[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”22″ display=”basic_slideshow”]By the Coconino Coalition for Children & Youth
The 2021 Flagstaff Festival of Science kicked off this past Friday with the W. L. Gore Keynote Presentation: “When Stones Speak: Decoding the Messages Embedded in Ancient Maya Monuments” with Dr. Jaime Awe of Northern Arizona University.
That event was followed Snook’s Science in the Park, which featured local science and technology organizations with science experiments and demonstrations at Wheeler Park in downtown Flagstaff. The festival continues through Sunday, Sept. 26.
During the park event, youth had the opportunity to explore life-saving medical devices with innovators and engineers under the W. L. Gore & Associates tents, view the talented athletes from Momentum Aerial as they leap and spin above the ground, with young people exploring the world of magnets at the Coconino Coalition for Children & Youth tent.
The 10-day festival features a mix of in-person activities, live streamed webinars and pre-recorded videos. A full listing of events is available by going to scifest.org and clicking on the 2021 digital passport. Events that require a reservation are denoted on the passport. Tickets for most of the events requiring a reservation can be found at flgscifest.eventbrite.com. The EventBrite page also provides a means to register for the live webinars.
Some of the scheduled upcoming events include:
- Tynkertopia has build-a-bot workshops (Sept. 23-24), open houses (Sept. 25) and geocaching (Sept. 26).
- The NAU VPR Innovation Series and Twilight Talks in the evening at 6:30pm through Thursday, September 23rd. Topics include the human microbiome, searching for extraterrestrial life, military noise, and an engineer’s journey from Holbrook to building the Mars Rover. All talks are via webinar. Registration for the NAU VPR Innovation Series and Twilight Talks are at flgscifest.eventbrite.com.
- Afterschool Talks at 4 and 5pm through Friday, September 24th. Topics include volcanism, surveying the Colorado River, fossils, anthropology, Mars, childhood trauma, imaging insects, archaeology and pathogens. All talks are via webinar. Registration for the Afterschool Talks are at flgscifest.eventbrite.com.
- Women in STEAM Networking Event is on Thursday, September 23rd at 5:30PM at Firecreek Coffee. The evening will start with a discussion of the themes from the documentary, Picture a Scientist. The rest of the evening will be an opportunity to expand your circle to create a network of artists and scientists you can tap into for collaboration, advice, and opportunities. Reservations are not required.
- SCI Talks are an in-person event featuring four local scientists, educators and artists sharing their work in TEDx style, 15 minute lectures. They take place at Coconino Center for the Arts on September 24th. Doors open at 6pm, and the first talk starts at 6:30. Tickets are required and can be obtained at scitalks2021.eventbrite.com.
Plus hands-on activities for kids, guided hikes, citizen science, kid’s science bedtime stories, fun at the national parks and monuments and more. Just go to scifest.org and click on 2021 digital passport for the most up to date events list. The passport also has details on COVID mitigation strategies that the festival is employing for in-person events.