Activities for K-12 and up

Come explore interactive science booths, talks, and a planetarium at UCLA! Also, an award ceremony for a special guest you won't want to miss. All activities are free of charge and materials are provided - just bring your open mind!

74
Interactive Science Booths
15
Science Talks
600
Planetarium Tickets
1000s
of activities for everyone!

Science Talks (2023)

15-min long presentations for all ages with time afterwards for questions.
November 5, 2023 12:00 pm - 12:45 pm Main Stage, Court of Sciences

Kickoff Celebration

Special kickoff to EYU at the beginning of the event by Dean Miguel García-Garibay of the division of Physical Sciences at UCLA including a presentation of the 2023 Science and Education Pioneer Award.

November 5, 2023 12:45 pm - 1:30 pm Room B (CS50)

Sundae Science: Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream Extravaganza

Even wondered why your ice cream is so nice and creamy? Why it gets chunky in the freezer after melting? WELL, I have that answer as well as ICE CREAM! Learn about ice crystals as we make liquid nitrogen frozen treats. After all, when science meets dessert, it’s a recipe for a sweet, chilly success!

Sandoval Martinez
Sandoval Martinez Material Research Society (MRS) / UCLA
November 5, 2023 12:45 pm - 1:30 pm Room A (CS24)

When Earth was a magma ocean

The Earth may have started out completely molten. How did it melt? What happened while it was molten? What were the atmosphere and magnetic field like? How did it crystallize to become the mostly solid Earth we see today?

Lars Stixrude
Lars Stixrude Professor of Geophysics and Mineral Physics / UCLA
November 5, 2023 12:45 pm - 1:30 pm Room C (CS76)

Earth: Hot and Cold

Earth is hot on the inside, so hot that iron melts. And it is much cooler on the surface. Since heat always flows from high temperature to low temperature, that means the Earth is slowly cooling. How quickly is the Earth cooling? How does heat get from the inside to the outside? What is the […]

Abby Kavner
Abby Kavner Professor / UCLA Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
November 5, 2023 1:30 pm - 2:15 pm Room A (CS24)

The Search for Life Outside of Earth

Since the dawn of humanity, we have wondered about our origins and if we are alone in the Universe. Modern advancements in technology and astronomy are allowing us to study the atmospheres of other planets and search for potential signs of life. In this talk, we will explore the various types of planets that may […]

Dakotah Tyler
Dakotah Tyler PhD candidate / UCLA Department of Physics and Astronomy
November 5, 2023 1:30 pm - 2:15 pm Room B (CS50)

Freckles on the Sun

The sun isn’t just a plain hot ball of gas, it has a lot going on. From spots and filaments, to storms and even planet-sized tornadoes. With solar maximum approaching, come discover what hundreds of years of observation have taught us and the mysteries we have yet to unravel. Then look through a solar scope […]

Laura-May Abron
Laura-May Abron Science Communicator & Astronomer / Griffith Observatory
November 5, 2023 1:30 pm - 2:15 pm Room C (CS76)

The Power of the Sun, in the Palm of Your Hand

Come learn how to bring the power of the sun down to Earth. Starlight is produced by fusion and scientists are learning to replicate this process in the lab. Within our lifetimes, fusion will become a primary power source and someday you may even be able to hold a fusion device in the palm of […]

Sarah Chase
Sarah Chase PhD Candidate in Computational Plasma Physics / UCLA
November 5, 2023 2:15 pm - 3:00 pm Room A (CS24)

Understanding Cell's Memory

In our body, skin cells, heart cells, and liver cells all have the same genome, but how can they turn out so different? In this talk, we will explore what decides a cell’s fate and how cells remember their identity by understanding their memory.

Yifan Wu
Yifan Wu PhD candidate / UCLA Department of Bioengineering
November 5, 2023 2:15 pm - 3:00 pm Room B (CS50)

The future of fast charging batteries

This talk will include an introduction to how batteries work, why they currently cannot charge fast (no it is not just a matter of building more fast charging stations).  We will then discuss new technologies that allow for fast charging, providing a look into a lower carbon future.

Sarah Tolbert
Sarah Tolbert Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry; Distinguished Professor of Materials Science & Engineering / UCLA
November 5, 2023 2:15 pm - 3:00 pm Room C (CS76)

Are we alone in the universe?

Humanity is engaged in the search for biosignatures and technosignatures with the goal of finding evidence of life elsewhere. Both strategies have merits, and I will argue that the search for technosignatures is a compelling, cost-effective strategy that may yield unambiguous evidence of life elsewhere in our lifetime. Since 2016, UCLA SETI has been conducting […]

Jean-Luc Margot
Jean-Luc Margot Professor / UCLA Department of Earth, Planetary, & Space Sciences / UCLA Department of Physics & Astronomy
November 5, 2023 3:00 pm - 3:45 pm Room A (CS24)

Oximeter and How It Works

We will discuss some basic concepts behind Beer-Lambert Law. Its application in the working principle in an oximeter. A demonstration on complementary color absorption will be included with the talk.

Johnny Pang
Johnny Pang Professor / UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
November 5, 2023 3:00 pm - 3:45 pm Room B (CS50)

Lighting Up Supermassive Black Holes: What Happens When a Star Venture Too Close to a Monster

Almost every galaxy hosts a supermassive black hole at its heart with a mass between a million to a billion solar masses. Surrounding these monsters are dense environments of stars and stellar remnants. When a star ventures too close to one of these monsters, it is torn apart, potentially lighting up the darkest places in […]

Smadar Naoz
Smadar Naoz Professor in the Department of Physics & Astronomy / UCLA
November 5, 2023 3:00 pm - 3:45 pm Room C (CS76)

Statistical Modeling to Quantitate the Central Dogma

Prof. Jingyi Jessica Li from UCLA Statistics will talk about how she used statistics to quantify the central dogma of biology: DNA becomes RNA, and RNA becomes protein.

Jingyi Jessica Li
Jingyi Jessica Li Professor in the Department of Statistics, Department of Human Genetics, and Department of Biomathematics / UCLA
November 5, 2023 3:45 pm - 4:30 pm Room C (CS76)

Filming the Quantum World: The Smallest and Most Elusive Constituents of Matter

We will learn about emerging and recent Nobel Prize frameworks for filming the quantum world using unique instruments that orchestrate and capture images of electronic, atomic, and molecular motion in action with unprecedented precision. One of modern science’s most important quests is to understand how the world works at its smallest and fastest constituents, and […]

Sergio Carbajo
Sergio Carbajo Professor / UCLA Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering / UCLA Department of Physics & Astronomy / Stanford SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
November 5, 2023 3:45 pm - 4:30 pm Room A (CS24)

Fun with Plastics

Where do plastics come from? Which can be recycled? Can packing peanuts be recycled? How long are polymer chains? How many polymer chains are in a bowling ball? How are you supposed to open a ketchup package if it has no perforation marks? What is polyurethane foam used for and what is the largest polyurethane […]

Richard Kaner
Richard Kaner Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry; Distinguished Professor of Materials Science & Engineering / UCLA
November 5, 2023 3:45 pm - 4:30 pm Room B (CS50)

Earth's Unpredictably Reversing Magnetic Field

Earth’s planetary-scale magnetic field flips, or reverses, its orientation roughly every 250,000 years. However, the field has remained in its current orientation for the last 760,000 years.  In this talk, we will discuss the generation of the geomagnetic field within Earth’s molten metal core, the processes that underlie magnetic field reversals, and maybe do a […]

Jonathan M Aurnou
Jonathan M Aurnou Professor at the Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences / UCLA