UW-Madison’s Food Science Department will be selling Bucky Pucks; delicious ice cream treats designed and produced on campus.

Children and families will explore microscopic life using microscopes. They will see the effects of alcohol and tobacco on microscopic organisms.

Learn about the concept of centrifugation by separating chocolate milk.

Come learn about the living environment of stem cells by creating a stem cell culture out of clay that you can take home.

Learn what milk and soap have to do with the terms “amphiphilic,” “hydrophilic,” and “hydrophobic.”

Learn about colloids and homogenization by observing light as it is shined through milk to create the Tyndall Effect.

Use science to create your own slime.

Using the materials provided we challenge you to make a ‘flinker’, an object that doesn’t sink or float but ‘flinks’ somewhere in the middle of the water. Explore concepts of buoyancy and density and use the engineering design process to solve the challenge. This activity is part of the COMETS water curriculum. The COMETS program, a project funded by the Madison Community Foundation, will be providing high quality hands-on science experiences at six local community centers this year.

FIRST Robotics is an after school program for students in 1st-12th grades to transform the lessons of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math into real life experiences for the 21st Century! Through innovative projects and robotics competitions, participants master skills and concepts to aid in learning science and technology, as well as teamwork, gracious professionalism and to learn what they discover is more important than what they win!

In order to meet our current and future energy demands, there is a growing interest in using biomass as a renewable energy source. But what exactly is biomass? How exactly does it become fuel? And how might biofuel affect you and the way you drive? Come learn a bit more about biomass and discover the unique challenges researchers face as they attempt to transform biomass to biofuel. Participants will get hands-on experience with one of the key processes in this transformation: fermentation.

This station will explore the life of the bumble bee in our Wisconsin habitats. Their life cycle, anatomy, and basic identifying features will be a few of the topics to discover.

Have you ever wondered how it feels to tackle a football player? Come use the concept of Center of Mass to discover how football players use physics to tackle their opponents.

Do you know how it feels to be tackled by a football player? Come and check out this exciting station where you will witness just how jarring being tackled can be.

Score a field goal with your own homemade football! Using concepts of material sciences participants will make their own football. You will then have the opportunity to aim an air canon to get your football through the field goal.

In this demonstration, we will be showcasing the wonders of filters with lab safety glasses and their effect of masking specific wavelengths, or colors, of light. The second part of this demo explores a few of the basic underlying fundamentals of photonics, namely, the refractive index and how this principal affects the awesome phenomena of total internal reflection and color separation that one sees with rainbows.

Can you see DNA? Have you ever seen DNA? Is all DNA the same? Come find answers to these questions and have a souvenir to take home after you extract a sample of DNA from wheat germ.

How do drums make noise? Do different drums make different noises? Come make your own balloon drum to find out!

Using tools commonly found at home you can create a squirt gun (also called a pipet). After you have created your squirt gun, compare it to a $200 micropipet: Do they work the same? How are they different? Come explore your ingenuity!

Stem cell scientists at the Morgridge Institute for Research will help participants view pluripotent stem cells under a microscope.

Blending future technology with Victorian culture, Steampunk is a contemporary subculture whose designers often retool and re-engineer technology such as computers to reflect the cultural values of the nineteenth century. Following in the punk tradition of social critique, Steampunk design is an intersection of the DIY movement, postmodern design and a cultural desire to change the relationship between technology and daily life. This engaging presentation and discussion, Steampunk Design: Retooling 21st Century Technology to Fit 19th Century Values, examines Steampunk design and its place in Steampunk culture.

Take a 30-40 minute tour of the Town Center at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery.

Have you ever noticed the plant-like “crusts” growing on rocks, tree bark, or even old tombstones? Those are lichens, and they are living creatures composed of a symbiotic partnership between algae and a fungus. They grow very slowly, but are able to survive in some of the most extreme places on Earth, including the frigid Arctic. The Wisconsin State Herbarium in the UW-Madison Department of Botany holds a collection of more than 150,000 lichen specimens, including the world’s most complete collection of Arctic lichens. Our station will provide information about the biology of these unique lifeforms, their importance to Arctic ecosystems, a chance for visitors to handle and examine specimens, search our online collections, and also to view original botanical illustrations that capture the beautiful details displayed by these special organisms.

Stop by the Wisconsin Historical Museum station to learn more about the Wisconsin Innovations exhibit and discover some of UW–Madison’s early innovations that changed the world.

From enormous beetles to spectacular butterflies from Africa and Malaysia, the department of entomology’s insect research collection in Russell Labs is a treasure-trove for nature lovers. The UW–Madison’s research collection facilities include nearly three million insects representing more than 15,000 species. Meet WIRC staff and students from the entomology department as they share some of their most interesting outreach exhibits – and live insects from Vietnam and Madagascar! Ask questions and learn about the most diverse group of animals on the planet.

The Wisconsin Book Festival joins with the Wisconsin Science Festival to promote select books by festival presenters. Stop by the booth to find out more about the book festival or pick up a book by one of your favorite science festival presenters.

Concussion has gained increasing national attention over the past few years as amateur and professional athletes speak publicly about their concussion-related cognitive impairments. This year, Wisconsin enacted legislation to manage concussion in youth athletics and concussion programs are springing up around the state. In this session, learn about the mechanisms and consequences of concussion for children, adolescents and adults, and what the new state legislation means for all of us.

The Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center (WIPAC) is exploring the Universe in new ways. The IceCube Neutrino Observatory uses a cubic kilometer of South Pole ice to detect tiny subatomic particles called neutrinos that originate from violent astrophysical sources like exploding stars and matter torn apart by massive black holes. Visit the colorful LED model that shows how the remnants of neutrino interactions are tracked as they travel through the ice at close to the speed of light. Explore models and activities with IceCube researchers and technical staff and hear about what it is like to work in one of the most remote and extreme environments on Earth. Learn more about WIPAC science Thursday, September 27, during the 11 a.m. presentation.

Have you ever wondered what the neurons in your brain look like under a microscope?  Or did you ever want to hold a human brain in your hands?  The faculty and graduate students of the UW Neuroscience Training Program and Department of Neuroscience will help guide you on exploring your brain with several stations that feature gross examination of human brains, microscopic examination of brain sections, dissection of an eyeball, and demonstrations of illusions of the sensations of taste and sound.  Join us for hands-on exploration of your brain.

In addition to the everyday exhibits that spark imagination in the world of science, the Northwoods Children’s Museum will be holding a very special science workshop for all those budding scientists. Explore simple experiments that you can do at home. Learn how to watch science occur in everyday life, and discover the world around us! Call the museum today to sign up for this workshop.

Freud’s life is of great interest partly because, as the inventor of psychoanalysis, he was preoccupied with the way people tell the stories of their lives. Adam Phillips, psychoanalyst, literary critic and essayist, will talk about Freud’s remarkable life and what Freud had to say about the larger art of biography. Phillips, the general editor of the New Penguin translation of Freud’s work and currently at work on a biography of Freud, also is the author of many well-known books, including On Kissing, Tickling and Being Bored, Going Sane, On Kindness and, most recently, On Balance. His newest work is Missing Out: In Praise of the Unlived Life. He writes, interviews and appears widely to offer a unique psychoanalytic perspective on therapy, literature and the human condition. This event is sponsored by the UW–Madison Center for the Humanities, the North American Victorian Studies Association and the Anonymous Fund of the College of Letters & Science, with support from the Brittingham Foundation.

Observe common plant material (potatoes, raw cotton and cotton products, onions, leaves, celery petioles, roots) collected from the garden, grown in petri plates or on prepared slides. Two digital microscopes, a classic compound microscope and a stereo microscope, will be available for folks of all ages to use. Attendees will learn how to use the microscopes, how to prepare samples and what they are observing.

Participants can try hands-on activities to demonstrate the missions associated with a STEM competition called eCYBERMISSION, which is managed by the National Science Teachers Association. Activities will coordinate with two of the seven missions students can choose from: Forces and Motion and Technology.

The Wisconsin State Herbarium was founded in 1849 and is a scientific collection of pressed, dried, labeled and classified plants and fungi. It also preserves notes, illustrations and other material about plants and maintains its own valuable herbarium library and herbarium map collection. The collection of more than 1.1 million specimens is of regional, national and international importance and is used extensively for taxonomic and ecological research, as well as for teaching and public outreach. Approximately one-fourth of its vascular plant specimens are from Wisconsin, all of which have been databased and are searchable online (www.botany.wisc.edu/herbarium). In addition, most of the world’s floras are well represented, and the holdings from certain areas such as the Upper Midwest, eastern North America, western Mexico and the Arctic (primarily lichens) are widely recognized as resources of global significance.

Explore the Geology Museum and Wisconsin’s deep history! Touch rocks from a time when there were volcanoes in Wisconsin; see corals, jellyfish and other sea creatures that used to live and swim where we now walk; and stand under the tusks of a mastodon while imagining yourself in the Ice Age. Also on display at the Geology Museum are rocks and minerals that glow, a model of a Wisconsin cave, dinosaurs and meteorites. The mineral, rock and fossil collections have the power to educate and inspire visitors of all ages. Come see for yourself!

Visit the UW–Madison Zoological Museum for a guided behind-the-scenes tour of the museum. Participants will see collections of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fishes and skeletons of modern and extinct species. You also can visit the preparation laboratory to learn how specimens are prepared for museum collections.

The L.R. Ingersoll Museum is a free public venue that runs on donations. Established in 1917, this museum is one of the first of its kind in the United States. More than 65 exhibits give participants a hands-on experience with physical concepts ranging from mechanics to modern physics in a demonstrational kid-friendly environment. In conjunction with the museum, you will find historical instruments and photos of the Nobel Prize Winners in Physics from 1901 to 1993 on display along the corridors. Tours are self-guided.

We use computers all the time. We use them to solve problems, entertain ourselves and even create art! Have you ever wondered how to program – that is, how to tell the computer what to do? In this drop-in session, you will be guided through some projects using Scratch, a drag-and-drop programming language from MIT. Guides will be available for three projects: 1) Science/Math: Computers are known for being good at solving math problems quickly, which makes them valuable to scientists! Investigate the Fibonacci sequence in this tutorial. 2) Art: Animations can be made easily in Scratch. Learn how to make a short movie. 3) Games: Scratch can be used to make arcade or guessing games. Maybe you will create the next Angry Birds? For more information, visit http://research.cs.wisc.edu/wacm/WSF.html.

The REAP Food Group is building a regional food system that is healthy for people and the environment. Learn about the sustainable agricultural practices that preserve the diversity and safety of our food supply.

UW–Madison faculty and staff have long explored and benefited from the synergy that exists between the arts and the sciences. UW–Madison artists in various media draw on scientific knowledge – from chemistry to optics to engineering – to create new work, and the campus institutions that preserve valued art works and share them with the public are equally dependent on scientific expertise. Meanwhile, the university’s vibrant scientific community produces new research that serves the art community. This panel will demonstrate some of the art-science synergies at work on campus and confirm the continuing importance of science in the artist’s studio, the class room and the gallery. The panel includes moderator Vance Kepley, professor of communication arts and director of the Center for Film and Theatre Research; Art Hove, special assistant, emeritus; Russell Panchenko, director, Chazen Museum; Carolyn Kallenborn, assistant professor of design studies (textiles); and Dan Lisowski, assistant professor of theatre (technical design).

Attend a special showing of Carré Blanc, which was written and directed by Jean-Baptiste Léonetti and stars Sami Bouajila, Julie Gayet and Jean-Pierre Andréani. In the film, Philippe lives in a world controlled by a caste system. Those who play the “”game”" correctly become higher and more powerful. Phillipe plays the game well but his wife wants him to return to reality. It’s a love story after marriage. Before the showing, join David Krakauer, director of the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, the public half of the twin Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, and Jim Healy, director of programming for the UW–Madison Cinematheque, for a lively and clip-filled discussion at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery that will explore the cinematic concept of the “”evil institute,” particularly in science-fiction and horror movies.

Join hosts from WGBH’s NOVA and UW–Madison meteorological scientists Steve Ackerman and Jon Martin in a conversation about this year’s weather and what we can expect in the future. Experience for yourself the first of a new series of Science Cafés at Discovery and share your thoughts on topics you’d like to see and ways you’d like to be involved. To learn more about science cafés and how you can be a part of them, visit http://www.sciencecafe.org/. This event is co-sponsored by Wisconsin Academy of Sciences Arts & Letters.

Join psychoanalyst Adam Phillips and mathematician Jordan Ellenberg for a discussion about the challenges and pleasures of writing about complex concepts – whether the impassivity of poetics, the perplexities of individual motivation and behavior or the complexities of pure mathematics. Both thinkers write extensively in the public press about such topics and more, offering unique insight on communicating – and charming – audiences beyond academia. Phillips has written many well-known books, including On Kissing, Tickling and Being Bored, On Balance and most recently, Missing Out: In Praise of the Unlived Life. He writes and interviews widely in publications such as The New York Times and The London Review of Books. Ellenberg, beyond being a professor of mathematics at UW–Madison, has written a novel, The Grasshopper King, and regularly contributes articles on mathematical topics to Slate, Wired, The Washington Post and others. His forthcoming book with Penguin Press is titled How Not to Be Wrong.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could look through a window into a market in China or a convention in California without having to fly thousands of miles to get there? The idea of a virtual tour is an old one, but virtual tours often are prerecorded and can become out of date as improvements are made to the facility featured in the tour. Try becoming a virtual visitor instead. An interdisciplinary collaboration between several groups at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery has developed a miniature airship outfitted with a camera that provides a bird’s eye view of the Town Center in the lobby of the Discovery building. Using the web interface, virtual visitors not in direct control of the airship can still experience what the pilot is experiencing through the live video stream from the airship’s camera.

This exhibition of 45 rarely seen paintings and tapestries from the renowned Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy, includes works by Italian Renaissance and Baroque masters such as Sandro Botticelli, Lorenzo Monaco, Jacopo Tintoretto and Titian. The exhibition highlights the theme of the Eucharist in art from the Creation of Adam and Eve to the Resurrection. Originally curated in 2007 by Antonio Natali, director of the Uffizi Gallery, Offering of the Angels draws from recently restored collections. The U.S. tour, organized by Contemporanea Progetti, Florence, Italy, was made possible by four museums: Museum of Art | Fort Lauderdale, Michener Art Museum, Chazen Museum of Art—the only Midwest venue—and the Telfair Museum of Art.

Ever wonder how to make a perfect espresso? What’s the ideal temperature for a French press pot? And what’s the deal with “Fair Trade” anyway? Find out the answers to these questions and more! Geek out with the science of coffee and get informed on the current politics and challenges of global coffee markets with passionate experts from Just Coffee Cooperative and Aldo’s Cafe. Join us for a cup and what is sure to be a fun and intriguing look at the world’s most popular beverage.

The Children’s Museum together with local experts from UW–Fond du Lac will provide children and their families a day to explore the wonders of science through hands-on activities and demonstrations featuring volcanic eruptions, weather, water flow, glacial movement, rocks and minerals and even plate tectonics! Visitors will be educated, enlightened and entertained by the wonders of science! Scientific Saturday provides families a unique collaboration of experimental learning through play. This event is free to the public and will take place in the science building at UW–Fond du Lac. For more information, visit cmfdl.org.

Artists and scientists share a common fascination with forming representations of the world. Both communities strive to establish some representation that might reveal a hidden or obscure truth, challenge a received opinion or illuminate a previously neglected aspect of existence. In the Encounters series, Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery faculty are asked to select one or more items of particular significance from the Chazen art collection as a means of discussing fundamental, intersecting concepts common to both science and art, including beauty, minimalism, geometry, design, the nature of artifacts and models, evolution and the obsessions of the collector. Each researcher will give a short talk in front of a favorite art work or art series, which will be followed by a Q&A session. The Encounters series endeavors to reveal the profound affinities among different methods of seeing, interpreting and engaging with the world.

Join Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich from public radio’s Radiolab as they explore what it’s like to be in the dark in a live stage exploration of science with modern dancer-athletes Pilobolus and musician Thao Nguyen. “Radiolab: In the Dark” is sponsored by Wisconsin Public Radio and will be a night of gripping stories, wonder-inducing demonstrations, music and jaw-dropping images. More information and tickets ($28.50-$48.50) are available at: http://overturecenter.com/production/radiolab-live-in-the-dark. Tune into to Radiolab each Saturday at 3 p.m. on Wisconsin Public Radio’s Ideas Network stations.

Wisconsin is the largest producer of cranberries in the United States. Are you interested in learning about how cranberries are planted, harvested and processed? Watch a video and learn fun facts about cranberries! Find out how to grow your own cranberries from the USDA Vegetable Crop Research Unit, and plant one yourself to take home at the cranberry planting station.

Sun power! Take part in discovering how light is transformed into electricity. At the exhibit tables, have fun learning about what affects this process – make adjustments to working solar panels, simulate cloudy skies, measure electrical variation and more. In the adjacent discovery “workshop” area, build a simple solar-powered fan. Solar mini-panels, wires, motors and safe materials are provided along with enthusiastic help. Our solar team also will answer questions about solar installations for your home or business, and background posters will explain a local 6.2 kW educational solar installation comparing three different types of PV solar arrays. For more information, visit http://rock.uwc.edu/academics/research/documents/SolarProjectforResearchPage.pdf

Participants will go through a series of creative movements and vocal activities. Working individually, with a partner and in teams, participants will understand, for example, how the brain and body movements align through breath, how to relax oneself with control to allow for creative outcomes, and the importance of health and fitness in our everyday lives. The workshop will generate spontaneous moments of laughter through the work created and we will use laughter as wellness tool to a healthier lifestyle. The release of a laugh also will enable participants to relax and move freely through the exercises as they “hunt for joy, comfort and ease.” Through coaching, participants will gain insight into one’s breath, control and presence. For more information, visit http://www.ctmtheater.org/Classes/ActTEENUpWeekendWorkshops.aspx.

The science activities at the Building for Kids Children’s Museum provide learners with an opportunity to use their imagination to create something new. For example, visitors will be able to learn about the solar system and create their own constellations, build a unique city-scape out of boxes or create a one of a kind worm hotel. All festival activities are free with paid admission.
• Thursday, September 27 – Build With Boxes! Help to build and decorate a unique city-scape in the DaVinci Art and Science Studio.
• Friday, September 28 – Silly Stamp Goo! What is this goo? Mix up some gooey fun and try to decide if it is a liquid or a solid. Use your goo and creativity to make a stamp that you can take home.
• Sunday, September 30 – Worms! Where do worms go when it rains? Why? Play in the mud and learn more about these slimy creatures. Also, help to build a worm hotel to keep them dry.

Learn about the amazing Fibonacci sequence (0+1=1, 1+1=2, 1+2=3, 2+3=5) that is found in nature and featured in five art installations in the Town Center of the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery. Children of all ages will make a bead spiral and discover the secrets of the Fibonacci sequence. Students also will use music, light and art to explore the intersection of art and science.

Explore the history, evolution and composition of plants that existed 65-250 million years ago during the time period known as the Mesozoic Era. Activities will be based out of the Mesozoic Garden in the Town Center. In addition to the plants themselves, students will learn about scientific inquiry and how scientists work in real life.

Explore the worlds of paleontology and archaeology, focusing on the formation, excavation and examination of fossils. Students will make their own fossils, “dig” for fossils and examine the fossils contained in the limestone floor of the Town Center. In addition, students will explore and discover basic concepts and examples of fossils from a variety of locations and time periods.

Attendees will learn about how food and liquid move through the mouth and throat and arrive safely in the stomach. Moving x-rays will be viewed showing material moving through the system and what happens when things “go down the wrong pipe.” A variety of techniques will be demonstrated showing how patients with swallowing problems are treated. Budding scientists may have the opportunity to mix and taste beverages designed for people with swallowing problems, measure their tongue strength and/or interact with a large scale swallowing model.

Make a necklace or bracelet by transforming the letters of your name into beads of genetic code.

In a lively and clip-filled discussion, David Krakauer, director of the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, the public half of the twin Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, and Jim Healy, director of programming for the UW–Madison Cinematheque, will explore the cinematic concept of the “evil institute,” particularly in science-fiction and horror movies. Whether corporate or not-for-profit, the centers for scientific research and invention in films like Metropolis, The Island of Lost Souls, Seconds, Brainstorm, Ghostbusters, Terminator 2 and Carré Blanc (screening at the Cinematheque at 7 p.m. on September 28) typically are depicted in a sinister or amoral fashion. The discussion will use illustrative scenes from these films and others to examine scientific freedom and creativity versus the boundaries of morality and other forms of suppression. Ultimately, the talk will contrast these filmic sanctuaries for evil geniuses with the reality of running an institute like the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery.

Take a 30-minute tour of the biotech center. See what research labs look like and visit scientists working in the eight core facilities. The tour will include the DNA sequencing facility, mass spectrometry facility, gene expression center and many others. Talk to scientists about their jobs and their importance to research on campus, in Wisconsin and even around the world.

Members of the Morgridge Outreach Experiences team will show young scientists how to feed stem cells using real cell culture tools.

Not all bugs are bad. Greenhouses and farms use natural enemies like predatory beetles and parasitic wasps to protect their crops. Check out the cool creepy-crawlies from the D.C. Smith Greenhouse, and learn about how they are used to control plant pests and help reduce the use of chemical pesticides.

Art Education majors from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville will guide elementary students in an Art & Science lesson plan which explores the intimate details of plant life through a study of leaves using art and scientific methods. Students will observe the leaves structure and beauty in a hands-on activity using microscopes. UW-Platteville’s undergraduate art teachers will instruct students how to cast a beautiful image of one leaf of their choice, using a plaster. Students will be able to take their plaster leaf home. Note: Artwork requires significant drying time, so students (or teachers) will need to return to the station to pickup student artwork.

Members of the UW Botany Department’s Spalding Lab will be on hand to show visitors different methods of studying plant growth. Activities include microscopy, a seed planting activity, digital photography and more!

Sound Ensemble Wisconsin will present a fun and interactive sound installation to complement the theme of their concert program, “The Common Thread,” taking place at 3PM on Saturday, Sept. 29 at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery. With the help of science, the installation will demonstrate the philosophical-musical concept that vibration, and music, exists around us all the time and it is the musician’s job to tap into it.  

Join us for hands-on science experiments for children ages 6-10 and their families.

Ever wonder how the food you eat gets broken down into basic sugars, proteins and other molecules necessary for life? Join UW–Madison biochemistry graduate students (IPiB-SFLC) in exploring the proteins and enzymes behind our body’s digestive processes. At this station, hands-on experiments will allow the whole family to understand the different sources of energy our body uses, see the role of sugar in our diet and lives and have fun discovering the biochemistry behind blood sugar regulation in our body. This truly will be a sweet experience!

To celebrate the Wisconsin Science Festival, the Aldo Leopold Nature Center will be featuring special evening hours and special activities and presentations for all ages! Bring the whole family and learn how Earth works, how scientists study our planet and how we can care for its future. See the illuminating Science on a Sphere! Try our touch drawers! Examine our EcoSphere! Practice being a meteorologist in our green screen studio! The exciting new exhibits, centered on renewable energy, climate science and sustainability, feature multimedia, interactive technology and hands-on and immersive experiences for all ages. Special programs and activities are free with paid admission. Visit www.naturenet.com/alnc for more information. Visit www.naturenet.com/alnc for more information).

Bottoms Up is the latest partnership of the Wisconsin Historical Society and Wisconsin Public Television. The Wisconsin Historical Society Press book takes readers on a statewide tour, exploring some of our most colorful bars and breweries and the bar and brewing history that created them. The documentary debuts on Wisconsin Public Television in November 2012, bringing to life some of the book’s selections. After a sneak peek into the documentary, participate in a Q&A with David Hested, Film Director; Robin Shepard, Isthmus beer reviewer; Rob LoBreglio, brewmaster at the Great Dane Pub; and Jim Draeger, co-author of the book, Bottoms Up: A Toast to Wisconsin’s Historic Bars and Breweries. Come to celebrate Wisconsin history – but celebrate responsibly.

Museum staff will use dewars of liquid nitrogen to show what happens to ordinary objects when they get extremely cold (-321°F). Objects shrink and get brittle, and you can learn about solids, liquids and gases. Watch what happens to balloons, flowers, bananas, metals, racquetballs and more!

Did you ever wonder how contraptions work, how things are made or what types of cool tools can help solve problems? Try simple hands-on experiences to train your brain for beginning science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) concepts. This event is intended for children ages 3 and older. All festival activities are free with paid museum admission.

From Earth to the Universe is a stunning collection of astrophotography and space-related imagery from NASA and other sources, including Wisconsin astronomers. Each school group, accompanied by a teacher, that completes the astrophotography Scavenger Hunt at the observatory will win a Galileoscope kit for use in their classroom–while supplies last. See http://www.fromearthtotheuniverse.org/ for more information.

Beer has had a huge influence on many facets of human civilization and history, including the biological sciences. Microbiologist Jon T. Roll shares fun facts on how beer has influenced human civilization and the basics of how beer is brewed.

Five local poets will read from their poetry, touching upon everything from chaos and atoms to senescence, eelgrass meadows, missing links and more! Join Andrea Potos, CX Dillhunt, Robin Chapman, Sandy Stark and Katrin Talbot. Andrea Potos is the author of four poetry collections, including Yaya’s Cloth (Iris Press), Abundance to Share With the Birds (Finishing Line Press) and, most recently, We Lit the Lamps Ourselves (Salmon Poetry, Ireland). CX Dillhunt is the author of Things I Never Told Anyone (Parallel Press, UW–Madison Libraries), Girl Saints (Fireweed Press) and Double Six, a chapbook with his son Drew Dillhunt. Robin Chapman, retired UW–Madison professor of communicative disorders, is the author of seven books of poetry, including a collaboration with physicist J.C. Sprott, Images of a Complex World: The Art and Poetry of Chaos (World Scientific); The Dreamer Who Counted the Dead; Abundance; and The Eelgrass Meadow. Sandy Stark taught university literature and communication classes and is the author of four self-published poetry chapbooks and a book-length collection of poems, Counting on Birds, published by Wisconsin’s Fireweed Press in 2010. Australian-born Katrin Talbot’s collection, Freeze-Dried Love, was recently released from Finishing Line Press, and her first collection, St. Cecilia’s Daze, was published by Parallel Press. This event is co-sponsored by Wisconsin Book Festival.

The Next Generation Science Standards are placing greater emphasis on science savvy and how well students grasp and use the ways scientists probe nature and test ideas. This workshop uses hands-on puzzles such as The Paradox of the DNA Tube and The Parable of the Color-Changing Pencil to expand participants’ cross-cutting talents in framing questions, using if-then causal reasoning, exploring how science is different from other ways of knowing and testing ideas, and coaching the careful crafting of conclusions. As well as direct experience, emphasis will be put on using language arts skills in teaching science savvy; former UW–Madison President Thomas Chamberlin’s essay on “The Method of Multiple Working Hypotheses” will be held up as an exemplar of innovative use of language skills in advancing how scientists view and do science. Registration required: /workshops

Evolution is one of the key concepts in biology but is challenging to teach. Although the basic concept of change over time appears straightforward, education research has identified a number of student misconceptions around the processes and outcomes of evolution. This workshop will present resources and tips for teaching important concepts, such as common ancestry, and addressing misconceptions about evolutionary processes, for example, natural selection. The workshop is presented by the University of Wisconsin Crow Institute for the Study of Evolution in collaboration with the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center. Register at discovery.wisc.edu/workshops. Registration required: http://discovery.wisc.edu/workshops

This workshop will provide hands-on activities and lesson plans designed to help elementary students make the connection between form and function. The session will start with a version of the classic bird beak buffet activity. Each participant will pick a bird beak tool (e.g., pipet, chopstick, strainer, tweezers) to test which food item their beak is most adapted for eating. Students can test their bird beak to see what they can and cannot pick up and place into their bird stomachs (i.e., cup). Participants will be guided by images of birds and natural diets to represent each beak tool and artificial food item. Each student then will be able to compare the contents of their bird’s stomachs to other students’ bird stomachs to better understand the diversity of feeding adaptations among birds. An assessment for whether each student achieved the learning objectives consists of a matching game that requires them to match a bird (and its beak) to one of a variety of bird stomachs containing different food items. Finally, these activities will be connected to the Next Generation Science Standards and participants will receive further resources for studying bird adaptations and diversity. Registration required: http://discovery.wisc.edu/workshops

Stem cell research is expanding the frontiers of science and medicine, and is an exciting and relevant topic to include in classroom experiences. At this workshop, teachers will explore the unique characteristics of human pluripotent stem cells, their role in science and their contributions to human health. Teachers also will try hands-on activities related to regular maintenance and culturing of stem cells in the laboratory. Registration required: http://discovery.wisc.edu/workshops

Helping students to read scientific texts has long been a challenge for science teachers. This presentation will focus on strategies that teachers can use to help students negotiate scientific texts while at the same time meeting the demands of the newly implemented Common Core Standards. Attention will be paid to text difficulty, the distinct challenges presented by scientific texts and comprehension strategies. Participants will learn how to assess text difficulty and help children who struggle with reading. Examples of engaging science texts at various reading levels will be shared as well as helpful strategies for teaching vocabulary and reading comprehension strategies. Registration required: http://discovery.wisc.edu/workshops

Join us for a special screening of Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s (HHMI) new documentary film and learn how it can enrich your teaching about the nature and power of the scientific method. Participants will be the first ever to learn about and receive the brand new, classroom-ready resources designed to help you connect the film to your existing curriculum. Teacher-developed lessons, tips and activities addressing discipline-crossing key concepts that emphasize connections between the earth and life sciences, such as the process of science, including gathering and assessing evidence will be demonstrated and distributed. Registration required: http://discovery.wisc.edu/workshops

Join Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) for an exciting hands-on workshop about evolutionary concepts in high school biology and middle school life science, such as natural selection, ecological genetics and the evolution of genes. View two films in the short film trilogy “The Making of the Fittest,” stories crafted to engage students with memorable examples of the evolutionary process in action, and work through activities that address concepts introduced in the films. Each film takes the audience on an adventure – to the deserts of the American Southwest and to the Antarctic, where they encounter fascinating creatures and pioneering scientists who have revealed how the fittest are made. Participants will receive free classroom-ready lessons, worksheets, demonstrations and hands-on activities to support the films. This workshop is appropriate for middle school life science and all levels of high school biology. Registration required: http://discovery.wisc.edu/workshops

Join Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) for an exciting hands-on workshop about evolutionary concepts in high school biology and middle school life science, such as natural selection, ecological genetics and the evolution of genes. View two films in the short film trilogy “The Making of the Fittest,” stories crafted to engage students with memorable examples of the evolutionary process in action, and work through activities that address concepts introduced in the films. Each film takes the audience on an adventure – to the deserts of the American Southwest and to the Antarctic, where they encounter fascinating creatures and pioneering scientists who have revealed how the fittest are made. Participants will receive free classroom-ready lessons, worksheets, demonstrations and hands-on activities to support the films. This workshop is appropriate for middle school life science and all levels of high school biology. Registration required: http://discovery.wisc.edu/workshops

This workshop will give teachers of grades 3-5 the tools for incorporating engineering into their science curriculum in accordance with the National Science Education Standards. The focus will be on learning about what engineering is (and is not) and on creating hands-on activities that extend existing FOSS science kits. Design challenges and engineering problem solving will be at the core of these new activities. Teachers will come away with a newly created lesson as well as a useful model for planning additional lessons. Incorporating common core literacy and math standards into the science and engineering curriculum also will be addressed. Registration required: http://discovery.wisc.edu/workshops

This event will feature a playtest of the Citizen Science game as well as workshops focused on place-based learning, lake ecology and limnology and ideas for developing curricula and lessons plans around these topics. Teachers also will hear firsthand accounts of how the game and other augmented reality experiences have been used to supplement and enhance curricula, including an insider’s story from a teacher who has successfully used the Citizen Science game with students. Registration required: http://discovery.wisc.edu/workshops

What’s the state of research on advanced biofuels? How do we distinguish the hype from real hope when it comes to bioenergy? How are teachers bringing biofuels research into their classes? Learn about the latest opportunities and challenges for developing biofuels to meet current and future energy demands. Discover opportunities for bringing biofuels research topics into your classes with fun, engaging labs and activities. Participants will get hands-on experience with education materials that use biofuels research areas such as crop production, biomass deconstruction and fermentation to teach core concepts in a range of science classes, including biology, chemistry and environmental science. Registration required: /workshops

The UW–Madison Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) education group presents a hands-on teacher workshop on using liquid crystals (LCs) to introduce science and engineering concepts in the classroom. Participants will learn about the structure and properties of LCs, including how they interact with light, a property that enables LCs to be used in TV screens, digital watches and smart devices. Participants will have the opportunity to work with different forms of LCs and learn how to synthesize LCs that change colors at a variety of transition temperatures, which then can be used for inquiry-based investigations in the classroom. The fun, visually appealing activities presented in this workshop can be used with late elementary (4th and 5th grade), middle and high school students. Registration required: http://discovery.wisc.edu/workshops

The Biopharmaceutical Technology Center Institute, located in Madison, Wis., offers a variety of programs to help students and teachers learn about and utilize biotechnology. This workshop will emphasize fundamental biotechnology concepts and techniques in a hands-on way and provide tips and resources to help implement biotechnology in the classroom. Come join the fun! Model DNA structure and electrophoresis in a variety of ways; practice using micropipettes; perform agarose gel electrophoresis of dyes to learn more about charge and size of molecules; and discuss resources available to help implement these techniques in the classroom. Registration required: discovery.wisc.edu/workshops Registration required: http://discovery.wisc.edu/workshops

Interested in chemistry resources for your classroom? After the screening of NOVA’s “Hunting the Elements,” NOVA will host a separate presentation for teachers. Learn how you can bring NOVA’s “Hunting the Elements” into your classroom with a new collection of teacher resources, including video excerpts from the show and an Elements iPad App. Participants will leave with new ideas and classroom periodic table posters and cards. Registration required: http://discovery.wisc.edu/workshops

NOVA’s “Finding Life Beyond Earth” program tells the story of how powerful telescopes and unmanned space missions at the forefront of the search for life beyond our planet have revealed a wide range of dynamic environments in the solar system. The new data are forcing scientists to expand their ideas about life and what kinds of worlds could support it. It may well be that life is common in the universe – the rule, and not the exception. NOVA has developed a collection of seven activities and accompanying video excerpts from the show that explore questions at the heart of the search for extraterrestrial life, such as “What is life?” and “Where do we find habitable conditions?” Educators can mix and match the activities to help kids understand the biology, physical science, technology and Earth and space science related to the search for life. In this workshop, learn about the teacher resources NOVA has to offer and participate in a hands-on activity from the Finding Life Beyond Earth Education Collection. Participants will receive all the necessary materials to incorporate the search for life beyond Earth into their classroom, including a data DVD with the seven activities and accompanying video excerpts from the program, a solar system classroom poster and a classroom set of planet temporary tattoos. Registration required: http://discovery.wisc.edu/workshops

The Next Generation Science Standards will be final in 2013 and pending the State Superintendent’s approval, will become Wisconsin’s new state science standards. These standards are different from the current state science standards because they weave science content and concepts with science and engineering practices to illustrate student performance expectations in science for grades K-12. They will provide teachers with model pathways for implementing the standards and set the science education agenda for the next fifteen years. This session will provide participants with a glimpse into those standards. The session also will help participants begin to implement them in their classroom, school or district. Registration required: http://discovery.wisc.edu/workshops

Start at 3PM by taking a behind-the-scenes tour of the sustainable features of the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery and see why this building was awarded LEED gold certification. To register for the Green Tour, please visit warf.wufoo.com/forms/green-tour-of-the-discovery-building-sept-27/ is required. Or perhaps you’d prefer a tour of the Town Center. To register for the Town Center tour, please visit https://warf.wufoo.com/forms/wisconsin-science-festival-town-center-tour/. Registration for both tours is required.

How does a university building become the world’s most remarkable Lab of the Year? At 4PM join the unique creative force behind the award-winning Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery to hear about the innovations that went into the design of the facility as well as the impact that it already has had on new endeavors locally and nationally. The panel includes: Craig Spangler, Ballinger; Richard Rietz, R&D Magazine; Daniel Okoli, UW–Madison; Gwen Drury, UW–Madison; and John Nelson, UW-Madison. George Austin, former project manager for the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, will moderate the roundtable discussion. A Q&A session will follow.

One way or another, everyone’s life has been touched by Wisconsin ingenuity. Museum tour guides will share the stories of a diverse array of ideas, inventions and traditions through a unique collection of objects and stories. Call 608.264.6557 or email museumeducation@wisconsinhistory.org for more information. Regular museum hours are Tuesday through Saturday 9:00AM – 4:00PM.

Les Paul, the “Wizard of Waukesha,” revolutionized popular music, and his concept of multitrack recording is the foundation of modern music studio work. In this activity participants will record a variety of musical segments as a group and then collectively arrange and overlay them to create a song. Contributors will walk away with a CD of the song they made and an understanding of the basic physics of sound production. Sessions start on the hour with a noon break. Admission by donation.

Docent Kathy Koegel will present a 40-minute tour with a scientific twist, which includes painting technology and an example of restoration. Please meet in the lobby outside the Rowland Gallery.

Docent Gigi Holland will present a 40-minute tour highlighting selected examples of subjects inspired by science, such as “E. coli” and “Cabinets of Curiosities.” Please meet in the lobby.

Docent Marie Wunsch will present a 40-minute tour highlighting selected examples of subjects inspired by science, such as “E. coli” and “Cabinets of Curiosities.” Please meet in the lobby.

Seven UW–Madison faculty members trace sound from its physical manifestation into our brains and our hearts, culminating in a performance of one of the most beautiful works of Western art music. Physicist Mike Randall will talk about the physics of sound (complete with over-the-top demonstrations). Hearing expert Ruth Litovsky will discuss how our ears hear, and how they send signals to our brains. Neurologist Matthew Banks will explore how our brains process those sound signals, and psychologist Jenny Saffran will describe our emotional relationship to sound. Finally, musicians Daniel Grabois (horn), Felicia Moye (violin) and Christopher Taylor (piano) will perform the Brahms Horn Trio.

This special edition of Wednesday Nite @ The Lab will focus on new discoveries and perspectives drawn from recent archaeological expeditions (2009-2012) to Troy. UW–Madison professor of classics William Aylward has participated in the annual expedition since 1996. Troy’s sequence of occupation spans several millennia, from the beginning of the Bronze Age (3000 B.C.) to the Byzantine period (12th century A.D.). Almost 4,500 years of nearly uninterrupted settlement makes Troy fundamental for questions about the development of civilization in Europe and the Near East. At a crossroads between Europe and Asia, Troy also has profoundly impacted world art and literature across the ages, most notably from Homer’s epic poems about a lost age of heroes and the legendary Trojan War. Recent geomagnetic prospection at Troy has shown that the citadel and lower town covered 22 hectares – far more than previous excavators ever imagined. Ongoing excavations attempt to fill gaps in our knowledge about the identity and lifeways of the prehistoric Trojans, the location of their principal cemeteries and the nature of their writing system. The enduring question of the historicity of the Trojan War also is unexplained.

Joan Houston Hall, editor of the Dictionary of American Regional English, will share the saga of the origins, compilations and publications of the DARE project over the past five decades.

Local artist Nina Bednarski returns to Olbrich for another exhibit of botanical art. Bednarski creates acrylic paintings on canvas and mixed media works by painting with enamel on old factory or farm windows and sometimes adding a collaged underlayering. The windows, lit from behind, have the feel of nostalgia and blur the line between the urban and the bucolic. Educated in ecology and geography, Bednarski intends to create beauty by breaking down the natural world into landscape stories of pattern and design.

Attend a showing of the 1927 science fiction film Metropolis. According to Phil Pirrello, Scott Collura and Jesse Schedeen, “Metropolis is not just a great sci-fi film, it’s easily one of the best films of the silent era. The movie presents a future society divided by class warfare, with the rich elite living in the towering skyscrapers of Metropolis, and the lowly workers below. As a relic of the German Expressionism movement, Metropolis shows impressive visual design and effects work that still hold up today.”

Step into a 3-D world at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery CAVE! This fully immersive virtual-reality environment uses 3-D images, surround-sound and advanced tracking systems to allow attendees to fully connect to digital simulations and out-of-this-world landscapes. During a CAVE tour, guests will learn about the research being done by the Living Environments Laboratory and experience the state-of-the-art technology of the CAVE firsthand. Visitors to this CAVE, a nominal 10×10 foot cube with all six walls projecting a virtual-reality image, wear 3-D glasses to view two virtual environments: a fully functional kitchen and an expansive galaxy map. Because of the popularity and limited space of the CAVE, online reservations for the tour are strongly recommended. You may sign up for a tour time between 4 and 6 p.m. on Thursday, September 27, at https://warf.wufoo.com/forms/cave-public-tour-september-27-46-pm/, or for a tour time between noon and 2 p.m. on Saturday, September 29, at https://warf.wufoo.com/forms/cave-public-tour-september-29-122-pm/. Other questions about the public CAVE™ tour may be directed to lel@discovery.wisc.edu.

Learn about the science of 3-D and virtual reality by visiting this 6×8 foot single display wall. Scientists from the Living Environments Laboratory at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery will guide you through the interactive 3-D environments they use in research at the CAVE virtual-reality space downstairs. You will wear 3-D glasses and use a wand to interact with objects on the screen. In the kitchen scenario, you can grab objects and move them around from the countertop to the microwave or the dishwasher. It’s a 3-D experience where you can spill, toss and break things and there is no clean up! You can navigate to the living room, where you’ll see glimpses of Niagara Falls from the patio. You also may have the chance to enter an operating room scenario and help save a patient in need. PLAY is located on the first floor and reservations are not needed.

See a solar system model placed at various locations along Main Street with informational boards for each planet. Learn about a kids club Wabeno will be launching. Wabeno is building awareness for NASA science projects for kids and hosting the model rocketry club from Kingsford High School, Kingsford, Mich., to encourage interest in the Team America Challenge and other science collaborations with NASA and the National Association of Rocketry, of which the director is a member.

Come and make unique masterpieces by using science principles! Explore the properties of wax and water resist while making a magic watercolor picture. Visually understand the power of the sun by creating an artistic nature print on sun-sensitive paper, and make beautiful jewelry with solar color-changing beads. This workshop will feature fun, interactive ways of learning the physical properties of everyday objects. Families will get to take home three different art pieces. Admission is required.

Tour a 55 acre test site at the Arlington Agricultural Research Station (N695 Hopkins Rd., Arlington, WI) where research has been underway for more than two decades to compare organic and conventional farming strategies commonly used in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Integrated Cropping Systems Trial began in the early 1990s to compare the production, profitability and environmental effects of alternative production strategies. The study, led by faculty in the department of agronomy, incorporates different crop rotations, tillage practices, organic methods and conventional practices (which use purchased fertilizer and chemicals) for both forage-based and cash-grain cropping systems. The test site is one of hundreds of active research projects located at the 2,000 acre research station. Research done at the station is shared broadly with agricultural producers each year so that farmers may improve their practices based on scientific evidence. For more information, visit http://ars.wisc.edu/arlington/.
*Note: The program will not be held in the event of rain.

Sir David Brewster invented the kaleidoscope in 1816, naming it after the Greek words kalos (beautiful), eidos (form) and scopos (watcher). Join us for a workshop to construct and decorate your own kaleidoscope from simple materials! Learn and play with light and reflection to study how this simple invention creates colorful patterns through reflections of reflections. As the tube is rotated, the geometric patterns tumble and change, reflecting what the kaleidoscope is pointed at and opening a new view to the everyday world around us. Participants can register on-site to explore the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery and interact with a large kaleidoscope that transforms Discovery’s interior into colorful geometric shapes and patterns.

Enjoy a tropical paradise in Olbrich’s Bolz Conservatory, a glass pyramid filled with exotic plants, bright flowers, a rushing waterfall, fragrant orchids and free-flying birds. The Bolz Conservatory is self-guided, with docents available to answer questions and lead impromptu strolls. It houses more than 650 plants that are native to tropical and subtropical regions throughout the world. Conservatory Admission: general public – $2; children 5 and under – free; Olbrich Botanical Society members – free.

Enjoy the changing seasons in the outdoor gardens where hundreds of fall asters and chrysanthemums join the continued glory of summer annuals. Be sure to visit Olbrich’s herb garden and see chrysanthemums planted in a living quilt design in the Herb Garden Courtyard. Stroll through the herb garden to see how American quilting motifs have been translated into a beautiful garden design. Fall blooming crocus, Japanese anemone, azure sage and yellow wax bells abound in a colorful symphony of autumn throughout the rest of the outdoor gardens. The outdoor gardens are always free and open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in September, and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in October.

Get an insider’s view of Olbrich’s outdoor gardens during a free guided garden stroll at 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. All ages are welcome for this drop-in, casual overview of the gardens by our expert volunteer guides. Meet in the visitor center lobby.

See a 3-D printer in action! The Sauk City Public Library recently purchased a MakerBot Replicator and would love to show you what it can do. 3-D printers are useful for rapid prototyping, unique fabrication and art.

The Science Alliance, an interactive, educational science program provider will present Chemistry: Close Encounters of the Chemical Kind! at the Pewaukee Public Library. This is a terrific program for kids and families with LOTS of audience participation. The program is free and free tickets for the show will be handed out beginning at 1:30 that afternoon. This program is best suited for children ages 6 and up.

Learn about force and motion by building a self-propelled car out of a milk carton and a balloon! See the science behind sound with a Bottled Music project and the Whompamaphone exhibit. (Whom-pa-ma-WHAT? That’s right, a Whompamaphone. Play your favorite tune on this PVC pipe organ. Learn why the length of the pipes affects their pitch. The longest pipe – for the lowest note – is more than 15 feet tall.) Calculate your weight on different planets to learn about gravity and the science of the solar system. Or build an Egg Protector and learn about absorbing energy in an Egg Drop that will take place at noon on Sunday, September 30. Come celebrate the science all around us with these and other projects and exhibits at Above and Beyond Children’s Museum! All festival activities are free with paid admission.

About Seeing is an exploration of the fascinating differences in how we see. Through works of art, interactive demonstrations and a series of public programs, this exhibition considers the physiology of color and depth perception, synesthesia and the effects of vision loss. Focused in depth on the work of artists Heidi Lasher-Oakes, Daniel John O’Neal and Tom Linfield, the show also includes work from local collections by Chuck Close, Victor Vasarely, Richard Anuszkiewicz, Josef Albers and Sylvia Mangold, among others. For more information, visit http://www.wisconsinacademy.org/gallery/about-seeing”.

Musician and postdoctoral researcher Nathaniel Bartlett gives performances that seamlessly meld his five-octave acoustic marimba with a powerful Linux-based computer, custom computer control interfaces, a variety of hardware audio electronics and eight loudspeakers arranged in a cube. The audience, positioned inside this loudspeaker cube, is totally immersed in the kinetic, three-dimensional sound environment of the music. At this special performance, Bartlett will debut a new computer interface he has developed at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery. The new interface uses a Microsoft Kinect sensor to track gestures made by Bartlett’s marimba mallets and body, allowing him to control the computer-generated sounds of his compositions in a new way. Tickets are $16 for general admission, $9 for students and seniors. For more information, visit http://www.nathanielbartlett.com/.

The BadgerBOTS booth will include small hands-on Lego-related activities such as Lego jewelry, Lego robotic assembly kits and some Lego robot demonstrations. Information on getting involved with FIRST Lego League (FLL) also will be provided. For more information, visit the BadgerBOTS website at http://www.badgerbots.org/.

A science librarian’s expertise is in linking students, staff and community with the resources they need to answer their pressing information needs. At this table, librarians will provide assistance with finding, selecting and using online library information products and more. For more information visit http://library.wisc.edu/.

The Children’s Museum of La Crosse will be hosting a series of events throughout the Wisconsin Science Festival. All festival activities are free with paid museum admission.
• Thursday, September 27 – Make Cloud Dough in Little Learners at 10:30 a.m.
• Friday, September 28 – Bubble Dancing in Wee Move at 10:30 a.m.
• Saturday, September 29 – Quicksand at 11am & Rockets at 1 p.m.
• Sunday, September 30 – Mad Science Lab at 1 p.m. & Rockets at 3 p.m.”

*All festival activities are free with paid admission.
http://funmuseum.org/

The presentation centers around the phenomenon of recovery.

In terms of neuroscience and contemplative science, Richie has underscored the importance of recovery in the regulation of emotion, the expression of resilience and in the development of equanimity. The rapidity with a person recovers from adversity and the manner in which a person “recovers” or awakens from mind wandering both play powerful roles in shaping well-being.

Our guiding premise is that music is an expression of the mind and can be used to illuminate the mind. In terms of jazz, the challenge of originality in improvisation implies that one has to learn to play “what you don’t know rather than what you do know.” To do this, one has to court “mistakes;” as one musician said, “That’s how jazz was born: somebody goofed.”

The presentation will address this conundrum and offer techniques to liberate the mind, moving from “mistakes” to “opportunities” and freeing the individual’s interior emotional voice.

UW-Madison Chancellor David Ward introduces this event as he officially launches the Wisconsin Science Festival and UW-Madison’s Year of Innovation. This event is co-sponsored by Wisconsin Academy of Sciences Arts & Letters and Wisconsin Book Festival.

Participants will go through a series of creative movements and vocal activities. Working individually, with a partner and in teams, participants will understand, for example, how the brain and body movements align through breath, how to relax oneself with control to allow for creative outcomes, and the importance of health and fitness in our everyday lives. The workshop will generate spontaneous moments of laughter through the work created and we will use laughter as wellness tool to a healthier lifestyle. The release of a laugh also will enable participants to relax and move freely through the exercises as they “hunt for joy, comfort and ease.” Through coaching, participants will gain insight into one’s breath, control and presence. For more information, visit http://www.ctmtheater.org/Classes/ActTEENUpWeekendWorkshops.aspx.

CLICK HERE to RESERVE your spot to see 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea LIVE on Stage!

Wisconsin Public Radio and the 9XM Players invite you aboard the Nautilus for a trip 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea with Captain Nemo. This special live broadcast edition of WPR’s Old Time Radio Drama will be hosted by WPR’s own Norman Gilliland who also adapted the story for radio. Don’t miss Verne’s science fiction classic, brought to life by the talented “crew” of the 9XM Players. Quench your thirst for scientific discovery and desire for revenge as you travel the depths of the world’s oceans in search of adventure! For more information visit wpr.org/otr/.

Redefined, Madison’s premier a cappella group, will perform multiple songs, demonstrating what makes a cappella music different from other types of singing by vocally recreating the sounds of instruments, including percussion. Further, Redefined will explain how the different voice parts build to create a melody and some of the theory behind the music. For more information, visit http://uwredefined.com/.

Join Madison Children’s Museum staff at the UW–Madison Botanical Garden to meet the homing pigeons that live on the rooftop of the museum. If weather permits, watch the pigeons fly back to the museum. To learn more about homing pigeons, come to “Homing Pigeons Show & Tell” at the Madison Children’s Museum on Sunday.

View a large kaleidoscope installed in the Mesozoic garden. The piece replicates the natural shape of the trees inside the Discovery atrium as a metaphor for the infiltration of organisms and spaces by viruses.

Experience flight and virtual reality, all at once: Flight instructor and lab manager Chris Johnson will give flight simulation demonstrations. Visitors will have the opportunity to take a flight simulation ride themselves. For more information about the simulation lab, please visit http://ndmsimlab.engr.wisc.edu/

The executive director and founder of Fusion Science Theater (FST) will reveal secrets playwrights use to write compelling plays and explain how FST uses these secrets to create shows that spark interest and learning in science. The presentation will culminate in a live performance of “Bouncemania!,” a one-person street theater program that will show you how FST gets you into the act, investigating, modeling and solving interesting science problems. Fusion Science Theater is sponsored by Madison College, funded by grants from the National Science Foundation and dedicated to increasing children’s understanding, confidence and motivation about learning science. For more information about Fusion Science Theater, visit http://www.fusionsciencetheater.org/.

Blue sky, green leaves, red flowers – we live in a colorful world. But a series of demonstrations will show that you are as much responsible for the colors you see as the light that enters your eyes. This talk is in conjunction with the Watrous Gallery’s exhibition “About Seeing.” For more information about Wisconsin Academy visit http://www.wisconsinacademy.org/.

Joan Gorman, senior paintings conservator with the Midwest Art Conservation Center in Minneapolis, will discuss her role in protecting and restoring murals by famed regionalist artist John Steuart Curry. The 1940s murals located in the UW-Madison Biochemistry building were created during Curry’s years as UW-Madison artist-in-residence. Gorman will discuss how art conservation is a unique blend of science, art and art history. For more information about Wisconsin Academy visit http://www.wisconsinacademy.org/.

An understanding of DNA, the key informational molecule of life on Earth, can give students insight into historic innovations in science as well as into the deepest mechanics of life. Doing DNA provides a series of activities, analogies and experiments ready to use in the classroom, including Extracting DNA ”Glop” from Wheat Germ, Analyzing a Sample of Pure DNA and Building a Human DNA Model. The workshop includes a tour of the DNA synthesis facility at the Biotechnology Center as well as its DNA fountain, the oldest and most accurate fountain of its type. Registration required: /workshops

Many factors go into making chocolate. In this session, attendees will follow the process of making chocolate, from cocoa beans to finished chocolate bar, with examples of what the components of chocolate are like at each of the intermediate stages. Beyond taste and aroma, chocolate makers look for certain physical attributes (like smoothness and viscosity) when using chocolates. These attributes will be explored using commercial chocolates. At the end of the presentation, attendees will gain hands-on experience with various chocolate properties (e.g., what happens when water and chocolate mix).

In this play, The Dog Runs Because He Can, Douglas Jurs discusses musical and cognitive concepts, attempting to answer the question: How can a person’s music (in this case, Nicholas Thorne’s Sonata) describe who they are? The 20-minute play, set to the sonata itself, is based on more than 10 hours of interview with Thorne, who disappeared shortly after writing the sonata, only to be relocated in 2007. To Jurs’ eyes, the cognitive response to music is no different than the experience of life itself.

Established in 1917, the L.R. Ingersoll Museum, a free public venue that runs on donations, was one of the first physics museums in the United States. The 70 exhibits give visitors a hands-on experience of physical concepts ranging from mechanics to modern physics in a demonstrational and child-friendly environment. In conjunction with the museum, historical instruments and photos of the Nobel Prize Winners in Physics from 1901 to 1993 can be found on display along the corridors.

Visitors to the UW-Madison Geology Museum can touch rocks from a time when there were volcanoes in Wisconsin; see corals, jellyfish and other sea creatures that used to live and swim where we now walk; and stand under the tusks of a mastodon while imagining themselves in the Ice Age. Also on display at the Geology Museum are rocks and minerals that grow, a model of a Wisconsin cave, dinosaur fossils and meteorites. The collections have the power to educate and inspire visitors of all ages.

Watching football is a great way to learn some basic physics – it’s present in the flight of the ball, the motion of the players and the force of the tackles. But you can do more than watch; visit the Physics of Football in the Town Center atrium. Try hands-on physics of all sorts, from shooting miniature foam footballs out of an air cannon to drop testing football helmets. For more information, visit http://uw.physics.wisc.edu/~wonders/index.html. For more information, visit http://uw.physics.wisc.edu/~wonders/index.html.

Thursday, September 27, 1–3 p.m.
Kitchen Chemistry: Bubbles & Oobleck
Experiment with bubbles, Oobleck, and other sticky stuff!

Friday, September 28, 10:30-11 a.m.
The Science of Homing Pigeons at the UW–Madison Botanical Garden
UW–Madison Botanical Garden
Join museum staff for in introduction to homing pigeons and help with a pigeon release at the UW– Botanical Garden (weather permitting).

Friday, September 28, 10:30–11:30 a.m.
Leaf Prints
Use giant leaf stamps to learn about trees and leaves.

Friday, September 28, 1–3 p.m.
Catapults
Experiment with catapults at the Tinkerer’s Workshop in Possible-opolis.

Friday, September 28, 6–10 p.m.
Adult Swim
Discover a night of grown-up science fun at the museum. Climb the Hodgepodge Mahal, drive the Punch Buggy and take in the work of more than 120 local artists who contributed pieces to the new museum! Wine, beer and Roman Candle pizza will be available for purchase. Tickets are $12 per person, ages 21 & up. Online ticket sales will begin August 30.

Saturday, September 29, 10 a.m.–noon and 1–3 p.m.
Physics of Sound
Experiment with the properties of musical instruments and other sound-producing devices.

Saturday, September 29, 1–3 p.m.
Shrinky Dink Science
Experiment with Shrinky Dinks and design your own while learning about the science of plastics.

Sunday, September 30, 11 a.m.–noon
Homing Pigeon Show & Tell
Meet the Rooftop Ramble homing pigeons and learn the answers to all your pigeon-related questions.

Sunday, September 30, 1–3 p.m.
Brush Bots
Experiment with simple robotics by constructing “Brush Bots” from toothbrush heads.

To learn more about homing pigeons, come to the “Homing Pigeon Show & Tell” at the museum on Sunday.

Sean Carroll has a longstanding interest in public science education – in addition to writing several popular books on science and a regular column for the New York Times, he has participated in numerous television documentaries. In 2010, Carroll became vice president for science education at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the largest private supporter of science education in the U.S. In this role he has launched a science filmmaking initiative that aims to bring engaging science features to television and the classroom. These films tell intriguing stories that grab the viewer, illuminate the scientific process and aim to impart an appreciation for the scientific enterprise. Carroll will discuss science and storytelling, and the use of film as a powerful medium for bringing ideas, knowledge and stories to life and communicating them to any audience. For more information about Sean Carroll, visit http://seanbcarroll.com/. This event is co-sponsored by Wisconsin Academy of Sciences Arts & Letters and Wisconsin Book Festival.

Please join us on Sunday, September 30, 2012, as we kick off the Year of Innovation with our featured speaker, Sir Ken Robinson.
 
Sir Ken Robinson is an internationally recognized leader in the development of education, creativity and innovation. As one of the most watched and discussed speaker in the history of the prestigious TED Conference, Sir Ken Robinson pushes people to rethink outdated assumptions about intelligence and creativity, and to unleash the real potential of people and organizations. He works with governments in Europe, Asia and the U.S., international agencies, Fortune 500 companies and some of the world’s leading cultural organizations.
 
His book The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything (Penguin/Viking 2009) is a New York Times best seller and his latest book is a 10th anniversary edition of his classic work on creativity and innovation, Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative (Capstone/Wiley).
 
The Western Percussion Ensemble gets things started with a performance beginning at 11:45AM.
 
This presentation is co-sponsored by Promega and the UW-Madison Schools of Business and Education and the College of Letters and Science. It is also a part of the Wisconsin Union Directorate’s Distinguished Lecture Series.
 
To help us plan for seating, please let us know how many people in your group will be attending by registering at: warf.wufoo.com/forms/sir-ken-robinson.
*Please note: Seating is first come, first serve, and is limited.

Learn more about the stem cell research currently being done on the UW–Madison campus and take part in hands-on demonstrations of what exactly stem cell research is. Kids and teens are especially welcome, though of course adults should not hesitate to come by and explore this field of cutting-edge research.

Join UW–Madison’s own “dancing scientists” along with the dancing mathematician Karl Schaffer from De Anza College and his collaborator Erik Stern, professor of dance at Weber State University, as they bring science to the stage. These artist-researchers will present a variety of choreographic works inspired by scientific concepts in an evening concert showcasing the work of UW–Madison faculty Kate Corby, Li Chiao-Ping and Chris Walker and students Henry Holmes, Rebecca Kesting, Alison Robert and Aliza Roth as well as guest artists Schaffer and Stern. Additional events include a movement master class taught by Schaffer and Stern on September 27 from 1:20 to 3 p.m., a lecture and demonstration from 11 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. on September 28 titled “Where Patterns Collide – Math & Dance” and a post-concert reception for audience members to participate in a talk-back discussion with artists and collaborators. All events will be held at Lathrop Hall. For more information, visit www.dance.wisc.edu or call 608.262.1691.

Music exists in everything all the time. The musician’s job, and Sound Ensemble Wisconsin’s mission, is to unearth it. Hear the sound of a common thread. Explore the constant of vibration. Immerse yourself in how musicians have tapped into the universal across culture and time. Participate in the SEWing of science and music in a performance and sound installation by this highly praised and innovative new chamber music ensemble. For more information about Sound Ensemble Wisconsin, visit http://sewmusic.org/events.html.

What does the world look like to a machine? The human brain understands instinctively how to look at an image and see how it breaks up into different objects, but even after three decades of research, computers find this extremely hard. A recent thrust of research helps computers learn to do this task by looking at groups of related images, a technique called “cosegmentation.” Get hands-on experience with a demonstration of human-guided cosegmentation software, as well as learn more about how, exactly, a computer sees your photos. For more information about this presenter visit http://www.biostat.wisc.edu/~vsingh/.

Using a sand-and-water model of the water table, learn how water enters and moves through an aquifer (processes called infiltration and percolation). Using a turkey-baster pump, attendees can pump the groundwater until the simulated lake goes dry, and gain a hands-on understanding of how closely the level of groundwater is related to the water level in the rivers and streams nearby. To learn more about the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey visit http://wisconsingeologicalsurvey.org/index.html.

Want to be a veterinarian? Love animals? Then join us to experience firsthand what being a veterinarian means. At this hands-on station, participants will have the opportunity to learn how to read X-rays; be a responsible pet owner; differentiate between the various species vets study, from dogs and cats to horses and rhinos; and much more.

Explore one of most interesting characteristics of molecules: “stickiness.” Molecules are made of individual atoms, which can attract atoms on other molecules. These interactions between molecules result in some interesting and surprising properties. At this station, you will have a chance to experiment with molecules, build models and use them to explain what you are seeing. For more information about the Institute for Chemical Education visit http://ice.chem.wisc.edu/index.html.

Wisconsin Clean Cities, a nonprofit dedicated to spreading information about alternative fuels in transportation, will display a vehicle that runs on CNG (Compressed Natural Gas). Get a close-up look at the car, learn the differences between a gasoline vehicle and one powered by CNG and get a feel for how natural gas works – where it comes from, how it’s used and how it’s in use in Wisconsin. To learn more about Wisconsin Clean Cities, visit http://www.wicleancities.org/.

Meet reptiles and the people who love them. The Madison Area Herpetological Society will educate the public about certain frequently misunderstood reptiles and amphibians and discuss and share herpetological expertise with those interested, whether amateur hobbyists or experts. Further, the society will provide legal and practical advice for keeping reptiles and amphibians. For more information about the Madison Area Herpetological Society visit http://madisonherps.org/.

Feel the tension build – the surface tension, that is. This two-hour exhibition by the department of chemistry will explore the science of surface tension and the unusually strong surface of water through hands-on experiments of a sudsy kind. Make soap bubbles of every shape and size (all the way up to larger than a person) and explore how mixing soap with water changes how its surface acts. Participants will even get the chance to make lava lamps out of oil and water in a takeaway example of surface tension in action. For more information about this group visit http://www.chem.wisc.edu/~nathanson/index.html.

The Child Emotion Lab explores how children and teenagers develop emotionally; this demonstration will give any kids (or teens) in the audience a chance to explore what it’s like to be part of their research and what that research is about. For more information visit http://www.waisman.wisc.edu/events/ct/.

See, touch, smell and taste an iconic Wisconsin crop, one of the only American native fruits grown on a large scale: the American cranberry. And, unlike the lowbush blueberry and grape, almost half of all cranberries in the United States are grown in Wisconsin. Learn everything about this deliciously tangy berry, including where it grows best and how to grow it yourself. Hands-on activities mean you’ll get to quite literally enjoy the fruits of the activity. For more information visit http://horticulture.wisc.edu/cggl/ZalapaLab/Home.html.

Meet the (extended) families of life on Earth. This activity will feature an exhibit from each of the major branches in the evolutionary tree. Interactive and educational activities will introduce participants to some of the wonders of biological diversity on our planet and show how that diversity arose. This unique opportunity to learn about evolution is family-friendly, and participants will interact with researchers in evolutionary biology.

Evolution is one of the key concepts in biology but can be challenging to teach. Although the basic concept of change over time appears straightforward, education research has identified a number of student misconceptions around the processes and outcomes of evolution. This workshop will provide resources and tips for teaching important concepts such as common ancestry and addressing misconceptions about evolutionary processes such as natural selection. The workshop is presented by the University of Wisconsin Crow Institute for the Study of Evolution in collaboration with the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center. Registration is required at http://discovery.wisc.edu/workshops

The UW–Madison SACNAS Chapter (the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science) is home to a diverse group of scientists coming from different ethnic backgrounds and with different academic interests. At this event, children and families will have an opportunity to participate in educational activities celebrating the diversity of scientists and research involved in SACNAS, and to speak with botany, engineering, chemistry and physics graduate students about their future in science.

The Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center (WIPAC) is exploring the Universe in new ways. The IceCube Neutrino Observatory uses a cubic kilometer of South Pole ice to detect tiny subatomic particles called neutrinos that originate from violent astrophysical sources like exploding stars and matter torn apart by massive black holes. Visit the colorful LED model that shows how the remnants of neutrino interactions are tracked as they travel through the ice at close to the speed of light. Explore models and activities with IceCube researchers and technical staff and hear about what it is like to work in one of the most remote and extreme environments on Earth. Learn more about WIPAC science Thursday, September 27, during the 11 a.m. presentation. For more information, visit www.wipac.wisc.edu or www.icecube.wisc.edu.

Enjoy this hands-on, open-ended art activity from Artterro! Design your own unique bookmark with eco-friendly materials, learning both art and problem-solving skills along the way. Participants will investigate the connection between creating art and exploring science by showing how creativity developed early in life prepares our brains to ask questions, take risks and solve problems.

Engage with the Perpetual Notion Machine, a radio show broadcast every other week that covers science news, scientists, science policy and anything related to them. Listen to audio from the show, or participate in a live version of PNM’s “geek of the week” quiz. Accompanying this will be an exhibit on the science of the radio to show kids and adults alike how PNM is sent from community radio station WORT 89.9 in Madison to their radios and how that information ends up coming out the radio’s speakers.

Join Dana Longstreth, a speech language pathologist and clinical professor at UW–Madison, and Elisabeth Miller, a doctoral student in English who studies literacy and disability, as they discuss their experience organizing and facilitating the Telling Life Stories memoir group for persons with aphasia. Aphasia occurs when the language centers of the brain are damaged, causing difficulty comprehending and producing written and spoken language but keeping intelligence intact. Participants will attend a lecture and discussion of what telling life stories offers to persons after such a traumatic event, and how it can help them reconstruct their identities in the face of aphasia.

Attend a performance of Scott Feiner’s Splendor in the Math, a comedy starring such luminaries as imaginary numbers and quantum physics. This 50-minute dramatization of mathematical concepts uses comedy and everyday situations to help explain complex math and relate it to life. Designed to help everyone overcome any fear of math they might have, the show is suitable for all ages and will be followed by a brief discussion with the audience. For more information visit http://bstonline.org/bst/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=105.

Explore music through the lens of science and art with pianist Ka Man “Melody” Ng discussing both the everyday science of music and the history of the music being played. And don’t expect to know the pieces being presented; the event will focus on Eastern contemporary composers. Music is a world language, and attendees will have the chance to expand their musical (and scientific) repertoire. For more information, visit www.melodyng.com.

For the arts and music education to thrive, we need strong advocates who are willing to reach out to society and demonstrate the countless ways that music makes our lives more meaningful and worthwhile. The Music Teachers National Association – UW-Madison Collegiate Chapter’s (UWMTNA) presentation showcases their community work through music and technology, complete with a performance and Q&A session.

See (and more importantly, hear) a presentation on Sound Health, a unique musical community service organization. The members of Sound Health, musicians from the UW–Madison School of Music, perform a series of free, weekly concerts at the University of Wisconsin Hospital. In doing so, they contribute to a healing environment and give music students community service opportunities; the presentation will showcase their work through live performances. After the show, a Q&A session will be held. For more information about Sound Health, visit http://soundhealth.weebly.com/.

Why is pee yellow? What other colors can it be? Why does it smell? This informal talk will answer these questions and reveal the surprising ways urine has transformed the world and our understanding of it. Explosives as well as the chemical element phosphorus owe their discovery to urine, and urine played a central role in first suggesting that living matter (animals, plants) was no different from nonliving matter (rocks, crystals). Pushing this concept further, we will discover how the act of peeing connects us in a very real way to all other life on Earth as well as to the Earth itself. Expect to see solutions of the various chemicals that can be found in urine. For more information, please visit http://www.scienceminusdetails.com/.

Using microscopes, learn more about DNA: What do we inherit from our parents? What kind of genetic differences can run through a family tree? What’s a genetic mutation? How do scientists look at genes and chromosomes? How do Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene scientists use genetic testing to help patients and doctors? For more information about cytogenetics visit http://www.slh.wisc.edu/cytogenetics.

The Forerunners, a film produced by Fong Chan of the department of rehabilitation psychology and special education, was created as a response to the underrepresentation of people with disabilities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). The film, produced with support from the Minority-Disability Alliance in STEM project, consists of interviews with people with disabilities (and their supervisors) working successfully in the information technology field and discussing their work and the challenges they have faced. Chan will provide some statistics about employment participation of people with disabilities in STEM fields; discuss the need to expand educational and employment opportunities for people with disabilities in STEM; show the film; and then entertain questions from the audience. For more information about the Department of Rehabilitation Psychology & Special Education visit http://rpse.education.wisc.edu/.

Join Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene scientists in an introduction to microscopy; this demonstration will involve viewing cells through a microscope or a computer and learning how cytotechnologists, pathologists and other laboratory scientists use this technology to evaluate cells. Further, participants will learn how to determine whether a specimen is normal, an infection is present or if the cells represent a precancerous or cancerous disease. For more information about cytology visit http://www.slh.wisc.edu/cytology.

Stem cell research is expanding the frontiers of science and medicine, and the various stem cell-focused organizations on the UW–Madison campus (SCRMC, SSSCR and WISCR) have come together to provide visitors with an introduction to the subject. At this demonstration, participants will have a chance to explore the unique characteristics of human pluripotent stem cells, their role in science and their contributions to human health. They’ll also get to try hands-on activities such as viewing stem cells under the microscope, learning how to pipet, counting cells and playing stem cell games on the Smart board.

The Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) at UW–Madison will have its spectacular 3-D Globe on display, featuring all kinds of earth science data animations. Visitors will have a chance to experiment with interactive weather and climate applets. Stop by to make tornadoes, snowflakes, hurricanes and even your own livable planet. For more information visit http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/.

Monkeys and people are both smart, but in rather different ways. Explore these similarities and differences through two dynamic hands-on activities – a popular puzzle feeder and a new iPad shape and color choice experiment. Learn why these kinds of activities are important to the health and well-being of the animals at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center and the research conducted at the center, and discover how scientists and animal care staff at the center work together to enrich the environments of animals under their care. For more information about the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center visit http://www.primate.wisc.edu/.

The aesthetics of soils have fascinated people of every era, and artists depicted differences between soils that had yet to be named or described. Though these old landscape paintings date back to medieval times and most landscape and soil paintings were made in the eighteenth century, the painters saw things that most failed to see. We can now look at their work through the lens of modern soil science and see how their art opened the way for later investigation. In this 90-minute lecture, Alfred Hartemink of the department of soil science will use paintings to illustrate aspects of soils and how we view them. For more information, please visit http://www.soils.wisc.edu/soils/index.php.