery and fun as Science Alive goes virtual in February 2021.

Sponsored by the St. Joseph County Public Library, this month-long virtual celebration begins February 1 with a link to access a virtual exhibitors' page for activities, videos, and experiments for all ages.

Visit the Community Outreach page for a sneak peek of the videos created by ND Energy research labs.

On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays throughout the month, virtual partners will provide live programs from returning favorites like Silly Safaris to new presenters like the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum. Students affiliated with ND Energy will be presenting programs focused on catapults and kinetic energy, separation of materials, potential/kinetic energy, the power of heat, the power of wind, and fossil fuels and clean energy, which are highlighted in the schedule below.

Science Alive 2021 Schedule of Virtual Events 

They're back! Amazon John will be broadcasting right into your house with his collection of amazing and wild animals. Can you imagine an owl in your living room? Or a giant snake in your kitchen? Join us to find out! Please register to receive the passcode which will be emailed to you 48 hours prior to the event. 

Join our friends at Prairie Winds Nature Farm for a virtual tour of their farm. Learn what the animals are up to during the winter and how the animals and land are maintained through the winter season!

  • Catapults and Kinetic Energy, presented by ND Energy
    Tuesday, February 9
    4:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. No registration required. Zoom link here

    MacKenzie Winton from ND Energy will fling us into fun with her demonstration on catapults and potential and kinetic energy. Learn about potential and kinetic energy through making a homemade catapult. Follow along at home, or sit back and relax while you watch a catapult at work! Think up any questions you might have about Notre Dame Engineering or about being an engineer and you can ask it during this session. If you want to follow along at home please have the following materials on hand: popsicle sticks (or pencils), rubber bands (or hair ties), a plastic spoon, and mini marshmallows (or small bouncy balls) for catapulting!

Are you missing the zoo? This your chance for a peek at what some of the animals are up to while the Potawatomi Zoo is closed for the season. The Potawatomi Zoo plans to reopen to the general public on April 2, 2021, but until then join us online!

Blast off! The Notre Dame Rocketry Team will explain a bit about who they are, what they do, followed by an exciting interactive rocketry game. Please register to receive the passcode which will be emailed to you 48 hours prior to the event. 

Leslie Science and Nature Center joins us with LIVE reptiles in our lab as we explore what makes a reptile a reptile. By making observations, you will compare and contrast live reptiles in order to classify them. Together we will explore the adaptations that make them successful while students examine the snake and lizard skins. Please register to receive the passcode 48 hours prior to event. 

Kelsey Farr from ND Energy will demonstrate chromatography using markers, a coffee filter, and water. The importance of separation of materials in some different scientific applications will be discussed. Not sure what chromatography is? Join us for this virtual event on zoom to find out more!

Get all the dirt on archeology! Explore different archeological sites throughout the world, focusing on sites in the Midwest region of the National Park Service. This program focuses on how sites are discovered, what archeologists can learn from sites, and the importance of the artifacts which are found.

Let's get moving! Lucas Barreto from ND Energy will inform the audience all about potential/kinetic energy. Please register to receive the passcode 48 hours in advance of the event. 

Liquid nitrogen is always a smash hit! Science Central presents this demonstration with lots of shockingly cool phenomena! You will be exposed to concepts of very low temperatures and their effects on materials around them. Please register to receive the passcode which will be emailed to you 48 hours prior to the event. 

Join ND Energy's Tara Senn for one of science's hottest topics: thermal energy! Enjoy a thought provoking demonstration of the power of thermal energy. This presentation will offer insight into the power of heat as a renewable energy source. Renewable energy systems that incorporate thermal energy include biomass, geothermal, and solar.

Join ND Energy's Nathaniel Hiott as he delves into the topic of wind and how we can harness it for renewable energy. Come and learn all about one of the most exciting new sources of renewable energy: wind! After learning what wind energy is, you can follow along at home or you can watch the demonstration on how to build your very own windmill. Recommended materials: construction paper, string, scissors, tape, large straws, wooden pencil, small disposable cup (optional), hole punch (optional, but useful!)

What do chocolate chips have to do with fossil fuels? Join ND Energy's Tara Seen to find out! Log on to learn about fossil fuel mining and its environmental impacts by using a "chocolate chip cookie mining" activity. A discussion and demonstration on clean energy alternatives to counter pose the fossil fuel issue will follow. Q&A will end the program.


Ready to explore? Watch DIY science experiments for kids on the St. Joseph County Public Library YouTube channel.