By Joy Li ’18
Rockets, slime, telescopes, and engineering workshops were just a few of the things getting kids excited about science at the 2016 Big Cool Science Festival. This spring, more than 3,000 community members from Colorado Springs and the greater Front Range visited to the CC campus for the event, co-organized by the nonprofit organization Cool Science and CC’s Cool Science Club. The carnival-style experience was designed to help children gain interest in science by presenting a variety of scientific exhibitions and experiments.
The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo brought in plants, animals, insects, and fungus for a hands-on exhibit about wildlife in Colorado; young scientists explored the “micro world” with help from CC biology students; and presentations from the archeology, architectural, and aerospace sectors were just a few of dozens of on-site opportunities for festival participants.
The 2016 event was the largest in the past five years both in number of participants and in donations; $24,000 was raised to cover the cost of the festival.
CC’s Cool Science Club provided 70 student volunteers, who helped to organize and facilitate the
daylong event. The volunteers did everything from managing the booths to interacting with the participants to facilitating workshops and tours. Mark Straub, director of the Cool Science organization, says it’s great to work with CC students. “They do such a wonderful job managing this huge event,” he says.
The collaboration between CC students and the local nonprofit was established well before this year’s festival. The purpose of the Cool Science Club at CC is to work with the Cool Science organization to mentor at-risk elementary and middle school students, and help them develop an interest in science. CC students visit local schools monthly and facilitate science experiments. Stephanie Bui ’17, a leader of the CC Cool Science Club, says she gains a lot from the school visits. “It’s really heartwarming to know that kids are enjoying science and understand that science is not this formidable subject,” she says.
And the relationships the students begin in the classroom carry into the annual festival hosted on the CC campus. “It is a good liaison between the Colorado Springs community and CC,” says Bui of the festival, “especially for the marginalized students. We want them to experience what it’s like to be in college.” The festival not only strengthens the connection between CC and communities all over Colorado, it also provides the opportunity for CC students to volunteer and make connections with organizations throughout the community.
