Photo by Andrew Harrison
Whether it was learning about a supercomputer, earthquakes or how clouds form, students and families – through hands-on activities – experienced different areas of science at the second annual “Spring Into Science.”
“Spring Into Science” returned to Princeton University’s campus inside the Frick Chemistry Laboratory building and Princeton Neuroscience Institute (PNI) on April 20.
“The biggest tweak we made [from the first year] was having more science for the kids and students in our area,” said Paryn Wallace, associate director of Science Outreach at Princeton University, adding they worked on making the event “bigger and better.”
“We have expanded and used this entire space at Frick and the space in PNI.”
In 2024, “Spring Into Science” had a significant increase in attendance and engagement following its first year with more than 700 students attending the event.
“Last year I think we had maybe about 400 students,” Wallace said. “This year I had over 700 registrations and this is just kids not the families, parents and other people that came with them.”
Thirty-four exhibitor tables were set up to teach and provide science activities for students from fourth grade to 10th grade along the Frick Atrium in the laboratory building,
“The goal of Science Outreach is to make sure that kids who are younger students have an experience and see the science, touch it and see the things happening, so it will increase their knowledge of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), increase the pipeline of STEM and engage learners,” Wallace explained.