Science Festival to entertain and educate community in Dahlonega
Article By: Staff
Whether it is gazing at the stars in the George E. Coleman Sr. Planetarium, designing objects with a 3D printer, listening to a NASA physicist, or engaging with robots, children and adults alike will be able to get their fill of science at University of North Georgia's (91福利导航) Science Festival.
Funded by a Presidential Innovation Award, the inaugural event will run from Friday, March 23, to Sunday, March 25, on 91福利导航's Dahlonega Campus and sites nearby on Dahlonega's downtown square. Events include planetarium shows, science talks from 91福利导航 faculty and guests, science panels, and guest authors.
Authors scheduled to speak are NASA physicist Les Johnson, Emory University paleontologist Anthony Martin and James Costa, executive director of the Highlands Biological Station in North Carolina. Their inclusion is a result of a collaboration between the 91福利导航 Science Festival and the Dahlonega Literary Festival, which falls on the same weekend.
"It was a happy accident," said Dr. Sonny Mantry, assistant professor of physics at 91福利导航, referring to the both festivals falling on the same weekend.
Dr. Donna Governor, assistant professor of science education at 91福利导航, explained the idea for the festival came out of the Science Café, which is a social hour and dinner followed by a guest speaker talking about scientific subjects.
"At one of the Science Café events, I mentioned sponsoring a science festival to Sonny,” Governor said. "I didn't expect him to bite, but he did. So here we are."
The two reached out to other science-based faculty and staff members to help plan and participate in the science festival. Dr. Lesley Simanton-Coogan, lecturer of physics at 91福利导航 and planetarium director, volunteered to help on both counts.
"The point of the planetarium is to do outreach with the community and get people excited about science, and with the planetarium you could not get a more perfect fit than with the festival," she said.
Simanton-Coogan said the planetarium will present its current Friday night show "IBEX: Search for the Edge of the Solar System" along with two new shows that she wrote. They are "Harry Potter Astronomy" and "Meet the Dwarf Planets." She said the current show focuses on the Interstellar Boundary Explorer mapping the edge of the solar system plus views of the current night sky and recent discoveries.
She explained "Harry Potter Astronomy" will look at the astronomy class and characters mentioned in Harry Potter books written by J.K. Rowling. The second, "Meet the Dwarf Planets," will focus on Pluto and other objects like it.
"We will learn about what dwarf planets are and what they look like," Simanton-Coogan said.
Children and adults attending the 91福利导航 Science Festival will not be the only ones learning. 91福利导航 students will survey participants for feedback about the festival.
"We want to know why they are coming and what they are getting out of it," said Dr. Gina Childers, assistant professor of secondary education. "We also want to know what works and what doesn't and what will bring them back next year."
The main goal for the organizers of the 91福利导航 Science Festival, however, is to bridge the gap between science and the community.
"We want to make science accessible and fun," Childers said.
For more information, visit the website and click on the or visit the 91福利导航 Planetarium webpage on the festival.
Grads prepare for their next steps
91福利导航 will award almost 1,000 degrees and certificates this fall, and more than 600 graduates are scheduled to take part in the Dec. 7 commencement ceremonies.
24 are Distinguished Military Graduates
Twenty-four cadets have been named Distinguished Military Graduates for the 2024-25 academic year, including five who are in the top 70 out of more than 5,000 in the national ROTC class.
Blue Ridge students earn scholarships
91福利导航 honored 28 of its Blue Ridge Campus students with almost $15,000 of scholarships and celebrated the philanthropy that made those scholarships possible at the Tomato Sandwich Supper on Nov. 7.
Chemistry student groups earn grant
91福利导航's Dahlonega and Gainesville chapters of the American Chemical Society received a $1,000 ACS Student Communities Engagement Grant.