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
15-min long presentations for all ages with time afterwards for questions.Kickoff Celebration
16
2023-11-05
2023-11-05 12:45
12:00
00:00
America/Los_Angeles
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.
Sundae Science: Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream Extravaganza
16
2023-11-05
2023-11-05 13:30
12:45
00:00
America/Los_Angeles
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
Material Research Society (MRS) / UCLA
When Earth was a magma ocean
16
2023-11-05
2023-11-05 13:30
12:45
00:00
America/Los_Angeles
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
Professor of Geophysics and Mineral Physics / UCLA
Earth: Hot and Cold
16
2023-11-05
2023-11-05 13:30
12:45
00:00
America/Los_Angeles
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
Professor / UCLA Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
The Search for Life Outside of Earth
16
2023-11-05
2023-11-05 14:15
13:30
00:00
America/Los_Angeles
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
PhD candidate / UCLA Department of Physics and Astronomy
Freckles on the Sun
16
2023-11-05
2023-11-05 14:15
13:30
00:00
America/Los_Angeles
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
Science Communicator & Astronomer / Griffith Observatory
The Power of the Sun, in the Palm of Your Hand
16
2023-11-05
2023-11-05 14:15
13:30
00:00
America/Los_Angeles
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
PhD Candidate in Computational Plasma Physics / UCLA
Understanding Cell's Memory
16
2023-11-05
2023-11-05 15:00
14:15
00:00
America/Los_Angeles
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
PhD candidate / UCLA Department of Bioengineering
The future of fast charging batteries
16
2023-11-05
2023-11-05 15:00
14:15
00:00
America/Los_Angeles
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
Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry; Distinguished Professor of Materials Science & Engineering / UCLA
Are we alone in the universe?
16
2023-11-05
2023-11-05 15:00
14:15
00:00
America/Los_Angeles
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
Professor / UCLA Department of Earth, Planetary, & Space Sciences / UCLA Department of Physics & Astronomy
Oximeter and How It Works
16
2023-11-05
2023-11-05 15:45
15:00
00:00
America/Los_Angeles
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
Professor / UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
Lighting Up Supermassive Black Holes: What Happens When a Star Venture Too Close to a Monster
16
2023-11-05
2023-11-05 15:45
15:00
00:00
America/Los_Angeles
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
Professor in the Department of Physics & Astronomy / UCLA
Statistical Modeling to Quantitate the Central Dogma
16
2023-11-05
2023-11-05 15:45
15:00
00:00
America/Los_Angeles
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
Professor in the Department of Statistics, Department of Human Genetics, and Department of Biomathematics / UCLA
Filming the Quantum World: The Smallest and Most Elusive Constituents of Matter
16
2023-11-05
2023-11-05 16:30
15:45
00:00
America/Los_Angeles
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
Professor / UCLA Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering / UCLA Department of Physics & Astronomy / Stanford SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Fun with Plastics
16
2023-11-05
2023-11-05 16:30
15:45
00:00
America/Los_Angeles
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
Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry; Distinguished Professor of Materials Science & Engineering / UCLA
Earth's Unpredictably Reversing Magnetic Field
16
2023-11-05
2023-11-05 16:30
15:45
00:00
America/Los_Angeles
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
Professor at the Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences / UCLA
