San Diego Science Festival Returns in March

Events take place in Balboa Park, SDSU< UCSD and many other sites

The San Diego Science Festival, the largest celebration of science on the West Coast, is announcing the return of its annual free celebration that offers content-rich, interactive learning experiences for kids of all ages. Bringing together hundreds of innovative local organizations and individuals, the San Diego Science Festival demonstrates that careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) are accessible and exciting pathways to a better future.
The weeklong exploration of science, engineering and technology will begin March 19  and culminate with EXPO DAY at Petco Park on March 26.
The festival is organized by UCSD and receives lead support from Life Technologies, the National Science Foundation, many local corporate sponsors, and a wide array of K–12 and higher education institutions. UCSD collaborates with more than 150 leading science, engineering and technology organizations and community members that offer their financial support and time to encourage kids to pursue STEM educations and careers. Education support is provided by ScienceBridge, a UCSD science education outreach program.
The festival embraces the communities of science, engineering and technology to inspire the next generation of innovators and researchers by providing opportunities for students from all backgrounds to participate in hands-on activities, meet real scientists and engineers, and learn how recent discoveries and research affect our daily lives.
“We are proud to be the lead organizer of the San Diego Science Festival. Our goal is to increase awareness about the importance of science and to show children of all ages how fun and meaningful STEM can be,” said UCSD Chancellor Marye Anne Fox, who recently received the National Medal of Science from President Barack Obama. “We are incredibly grateful to the sponsors and collaborators who help make this interactive and inspiring community event possible.”
The 2011 San Diego Science Festival will feature countywide events that will take place at Balboa Park, San Diego State University, UCSD, private businesses, and K–12 schools, among others. The closing finale, EXPO DAY, will be an all-day interactive exploration of science, engineering and technology for all ages at Petco Park. It will offer attendees more than 135 hands-on exhibits and experiments by science, engineering, and technology organizations; research labs; universities; and K–12 schools.
The festival is designed to energize and excite over 75,000 kids, parents, scientists, educators, and other community members that are touched by the Festival. EXPO DAY, the largest single-day science, engineering, and technology event in Southern California, draws over 30,000 participants to engage in hands-on activities and view inspiring demonstrations. In addition, 30 festival events will be offered this year during the week of March 19–26 exploring a variety of science, engineering and technology topics for all ages.
The 2011 San Diego Science Festival is made possible by corporate sponsors and individual donors, including Life Technologies, the National Science Foundation, Celgene, Gen-Probe, Illumnia Inc., Agilent Technologies Foundation, Cymer Inc., Lilly Biotechnology Center, Lockheed Martin, ResMed Inc., Sapphire Energy Inc., Think Blue—city of San Diego, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., Accelrys, Gilead Sciences Inc., Pfizer Inc, SCE-San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, San Diego Gas & Electric, Science Applications International Corp.,  Sequenom Inc., BioAtla, Cubic Transportation Systems Inc., Elsevier, EMD Millipore, Kaiser Permanente, NuVasive,  SeaWorld San Diego, Scripps Health, San Diego chapter of the National Defense Industrial Association, Novartis Institute for Functional Genomics Inc. and Genoptix.
Collaborators include Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Collegiate Confidence, CONNECT, Cymer, General Atomics, San Diego State University, Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair, Mad Science, Ruben H. Fleet Science Center, RunCoachJason, San Diego Coastkeeper, San Diego River Park Foundation, Senomyx, The Classical Academies, The Maritime Alliance, The Scripps Research Institute, Tijuana Estuary, UC San Diego Extension, and the YMCA.

For more details and to view the complete event calendar, visit sdsciencefestival.com.