The inaugural Arkansas Science Festival is underway. Modeled after science festivals that take place in other states, this year’s first festival was put together by educators at Arkansas State University, with assistance through the Science Festival Alliance. Dr. Amy Pearce is professor of psychology at Arkansas State University and is director of the Arkansas Science Festival. She tells how this got started.
“The Arkansas Science Festival really stemmed from years of consideration from a group of us here on the A-State campus,” said Pearce. “We were thrilled when we learned of the Science Festival Alliance and that they were providing mentorship for campuses and organizations that were interested in hosting science festivals.”
Pearce says there has been an increasing interest in science festivals and that sparked the interest of placing a science festival in Arkansas.
“Science festivals are somewhat new to the United States, but they are growing in size and number,” said Pearce. “In 2012, my colleagues and I applied for support from the Science Festival Alliance and we learned there was a grant that we could get from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. We drafted up our ideas and presented them. We were 1 of 12 grants awarded nationally to create science festivals, so we will be the first formal science festival in the state of Arkansas.”
Dr. Pearce explains what science festivals are.
“Science festivals can be seen as a celebration of science, or a party for the mind. If you have ever been to a music festival, think of a music festival that runs for several days, except the content that will be emphasized will be science. There will be lots of hands-on demonstrations of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and even health professions. We have workshops and performances, and we hope these activities will capture the unique fabric of science in Arkansas.”
She says events have already been held across the state, but a bulk of the events take place in northeast Arkansas. Dr. Pearce says she hopes this will be an annual event.
“We hope this is something that we can continue in future years. This first year, of course, will be exploratory and we will see how it goes. We are really excited about the schedule we have created. We received a lot of support from the community, on campus, through our mentors with the Science Festival Alliance, from other coordinators of science festivals, and others. We are implementing the best practices for our festival will is being held primarily, but not exclusively in northeast Arkansas.”
The Arkansas Science Festival continues this Friday with Arc Attack at the Fowler Center. The Arkansas Science Festival will also have a tent at homecoming in tailgate city Saturday and will have numerous events next week. Financial support for the Arkansas Science Festival is provided in part from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Arkansas Biosciences Institute, A-State, College of Sciences and Mathematics, College of Education and Behavioral Science at A-State. Other partners include Science Festival Alliance, Fowler Center, Godsey’s Grill, Craighead County Jonesboro Public Library, and the ASU Museum. A complete list of events can be found here. A complete list of the events for this year’s science festival is listed here.
