UNC Charlotte STEAM Expo and Charlotte Kids Fest 2024
UNC Charlotte STEAM Expo and Charlotte Kids Fest 2024
The UNC Charlotte STEAM Expo and Charlotte Kids Fest return to Charlotte Sunday, April 14, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. These two free events offer unique experiences for children, encouraging them to engage in fun, creative, interactive and informative activities and live performances.
Help the Scientist! Untangle the Tree Mystery to Save The Day
The Phyloinformatics Lab will be there with an activity named “Help the Scientist! Untangle the Tree Mystery to Save The Day.” This engaging activity is designed to captivate students’ interest in phylogenetics and studying evolutionary relationships. Through a series of puzzles, students will acquire basic tree-thinking skills and actively explore key concepts like shared characteristics and ancestral traits. Up to two visitors at a time will be given a paper-based puzzle to solve. The puzzle changes at each interaction, so the solution may not always be the same.
The made-up back history of the activity is simple:
“Get tangled in the Tree of Life! This activity is a thrilling puzzle adventure where you’ll crack the code of evolution to save the day! You are a crack team of junior researchers at a prestigious animal research lab. Recently, a group of fascinating, never-before-seen creatures (the Pulacores) were captured in the Brazilian Pantanal. Unfortunately, while studying these new animals, one escaped and accidentally jumped over Dr. Dendrogramus, our head researcher. Help us put the creatures back into their homes to find the antidote. Otherwise, Dr. Dendrogramus will remain all blue with orange spots until he graduates High School again or scores a three-point shot in an official NBA game, whichever comes first.”
Sounds fun? Join us! We see you in the heart of UNC Charlotte’s main campus
UNC Charlotte STEAM Expo
The Charlotte STEAM Expo introduces science education to kids of all ages through hand-on activities, science talks, lab tours, nature experiences, exhibits and performances. The UNC Charlotte Center for STEM Education, university STEAM departments and community stakeholders will facilitate the expo’s activities. The STEAM Expo is part of the 2024 NC Science Festival, presented by RTI International. Visit the STEAM Expo website for additional information or to volunteer for the expo.
Charlotte Kids Fest
Kids Fest is designed for children up to age 10, though all are welcome, and is centered around six interactive activity zones. “Create” focuses on interactive crafts and workshops; “Dance” is the place to boogie down; “Discover” hosts interactive performing arts experiences from dance to live music; “Learn” offers interactive activities and fun educational experiences; “Play” focuses on outdoor and healthy activities; and “Go” features big construction and emergency vehicles. Charlotte Kids Fest is sponsored by Atrium Health, Duke Energy, Walmart and other businesses and organizations. Visit the Kids Fest website for additional information.
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