Saturday, September 22nd, families, students, supportive community members, and tons of awesome organizations gathered at Wheeler Park for Science in the Park. What’s Science in the Park? It’s the annual kick off event for the Flagstaff Festival of Science, a 10-day free affair full of field trips, hands on presentations and exhibits, and open houses in the community. Science in the Park had booths packed with hands on activities and experiments for the future scientists of Flagstaff and beyond. Actually, there were so many cool people, organizations, and opportunities gathered in one place for the event I don’t know where to begin… Let’s start with the people!
I started the morning at the Camp Colton booth since I love camp! We had some awesome 6th grade volunteers, who had just completed their week of camp last month, to lead experiments and answer any questions about Camp Colton. However, as more and more kids started coming up to us asking questions I just couldn’t sit back and take pictures, I had to talk to them too! They’re so funny and smart; I love getting to talk to curious, little minds. One boy came up to me asking what Camp Colton was and as soon as I told him it was an environmental science camp he exclaimed, “I’m going to be a scientist in the future!” From then on out I introduced all our young visitors as “future scientists” to our 6th grade volunteers. Watching little faces light up with enthusiasm when we asked if they would help us collect data or make a hypothesis is cute enough, but also watching our previous campers lead experiments is so sweet! They presented information with so much passion and excitement that even adults had to stop and listen to them. I’m so grateful they were there to fill future campers with the same kind of zest for camp and science. I really can’t wait for all the new little campers we’ll get to teach over the years!
The kids weren’t the only fun faces to observe either. Seeing a parent’s expression as they watch their own kids discover the wonder of science is just as exciting. There is so much pride and joy that flashes through their eyes when their child is filled with curiosity after running a new experiment. Sometimes our young visitors would shy away when we asked them to make a hypothesis, but their parent would encourage them to take a guess no matter what. Support is so important to our students and I loved how much parents offered during Science in the Park. We also received lots of support from other community members who stopped by to tell us they helped build tents at camp, or that their children went when they were 6th grade and soon their grandchildren would be coming to camp too. I love that Camp Colton is a tradition in the Flagstaff community. I’m proud to be a part of it!
Science in the Park also featured so many amazing organizations in the Flagstaff community and through out Arizona. USGS showed up with fish, turtles, and salamanders, and so many other activities packed into all their booths. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera came out from ASU to show off some rad photos of the moon and hand out free postcards and posters (which I happily accepted, of course). Grand Canyon Youth, Willow Bend Environmental Center, Bookman’s (who has a fun coffee shop by the way), Tynkertopia, and so many more were all there with fun activities for the public. Each giving visitors a chance to connect and learn about nature and our history through science, which I think is my favorite part of Science in the Park. Our young “future scientists” need that opportunity to create a connection with nature and the outdoors in order to encourage a life long commitment to preserving the land and history through their love for science. I look forward to seeing what their curious and enthusiastic minds create very soon!
