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Inaugural ‘Science Saturday’ draws families

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Photo: Scott Rudd

Watch and learn. An attendee of Rockefeller’s Science Saturday event, held in May, looks on as A. James Hudspeth, F.M. Kirby Professor and head of the Laboratory of Sensory Neuroscience, demonstrates how nerve cells send electrical signals. Jointly hosted by the Development Office’s Parents & Science initiative and the Science Outreach program, headed by Jeanne Garbarino, the day-long event was open to children ages 6 to 18 and their parents, grandparents and teachers. The festivities included more than 20 learning stations, scattered throughout the CRC, which were conceptualized and staffed by nearly 70 Rockefeller lab heads, postdocs and students, as well as former Summer Science Research Program participants.

Attendees were invited to observe scientific demonstrations — a cow’s eye dissection and a microscope for exploring the skin, for example — and roll up their sleeves to take part in experiments and activities themselves, such as watching photosynthesis in action, building brain cells out of candy to learn how neurons communicate and extracting DNA from bananas. Staff members led tours of the bio-imaging center and the precision fabrication facility, and Daniel Kronauer, head of the Laboratory of Insect Social Evolution, gave the visitors an inside look at the world of ants and insect societies. In all, 740 guests attended, about half of whom were children.

“Parents & Science has introduced nearly 3,000 new friends to Rockefeller since it was created in 2007,” says Marc Tessier-Lavigne, the university’s president. “Science Outreach has developed relationships with countless schools in the New York area. As we continue to enhance our efforts to promote scientific literacy, Science Saturday will become a key program for igniting a lifelong interest in science in the youngest generation.”