Young Hall CS 24
Rocket Science 101 | 12:45 – 1:15 PM
What is a rocket and how does it work? What are its major components? Why does it use stages and how does it achieve the proper orbit? This talk by a former “rocket scientist” will help answer these questions and many more!
Recommended grade level: 6th-8th
Power Up! How Fast-Charging Batteries Work | 1:30 – 2:15 PM
This talk will include an introduction to how batteries of many different types work, with the goal of understanding why they currently cannot charge quickly. We will then discuss new ideas in battery materials that should allow for fast charging, making it easier to electrify the future!
Recommended grade level: 6-8th
Near-Earth Objects: Hunting Rocks in Space | 2:15 – 3:00 PM
For billions of years, Earth’s landscape has changed slowly. Continents move relative to each other, mountains are worn down by wind and rain—these geologic forces take millions of years! But sometimes, change happens in an instant. A large asteroid impact can reshape the land in seconds! That’s why Principal Investigator Amy Mainzer and her amazing team is building NASA’s Near-Earth Object Surveyor telescope. It’s a special space telescope designed to help us find those Earth-changing objects decades before they could ever reach our planet. We track the rocks so they never take us by surprise – like our beloved Dinosaurs!
Recommended grade level: 6th-8th
Exploring Distant Worlds: A Tale of Water Worlds, Rocky Planets, and the Search for Life | 3:00 – 3:45 PM
Our exoplanet research is like going on a cosmic treasure hunt, searching for amazing little worlds twirling around faraway stars! 🌟🪐 We explore them to see just how wonderfully different planets can be—giant, teeny-tiny, scorching hot, icy cold, or maybe even a bit like our cozy Earth. 🌍✨
Recommended grade level: 9th-12th
Going Back in Time to the First Stars, Galaxies, and Black Holes | 3:45 – 4:00 PM
Astronomers use telescopes as a tool to travel back in time to the beginning of the universe — which is almost 14 billion years in the past. The James Webb Space Telescope in particular has given us a completely unprecedented view of the first billion years of cosmic time. We are starting to understand how and when the first stars, galaxies, and black holes came into being, and answering some of the most fundamental questions of our cosmic origins.
Recommended grade level: 3rd-5th
Innate Immunity: Our Microscopic First Responders | 4:30 – 5:00 PM
Our immune system keeps our bodies healthy by fighting disease, but how does it recognize friend from foe? Meet the first line of defense against viral infections, and we’ll explore the basics of the innate immune response, how it is coordinated, and the consequences of when it all goes right (or wrong).
Recommended grade level: 3rd-5th
Young Hall CS 50 (Livestream Available!)
Science and Education Pioneer Award (LIVESTREAM) | 12:00 – 12:45 PM
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 2025 Science and Education Pioneer Award.
Livestream at this link!
How the Sun Paints the Sky: the Science of the Northern Lights
| 12:45 – 1:15 PM
The northern lights aren’t just beautiful, they are a conversation between the Sun and the Earth. One that can affect human technology. Come discover the incredible science behind one of Earth’s most magical natural phenomena, and how you might observe it, even from Los Angeles.
Recommended grade levels: 9th-12th | Livestream
The Tiniest Molecular Machines | 1:30 – 2:15 PM
Imagine tiny machines so small that billions of them could fit on the tip of a pencil! Scientists can build these artificial molecular machines from individual molecules. Like larger machines, they can move, switch between different shapes, or carry things—but they are much too small to see with our eyes. Some can be controlled with light, electricity, or chemicals. By studying how molecules move and work together, researchers hope to create exciting new technologies and medicines.
Recommended grade level: 6-8th | Livestream
Astronomy in Hawai’i: The Past, Present and Future| 2:15 – 3:00 PM
Astronomy has a lot of cultural and scientific significance tied to Hawai’i. In my talk, I will show you native Hawaiians have used astronomy since the age of early Polynesian navigation, and how that eventually led to the telescopes on Maunakea, Haleakala, and Maunaloa.
Recommended grade level: K-2nd | Livestream
Cosmic Collisions at the Hearts of Galaxies | 3:00 – 3:45 PM
The centers of galaxies are among the most crowded places in the universe. There, millions of stars orbit a supermassive black hole, passing one another at extraordinary speeds. In this cosmic traffic jam, gravity can bring two or more stars together, send stars flying across the galaxy, or drive them into spectacular collisions. Some stars merge and are reborn; others are torn apart, and some encounters may produce black holes, gravitational waves, and brilliant flashes of light. In this talk, we will explore the surprising lives and deaths of stars in the chaotic hearts of galaxies.
Recommended grade level: 3–5th | Livestream
Fun with Plastics | 3:45 – 4:30 PM
Where do plastics come from? How long are polymer chains? 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 foam milkshake ever made? Come learn the answers to these and other fun with plastics questions.
Recommended grade range: 6th-8th | Livestream
The Science of Yoga: How Movement, Breath, and Mindfulness Can Shape Wellness | 4:30 – 5:00 PM
Ever wonder why taking a deep breath can instantly make you feel calmer? In this interactive talk, you’ll experience the science of yoga firsthand through gentle movement, guided breathing exercises like box breathing and ocean breath, and a short mindfulness practice. Along the way, we’ll explore what’s actually happening inside your body and brain when you move, breathe, and sit quietly on purpose.
From Spinning Tops to Spinning Protons | 12:45 – 1:15 PM
Have you ever spun a top and watched it whirl? Now imagine something far smaller—a proton, one of the building blocks of every atom. A proton also has “spin,” but here is the surprise: we still do not fully understand where that spin comes from. Inside every proton is a busy world of quarks and gluons, constantly moving and interacting. How do all of them combine to make the proton spin? In this talk, we’ll shrink down from a spinning top to the inside of a proton, explore one of the great puzzles of modern physics, and meet the future Electron-Ion Collider—a giant new microscope being built to reveal the hidden world inside protons.
Recommended grade range: 6th-8th
When Earth was a Boiling Magma Ocean | 1:30 – 2:15 PM
Why did the Earth start out completely molten? Did you know the Earth was once hit by an object the size of Mars? How did Earth evolve from its violent start? We will answer these questions and more through the talk.
Recommended grade level: K-2nd
Why do fungal freeways never jam? | 2:15 – 3:00 PM
Traffic congestion is a maddening fact of life for drivers in cities. The more cars a road carries, the slower everyone goes. Fungi too build freeways — cellular roads that can stretch for meters along forest floors, and that ceaselessly transport nutrients, water and cell stuff that the fungi and its plant partners need for their growth. Unlike humans highways, however, fungal freeways have had millions of years to perfect their transport. I’ll explain how clever engineering means that the flow of cellular traffic never jams.
Recommended grade level: 6th-8th
Organic Chemistry in the Movies | 3:00 – 3:45 PM
Despite its bad reputation, organic chemistry is awesome and is all around us. In this presentation, attendees will learn some of the basics of organic chemistry (yes, even kids can learn it!), while enjoying short clips from family-friendly movies.
Recommended grade level: 3rd-5th
Consider the ant and be wise – what can humans learn from ants? | 3:45 – 4:30 PM
Ants form incredibly successful social systems. Over millions of years they have evolved the ability to construct intricate nests, cultivate crops, build bridges and rafts, and herd other animals; just to name a few exciting collective behaviors that ants accomplish. Inspired by ant behavior, humans have developed new computer algorithms, building architectures, and robot swarms. In my talk, I will survey the fascinating ways in which ant societies operate and the exciting lessons that we, humans, can learn from them.
Recommended grade level: 3rd-5th
Journey to the Center of the Earth | 4:30 – 5:00 PM
Take a trip to the Center of the Earth with me! How hot is it? Could you go there? What’s it made of? How does it make mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes?
Recommended grade level: 3rd-5th