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. Be sure to reserve your tickets to the planetarium early. All activities are free of charge and materials are provided - just bring your open mind!

62
Interactive Science Booths
14
Science Talks
600
Planetarium Tickets
1000s
of activities for everyone!

Science Talks (2022)

15-min long presentations for all ages with time afterwards for questions.
November 6, 2022 12:00 pm - 12:30 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 2022 Science and Education Pioneer Award.

Dr. Mani L. Bhaumik
November 6, 2022 12:45 pm - 1:15 pm Room C (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 6, 2022 1:00 pm - 1:30 pm Room B (CS50)

How Do Winter Storms Form?

 In this talk, Jordyn and Rodrigo Rodakoviski from UCLA AOS Department will describe how winter storms are created from the Polar Vortex. She will also show a demonstration of how large storms form using a rotating tank that simulates Earth’s atmosphere.

Jordyn Moscoso
Jordyn Moscoso Postdoc in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences / UC Santa Cruz
November 6, 2022 1:15 pm - 1:45 pm Room C (CS24)

COVID through a statistical lens

Statistics focuses on the question: “How can we learn from data?”. I will look at what we learned from experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic in LA. We were awash in statistics and information of all sorts and from multiple sources. At the same time we had little data on aspects of the epidemic vital to guide […]

Mark S. Handcock
Mark S. Handcock Professor of Statistics / UCLA
November 6, 2022 1:30 pm - 2:00 pm Room B (CS50)

Water in LA

Where does the water come from in LA? What is groundwater and how does it fit into the water cycle? What do hydrogeologists and geologists do?

Abijah Simon
Abijah Simon PhD candidate in Geology, UCLA Intern at Water Replenishment District (WRD) / UCLA
November 6, 2022 1:45 pm - 2:15 pm Room C (CS24)

Exploring and Controlling the Nanoscale World

Recent advances have opened up the nanoscale world for exploration. New tools have enabled us to probe the ultimate limits of miniaturization, the smallest switches and motors in the world, as well as chemistry, physics, biology, and engineering at the atomic scale.

Paul Weiss
Paul Weiss UC Presidential Chair Distinguished Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry; Distinguished Professor of Materials Science & Engineering / UCLA
November 6, 2022 2:00 pm - 2:30 pm Room B (CS50)

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 6, 2022 2:30 pm - 3:00 pm Room C (CS24)

The future of fast charging batteries

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), and information about new technologies that allow for fast charging.

Sarah Tolbert
Sarah Tolbert Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry; Distinguished Professor of Materials Science & Engineering / UCLA
November 6, 2022 2:45 pm - 3:15 pm Room B (CS50)

Why Does Earth’s Magnetic Field Point North?

In this talk, I will describe the shape of Earth’s global magnetic field and some of its interesting behaviors. Then I will show why magnetic compasses work by presenting experiments carried out in my lab at UCLA that explain why Earth’s magnetic poles tend to align with the planet’s axis of rotation.

Jonathan M Aurnou
Jonathan M Aurnou Professor at the Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences / UCLA
November 6, 2022 3:00 pm - 3:30 pm Room C (CS24)

Sea Level: Past, Present and Future

An introductory view of sea level change in the past, today and in the future.

Carolina Lithgow-Bertelloni
Carolina Lithgow-Bertelloni Louis B and Martha B Slichter Chair in the Geosciences / UCLA
November 6, 2022 3:15 pm - 3:45 pm Room B (CS50)

Gravitational Wave Sources at the Heart of Galaxies

Gravitational-wave emissions are small ripples in the fabric of spacetime that are emitted when two masses accelerate toward each other. The detections of gravitational-wave emission from two colliding black holes by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) transformed the way we sense our Universe and raised many puzzles in understanding how black holes meet. Smadar […]

Smadar Naoz
Smadar Naoz Associate Professor at the Department of Physics & Astronomy / UCLA
November 6, 2022 3:30 pm - 4:00 pm Room C (CS24)

Electron-Ion Collider

This talk will introduce the US flagship collider – the electron-ion collider (EIC) to be built at Brookhaven National Laboratory around 2030. The EIC is a machine that will unlock the secrets of the strongest force in Nature. We will also have a Meta Quest 2 VR after the talk, with which (together with an […]

Zhongbo Kang
Zhongbo Kang Associate Professor at the Department of Physics and Astronomy / UCLA
November 6, 2022 3:45 pm - 4:45 pm Room B (CS50)

Explore your Ocean

This panel discussion will focus on the environment impact and solutions that are happening along our coast and the global ocean. This will give the opportunity to dive into to discuss the various initiatives that are happening to support our oceans, and how people can get more informed and involved. Lastly we will discuss the […]

De'Marcus Robinson
De'Marcus Robinson Graduate Student in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences / UCLA
November 6, 2022 4:00 pm - 4:30 pm Room C (CS24)

How Does The Sun Affect the Earth?

The Sun can disturb Earth’s magnetic fields via the solar wind. When plasma from the Sun’s corona reaches Earth it flows along magnetic field lines toward the poles! Ever wonder where the auroras come from? Let’s find out together!

Dominique Stumbaugh
Dominique Stumbaugh PhD Candidate in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences / UCLA
November 6, 2022 4:30 pm - 5:00 pm Room C (CS24)

Fusion in your Backyard

Why does the sun shine? Will houses someday be powered by a star in a box? Come hear about the future of fusion energy and why it matters in our lives!

Sarah Chase
Sarah Chase PhD Candidate in Computational Plasma Physics / UCLA