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On Saturday, August 13, the Science Center’s SciFest: Play & Creativity Expo invited the St. Louis community to a fun and unique opportunity to meet, play, and create along with more than 30 on-site STEAM organizations and over 200 STEAM experts in fields showing that art and creativity go hand in hand with science and technology.
Some of the experts represented fields like engineering, aeronautics and flight, and robotics, while artists, entrepreneurs and more demonstrated how 21st century skills like creativity put the “Arts” in STEAM and bring bright ideas to life. Special presentations and hands-on activities throughout the Science Center allowed guests to explore robotics demos, electric vehicles, drones, as well as brain games, gameplay and game design, LEGO challenges, circuit building and more.
At the end of the jam-packed day, SciFest: Play & Creativity Expo connected 3,070 people with STEAM—and the real-life people living and working (and playing) in science and technology.
In 2022 so far, SciFest events have provided over 10,360 people with a way to meet St. Louis’ local scientists, engineers, and other STEAM experts for an up-close look at science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math.
For the Science Center team, exploring STEAM provides an integrated approach to learning that connects science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math to help encourage important 21st century skills like critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration—skills that are becoming ever more important to the careers and opportunities of tomorrow and the real-life challenges our world faces today.
At Energy Stage, six special presentations throughout the day explored topics like the creativity that goes into building theater props and designing stage-worthy sets with set and props designer Laura Stroska. Darrin Peters from St. Louis Regional Clean Cities looked at fuel technology and fuels for the future. And the 501st Legion showed how elements like electronics can bring realism and life to costumes and robot droids.
The more than 30 STEAM organizations available at Play & Creativity Expo demonstrated the sometimes surprising overlap between creativity, entrepreneurship, and critical thinking and more traditional STEM topics like engineering, robotics, and chemistry.
Out in the GROW Gallery, the St. Louis Regional Clean Cities demonstrated how to create fuel and soap from cooking oil.
Representing the arts were a number of local organizations showcasing activities and skills like wool needle felting, yarn spinning, and making jewelry. Nellasaura’s Faunarium explored new ways of working with wool; Dark Sky Creations showed off dice bags and jewelry and let guests see how they take creative items like these from concepts to creation; and Amy Champleau-Lane and Friends demonstrated the art of spinning yarn.
A number of organizations returned following their participation at SciFest: Engineering Expo earlier this year, including The Boeing Company, who was on hand to show guests how to build paper rockets, airplanes, and circuits and let them try their hand at flying a plane using a flight simulator. And the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) returned to show guests how to play with circuits and other engineering activities. (Read about this year’s SciFest: Engineering Expo.)
Down on the Lower Level, Washington University’s Amazing Brain Carnival explored the functions of the nervous system and how the brain works. Led by graduate students Katie Lefton and Kayla Hannon, students from Wash U engaged people of all ages in a number of activities and even the chance to see and touch a real human brain.
The Science Center’s Esports Program offered the opportunity to step into the world of VR to play games in virtual reality and instructed guests on computer components and how to build a PC. From the Science Center’s Youth Exploring Science (YES) Program, YES Teens Joziah and Cetris helped facilitate the day’s esports tournament and the VR experience.
Thanks to everyone who attended and participated in SciFest: Play & Creativity Expo! And thank you to our members, supporters, and community for making events like SciFest possible!
(If you’d like to support the Science Center’s mission and help deliver impactful STEAM experiences like SciFest, consider making a gift to our Annual Fund, or visit slsc.org/support to learn more.)
Learn more about SciFest here.
Your Support
Support from donors, Science Center members, and Supporting-level members is instrumental in helping the Science Center continue offering connections to science for everyone in our region. If you’d like to show additional support for our mission, please consider donating to the Science Center’s Annual Fund, becoming a member, or becoming a Supporting-level member.
Your Impact
Want to learn more about how the Science Center and its supporters are making a difference for STEAM learning in the St. Louis region?
