The Museum of Discovery and Science (MODS) hosted the inaugural Visit Lauderdale Science Festival, presented by Florida Prepaid College Board, on Saturday, March 4. The free large-scale Festival, which took place at both MODS and Esplanade Park, connected STEM organizations, companies and educational groups with thousands of families, science-lovers and festival-goers of all ages through an assorted line-up of exciting and interactive experiences. It was a super-fun, supercharged day of science!
“We want to thank our sponsors and guests, for making the inaugural Visit Lauderdale Science Festival a tremendous success,” said Joseph P. Cox, president & CEO of MODS. “Science festivals bring communities together to celebrate STEM engagement and learning. The Visit Lauderdale Science Festival enabled South Florida’s thriving STEM industries to showcase technology innovations and open minds to careers in our region’s major industries, encouraging children and adults of all ages and backgrounds to become our well-rounded innovators and leaders of tomorrow. The day was filled with incredible science shows, demonstrations, engaging exhibitions, and documentaries, all curated to inspire our community to connect, create, innovate and celebrate STEM in our lives.”
Activities took place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and featured dynamic demonstrations, mind-blowing presentations, hands-on activities and captivating experiments. Scientastic headliners included Spheres Bubble Show, a fusion of art, science and magic as seen on America’s Got Talent!; and Dinosaurs Will Always Be Awesome, from the video podcast series directed by paleontologist Jimmy Waldron.
One of the distinguishing highlights of the day was the Build A Better World Challenge, sponsored by RSquared Charitable Fund, where students (ages 12-18) showcased their inventions. The finalists presented their inventions before a Shark Tank-style panel and were judged by leaders and innovators from South Florida’s business community. Inventions were judged based on creativity, innovation and real-world relevance. The two winning projects were: “Rainwater and Education: Road to Restoration” by Ines Rosales, Giuliana Mudryj, Karen Hendriks; and “Edible Cutlery” by Sian Kotha and Reyhaan Thummadi. They each be connected with a mentor organization and will receive a $5,000 grand prize to fund their project.
Other notable activities included the Robot Build Challenge sponsored by Citrix, The Panther Prowl, an augmented reality experience sponsored by the Florida Panthers Foundation, DUPLO Coding Dance Party, LEGO® Build the Change, Coding for Early Learners, Turtle Talks, Food Forest Tours and much more. A full list of the Festival activities that took place can be viewed here.
Sponsors of the inaugural Visit Lauderdale Science Festival included: Visit Lauderdale, Florida Prepaid College Board, Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization, Community Foundation of Broward, Save Our Seas Foundation, UKG, R-Squared Charitable Fund, Science on Screen, Xfinity, AECOM, Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, Jet Blue and Florida Inventors Hall of Fame.
Photos (courtesy of MODS): https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/ro5pbj197euqv6s89oyir/h?dl=0&rlkey=wcy3bwmfy4luxo9ehlgh7fdtm
