Curious about how sea slugs might solve long biological mysteries? Or why some viruses are necessary for life while others cause illness? Have the research experts from Scripps Research Institute of Florida explain these biological conundrums, and more, at its annual CELLebrate Science festival at The Gardens Mall on Saturday, January 31.
Since 2010, Scripps has been educating the public about the intricacies of our biological makeup at the annual science fair with demonstrations, discussions and interactive exhibits designed to engage and involve children and adults in science. And as one of the leading biomedical research facilities in the world, it’s hard to find better teachers. The goal is to spark curiosity and a sense of wonder, all while explaining the importance of biomedical research in our everyday lives, hopefully inspiring future generations of scientists—the key to a cure for cancer just might be sitting in the audience at the mall, just waiting for the right catalyst to get the mind racing.
At CELLebrate 2015, Scripps’ researchers from the Cancer Biology, Metabolism & Aging, Neuroscience, Infectious Diseases and Molecular Therapeutics departments, as well as chemistry and technology groups, will explain their work with new displays, highlighting some of the exciting and groundbreaking research happening in our backyard. For a hands-on experience, six activity booths will engage and inspire in an array of subjects:
- Chemists will give demonstrations with exploding hydrogen bubbles and the effects of extreme cold of liquid nitrogen, alongside hands-on activities for kids to do their own experiments.
- Biomedical researchers will unlock the world of biology, and show how all-living things, from sea slugs and fruit flies to roundworms and zebrafish, offer clues about our own lives, no matter how small or strange.
- Technology meets fun with 3D printing. Researchers will demonstrate how this new technology is becoming a useful tool is unlocking the complicated systems of life.
- Neuroscience researchers will lead guests in deconstructing and reconstructing the human brain, complete with arteries and nerves, all while teaching how memory is formed, forming new memories—boom, mind blown.
- As if ripped from the scenes of an alien invasion B movie from the 1950s, larger-than-life scales of viruses will give insight into how these tiny bundles of genetic material work, both for the good and bad.
- Guests will don the lab coat and peer into the “invisible world” using the ever-present piece of laboratory equipment, the microscope.
CELLebrate Science 2015 will be setup throughout The Gardens Mall’s lower level from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Free and open to the public, the community is encouraged to come and join the conversation with world-class scientists.
- For more information, visit scripps.edu/florida/education.
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