(ARIZONA)—The Arizona Science Center served as the official launching pad for one of the most colorful science extravaganzas Arizona has embarked upon in its nearly 100 year-old history…the first-annual ARIZONA SCITECH festival.
The Science Center provided the platform for the Festival’s official ribbon cutting ceremony and served to celebrate innovations in Bioscience. The day’s event entertained a steady stream of interested families, students and citizens through its full-day of interactive activities. And, its message was loud and clear…“this is just the beginning of science fun!”
The momentum leading up to the Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012, Science Center launch, began with a flurry of scientific activity in all parts of the state including Phoenix’ First Friday Art & Science Fusions, Glendale’s, A Chocolate Affaire, focusing on the Art of Chocolate; Scottsdale Learning Communities Showcase of Science; Tucson’s Young Professional’s First Fridays, integrating art and science; Yavapai County’s Math Contest; Yuma’s Field Vegetable Science Tour, and Holbrook’s FireWise Science of preparedness. All of these events and more reached all corners of the state with a unified SCITECH Festival message… Arizona innovates in science and technology!
Looking ahead, a modest sampling of the next wave of SCITECH Festival fun includes: Mesa Takes Flight, Feb. 10-12, at the Mesa Art Center, as the City of Mesa celebrates the State Centennial with a focus on aviation, aerospace and all things flight related; Astronomy Night at Paradise Community College where visitors will see the stars and planets and learn the inner-workings and functions of the telescope; the City of Phoenix Housing Department brings “Radio Healer” to its Revitalized Neighborhood Project by featuring indigenous media expression through creative practice of music, story and dance including the use of indigenous electronics and state-of-the-art technologies at HOPE VI, Phoenix, 2-3 p.m., on Feb. 11; the Arizona Centennial Best Fest – Celebrating the Arizona Experience in downtown Phoenix, at the State Capitol grounds on Feb. 11-12, where the science and technology that has shaped Arizona’s past and that will impact its future will be showcased through interactive exhibits; the Science of Water and Science of Marine Birth at Arizona Mills, Tempe, Feb. 11-12, explores how the desert creates salt water and exploring the Science of Marine Birth; Arizona Water Festival – Tucson, and activities of Arizona Project WET – where fourth-grade students and their teachers travel through interactive, hands-on events about watersheds, groundwater, water conservation and the hydrologic cycle, Feb. 10, Brandi Fenton Park, Tucson; Chandler Unified School District’s Science and Engineering Fair showcasing Chandler students’ science fair exhibits; Its Elementary – Science, Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Chandler’s Gangplank on Arizona Avenue on Feb. 11, features Biz in a Boxx and Miss Science, as they demonstrate and offer a hands-on class about how to make smart, fun and profitable products; and DeVry University Mesa Westgate Center, Glendale, and DeVry University, Mesa, Westgate City Center, as they present a National Open House and STEM Careers for the 21st Century.
To view the nearly 250 events taking place through March 14, 2012, as part of the ARIZONA SCITECH festival, log onto: azscitechfest.org.