Science Takes Center Stage at New Festival

By Howard Rutherford

Fifteen years ago, uttering the word "science" often resulted in people fleeing a room as quickly as they could. Today, public events like science festivals, science cafés and "after-dark" events at science museums are popular places to be as more people pay more attention to how science is relevant to our everyday lives.

Science is the discovery of the world, from how planets orbit to how water flows to how you can connect with your parents via a smart phone half a world away. Almost everything we touch on a daily basis is connected to science and technology – yet studies show that only 28% of Americans have basic science literacy.

Public science events are addressing this issue by creating opportunities where scientists and the general public can fully interact in a fun, engaging and non-traditional approach. A recent visit to the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco for their "Nightlife" event left me speechless as I watched thousands of young visitors socializing with their friends over a meal, music and dance, all while exploring the wonders of science. I have to admit I was a bit jealous of the academy's success in not only entertaining such a young audience but also sustaining the event weekly. I left San Francisco reassured that the efforts of over a dozen businesses, educational groups and government organizations that are collaborating to create the inaugural St. Petersburg Science Festival will transform St. Petersburg into the "science festival" destination for the state of Florida.

As co-chair of the St. Petersburg Science Festival – which will make its debut in conjunction with MarineQuest at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg Campus this year-- I initially questioned whether we even wanted to include the word "science" in our festival name, especially since we wanted to appeal to and excite the general public. After all, we are competing for our visitors' time, attention and resources with everything under the sun, including the sun.

Do people really want to spend their free time "thinking" about science or thinking scientifically? I was convinced after attending the inaugural International Public Science Events Conference in Washington DC in February that we should not only keep "science" in our name but celebrate "science" much as we celebrate sports, arts and music. Such a celebration will be the St. Petersburg Science Festival, which promises to be a fun-filled "carnival of science" for families and the public to explore the excitement and wonder of hands-on science, technology, engineering and math.

What exactly will take place under the St. Petersburg Science Festival Pavilion along the Bayboro waterfront on April 30? Maybe you will discover nanotechnology and its many applications. Perhaps you will be inspired to carry jugs of water as you experience the Water World Labyrinth and understand the very important role of fresh water. Or test your theories to see if you could have come up with a more effective response to future oil spill disasters.

There will be more than two dozen opportunities for visitors (young and old) to explore the wonders of science. We hope they will connect directly with scientists as they see that learning science can be fun -- and how science is truly a part of our day-to-day lives.

And if you can't attend the first annual St. Petersburg Science Festival, check out other upcoming events, including a St. Petersburg SciCafé event entitled Art+Science+Math=DALI on April 26 at the new DALI Museum from 6-7:30 p.m. Dali was inspired by math and science and often incorporated it into his intriguing, thought-provoking and at times shocking work.

A graduate of Eckerd College and the University of South Florida, Howard Rutherford is president and CEO of The Pier Aquarium in downtown St. Petersburg. Learn more about upcoming science events at www.stpetescifest.org or www.pieraquarium.org.