The College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University held its annual Science Fest on Oct. 27. The Science Fest is a free event designed for children and teenagers. The event features more than 150 activities and more than 20 IU departments participating in the event.

Volunteers ranged from scientists and students from different departments at IU. The main goal of the Science Fest is to let kids explore different possibilities in within the realm of science in a fun way.

The Science Fest had many different activities that were hands-on to help get the kids more involved with science. One of the activities taught the children different types of cells and to separate them at the “Cellfie” station.

Riddhi Sood, a PhD student volunteering at the Science Fest, hopes that the kids attending the event will take away that science is not boring but can actually be fun. She hopes that fun events like this will get more women involved with science. At first, even Riddhi was intimidated by science but when she had a teacher introduce thinking of science in new ways, she knew that science was not something to be afraid of.

More women than men are now graduating with STEM degrees, which is up from previous years. Riddhi hopes that with more women in the field there will be new ideas when it comes to concerns about women’s health.

Events like the Science Fest show just how important scientific thinking is for children. Younger generations can form ideas, discover new things and promote experimentation all through learning science at a young age.

For more information about the Science Fest or for ways to get involved with science you visit the Office of Science Outreach to learn more.