Dazzling Demos and Talks

Appropriate for: High school age, 18 years and above

Our relationship to food here at MSU is changing. Look around and you will see long lines for “grab and go” or Combo-X-Change meals while the dining halls have far fewer patrons. The plastic waste generated by this trend is staggering. Meanwhile, whole, freshly harvested, organic food from the MSU Student Organic Farm is more and more seen as less desirable because it takes longer to prepare. We invite you to join the conversation about this national trend on college campuses to unpack the consequences of our food, and to look at alternatives to re-envision the role of student farms.

This program is presented as part of the Food Fight! exhibition by the MSU Museum CoLab Studio.

Learn more about Taking the Fast Out of Food: A Conversation on the Environmental Consequences of the Food We Eat at MSU

Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Animals can't tell you when they're sick or point to where it hurts. Come learn how veterinarians and laboratory technologists help to diagnose disease. At the MSU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, we have unique expertise in safeguarding the health of companion animals, livestock, wildlife, and people. Test your knowledge with a chance to investigate and diagnose cases! Explore self-directed, interactive activities. Please note that this does not include tours of the facility.

Learn more about Inside the MSU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory: Disease Detectives at Work

Appropriate for: Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Join us for an exciting discussion between Abel Korinsky, the inaugural MSUFCU Arts Power Up Artist-in-Residence, and Hendrik Schatz, MSU University Distinguished Professor of Nuclear Astrophysics and scientist at FRIB. They'll explore the fascinating intersection of artistic expression and scientific discovery. The MSUFCU Arts Power Up Arts Residency at FRIB program is generously supported by an endowed gift from the Michigan State University Federal Credit Union.

Preregistration is optional on the MSU Museum's website.

Learn more about Intersection Conversation: Stellar Connections between Art and Science

Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Why is the supercomputer at MSU so great? The secret is parallel processing, which allows MSU's supercomputer to perform multiple tasks simultaneously, while a typical laptop can only perform a small number of tasks concurrently. Discover more about parallel processing with this engaging, interactive, and hands-on "Raspberry Pi Supercomputer" demonstration. Try your hand at our instructive game on a simulated supercomputer to see how much you can increase performance with parallel processing!

Learn more about Experiment with the Principles of Supercomputing Through an Educational Videogame

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Plants, unable to move, adapt to challenges by altering their internal environment. They create plastoglobules, clusters of waxy molecules, using a protein called fibrillin to rearrange lipids. Our computer simulations explore this process. In this demo, you'll gain insights into simulation techniques and even guide one yourself!

Learn more about Help Unleash the Hidden Power of Plants

Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Explore materials science and engineering with hands-on demonstrations and using high-power electron microscopes.

Learn more about Life Beneath the Naked Eye

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Join Abrams Planetarium to explore the Michigan night sky with short sky talks throughout the day. Shows will run every 30 minutes from 10am - 4pm.

Learn more about Spring Skies Over Michigan

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Join us for an introduction to machine learning, a study that has created a "fourth industrial revolution" in the world. We will guide you through the main ideas of machine learning and participate in a machine learning activity that will help you understand the fundamental concepts.

Learn more about What Is Machine Learning?

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Creating borax crystals is a captivating and visually stunning science experiment that combines art and chemistry in a mesmerizing display of crystal growth. This process allows you to grow your own dazzling, geometric crystal formations using just hot water, Borax, and pipe cleaners.

Learn more about Creating Winter Magic: Crystalized Icicle Ornaments

Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, Over 21 years only, 18 years and above

Bioluminescence is the naturally occurring ability of various animals to produce light. This glowing phenomenon can be observed in fireflies, as well as several deep-sea creatures. The goal of the program is to explain and demonstrate how these unique, light emitting abilities evolved in nature over millions of years. It will also showcase how these bioluminescent mechanisms are now being used by scientists for biomedical research.

Learn more about From Seaside to Bedside: Learn About Light-Emitting Marine Organisms and Insects

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age

Robots have so many uses. We will explore some of these applications. We will then learn the basics of programming robots by using the VEXcode VR (vr.vex/com). We will program a virtual robot to make basic moves. We will end with a chance to drive VEX IQ Robots,

Learn more about Introduction to Robots and Programming

Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Dr. Brandt will lead us on a tour through Michigan’s geologic history, from its fiery beginnings marked by volcanoes in the Upper Peninsula, through eons of inundation by a shallow, tropical sea, to the shaping of our modern landscape by glaciers during the last ice age. Learn what a Petoskey stone tells us about Michigan’s ancient environment, the easiest way to tell a mammoth from a mastodon, and why you are unlikely to find a dinosaur in Michigan.

Learn more about Fire, Water, and Ice: Michigan's Geological Story

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Make your own edible ice cream aquifer! Learn about aquifers and groundwater and how you can protect water resources. Find out how groundwater in the aquifer can become contaminated by watching what happens when you start adding chocolate syrup, sprinkles, and soda to your ice cream aquifer.

Learn more about Edible Ice Cream Aquifers: Learn About Groundwater and How to Protect It

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Explore the future of medicine with micro/nanoscale robots! Join us as we observe these tiny wonders through microscopes and provide an interactive experience using a magnetic system. Students will have the opportunity to control microrobots, offering a hands-on glimpse into the potential revolution in medical technology.

Learn more about Get Hands-On with Tiny Robots

Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age

The fundamentals of machine learning, its operation, and its potential for failure are covered in this interactive program. Participants will face off against a machine learning program to execute simple decision-making tasks. Participants will go head-to-head with the machine learning program to group objects and identify written numbers. We will answer the age-old question: Are you smarter than a computer?

Learn more about Kids Verses Machine Learning

Appropriate for: Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

How are a rocket engine and birthday candle related? We'll go above and beyond to understand the science that links the physics of candles to what makes rocket engines go, while demonstrating why fire looks and behaves the way that it does. Take a look into the science and engineering of rocket engine design to explain how simple flames are used to generate huge thrust forces to launch mankind into space.

Learn more about Rocket Science 101: Inside a Rocket Engine

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

The Media Preservation Unit at MSU Libraries will show examples of deterioration on various audiovisual formats and discuss methods of dealing with deterioration in order to provide greater access to the recorded content for the Spartan community and the public. Legacy audiovisual formats, such as motion picture film, magnetic tape, and optical media, contain audio and moving image recordings of important events. Over time, the materials on which these instances are stored experience chemical breakdowns like mold, "vinegar syndrome," and "sticky shed syndrome," which is caused by acetate decay.

Learn more about Media Breakdown: Tales of Deterioration on Audiovisual Collections and Their Historical Comebacks

Appropriate for: All Ages

The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), the state-of-the-art U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility, became operational in 2022 at Michigan State University. Rare Connections is a feature-length independent documentary film centered around this world-class facility, the cutting-edge nuclear science conducted here, and its profound impact on society. Through deeply human, personal stories of scientists at different stages of their career, who hail from the Lansing area, Michigan, as well as from vastly different corners of the country and the globe, the film unveils the unique paths that led them to FRIB. Through the transformative power of storytelling, this documentary fosters the remarkable and relatable connections between a highly diverse group of scientists, staff, technology, the arts, and the wider community.
Be prepared to get wowed, inspired, informed, and even emotional as the filmmaker nuclear physicists Dr. Ágnes Mócsy, visiting professor at MSU, will present the making of Rare Connections. She will discuss the creative process behind the film, the impact of viewing science through the lens of the arts, and how this interdisciplinary approach can engage and inspire varied audiences to connect with scientific endeavors in profound and meaningful ways, even inspiring some towards STEM careers.

Learn more about Rare Connections: The Making of a Science Documentary at MSU

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

In 2016, the U.S. generated more plastic trash than any other country. It amounts to 46.3 million tons, according to a 2020 study published in Science Advances. That’s 287 pounds per person in a single year. But only a fraction of plastic is actually recycled. According to the most recent data estimates available from the Environmental Protection Agency, just 8.7 percent of the plastic that was discarded in the U.S. in 2018 was recycled. Since plastic is non-biodegradable and most of it is sent to landfills, it ends up in rivers and oceans and ultimately in the food chain, creating micro and nano plastics. Fish and other sea creatures suffer, and the effects of swallowing plastics are passed on to humans. Therefore, recycling is very important, and an important part includes the separation of plastic.

A presentation will be given to inculcate the idea of different plastics and their recycling. To depict an important aspect of recycling, different plastic materials will be taken and subjected to separation by a simple density-based method. This will be applied to recycle bottles.

Learn more about How are Bottles Recycled?

Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are man-made chemicals that have been used for more than five decades. They are in our food packages, clothes, water, cars (even new electric vehicles), food, cleaning products, and so much more. It is nearly impossible to not be exposed to PFAS, which lasts a long time in the environment and in our bodies. And, unfortunately, humans and animals can face health problems like cancer from PFAS. We are going to show how science can be used to remove PFAS from humans and the environment.

Learn more about How Science Tackles 'Zombie' Molecules

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Investigate how temperature relates to the movement of atoms and molecules in this exciting presentation. Utilizing liquid nitrogen (LN2), we’ll see some "cool" effects on solids, liquids and gases!

Learn more about Frostology

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Explore the world of quantum computing with the QuOD Lab! Join us for hands-on demonstrations featuring lasers, optical fibers, and polarization. Witness how these technologies tackle complex problems like the traveling salesperson dilemma. All ages can engage in activities showcasing the transmission of information through laser light, optical fiber guidance, and interactive water-stream demonstrations. Discover the manipulation of light through optical polarizers and grasp the basics of quantum computing, including superposition and the use of photons as quantum bits (qubits).

Learn more about Lasers, Photons, and Quantum Computers

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Subatomic particles come in many shapes and sizes. Some of them travel billions of years from deep space to reach our instruments on Earth. Through a number of hands-on activities and demos, we will introduce the audience to the fundamental particles that make up matter. We will also introduce the special telescopes we use to capture such particles coming from outer space. We are a group of particle physicists and astrophysicists who've joined hands to study some of the most elusive objects in the universe.

Learn more about Particle Journeys: From Deep Space to Deep Underground

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Discover the wonders of plants at the “Wonderful World of Plants” booth hosted by MSU's Plant Research Laboratory and Molecular Plant Science labs! Engage in hands-on activities answering questions like “What’s happening in a plant cell?”, “Why do some plants look different?”, and “How does light and temperature affect photosynthesis?”. Explore the intriguing scents of plants, understand their defense mechanisms, and learn about the role of plant biologists. Join us to delve into the fascinating world of plants!

Learn more about The Wonderful World of Plants

Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Dr. J'Aimee Lippert, DO, an associate professor at Michigan State University, will provide first-hand knowledge of what it means to be a Doctor of Osteopathy. This hands-on learning experience will allow audience members to practice a core facet of osteopathic medicine, Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM). Audience members will learn the basic skill of OMM and the ability to practice on each other! You don't want to miss this exciting opportunity!

Learn more about Learn the Basics of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine

Appropriate for: High school age, 18 years and above

More than a century ago, George de Hevesy realized that radioactive isotopes can be used as tracers‒substances that can be used to trace the behavior of the collective mass. Not only could he use radiotracers to unveil that his boarding house cafeteria reused leftovers to prepare the next day’s meal, but de Hevesy also was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery. Nowadays, many science fields routinely use radioactive tracers. At the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), a program is dedicated to the production of unique radioisotopes, one study focused on the radioisotope Zn-62, an important radio-tracer to follow zinc in plants and in nuclear medicine.

Learn more about Tracing with Radioactive Isotopes

Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Are you curious about careers in SCIENCE? Join the hosts of the award-winning WKAR series Curious About Careers, as they share insight into their adventures with women who work in STEM-related fields! Genesis, Janellyn, Callan, Aikem, and Olivia present video and talk about their experiences exploring a variety of careers based in science, technology, engineering, and math, including a professional welder, martial arts master, power plant director, and others! Carol Yancho, senior producer at WKAR Public Media, is the emcee for this fun presentation. Recommended for ages 9-16.

Learn more about Curious About Careers with WKAR

Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

The second most prevalent neurodegenerative illness in the world is Parkinson's disease. Two well-known symptoms of this disease are tremors and balance issues. Patients experience speech problems at some stage during the illness. Another typical symptom is a subdued speaking voice, makes it challenging to communicate effectively. We will evaluate, manage, and study speech issues related to Parkinson's disease and other neurological conditions and discover local resources that are offered right here in Michigan!

Learn more about Can You Hear Me Now? How Parkinson’s Disease Affects Speech and What We Can Do About It

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Discover the diversity of insects and spiders in Michigan! Come learn about flying spiders, the latest findings in invasive species research, and how you can get involved.

Learn more about Michigan Bugs and Spiders

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

The recyclability of plastics does not only depend on whether there is a recycling code on it or not. If also depends on the facilities in each state and people’s access to those drop of locations. I’d like to help students have a better understand of which packages can be recycled and how they can make sure the recyclable packages have the best chance to be recycled.

Learn more about What Really Happens to Plastic We Recycle?

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Learn more about Machine Learning for Science!

Appropriate for: Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Stem cells are cells that can self-renew and differentiate into many cell types. In adults, stem cells can only be found in specific organs, such as hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow that replenish your white and red blood cells following a designated developmental program. However, many organs (e.g., heart and pancreas) do not have stem cells. But your doctor may be able to use a process called reprogramming to cure diseases like diabetes or heart failure in the future. How could this happen? Dr. Wang will tell you stories about the induced pluripotent stem cells that can be generated from your skin cells via reprogramming and then coaxed into all types of adult cells, including cardiac muscles in the heart and beta-cells in the pancreas. She will also discuss other types of reprogramming processes that may be used in regenerative medicine.

Learn more about Regenerative Medicine: Science or Fiction?

Appropriate for: High school age, 18 years and above

King Corn is a documentary that follows two best friends who move from the east coast to the heartland to learn where their food comes from. With the help of friendly neighbors, genetically modified seeds, and powerful herbicides, they plant and grow a bumper crop of America's most-productive, most-subsidized grain on one acre of Iowa soil. But when they try to follow their pile of corn into the food system, what they find raises troubling questions about how we eat and farm. Following the film, MSU Extension crop educator Monica Jean will lead a discussion on corn cultivation in Michigan.

This program is presented as part of the Food Fight! exhibition by the MSU Museum CoLab Studio.

Learn more about “King Corn” Film Screening

Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Join featured speaker Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer and learn how to cultivate a reciprocal relationship with the living world. Listeners are invited to consider what we might learn if we understood plants as our teachers, from both a scientific and an indigenous perspective.

Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She is the author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, which has earned Kimmerer wide acclaim. Her first book, Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses, was awarded the John Burroughs Medal for outstanding nature writing, and her other work has appeared in Orion, Whole Terrain, and numerous scientific journals. In 2022, Braiding Sweetgrass was adapted for young adults by Monique Gray Smith. This new edition reinforces how wider ecological understanding stems from listening to the earth’s oldest teachers: the plants around us.

Robin tours widely and has been featured on NPR’s On Being with Krista Tippett and in 2015 addressed the general assembly of the United Nations on the topic of “Healing Our Relationship with Nature.” Kimmerer is a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental Biology, and the founder and director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment, whose mission is to create programs which draw on the wisdom of both indigenous and scientific knowledge for our shared goals of sustainability. In 2022 she was named a MacArthur Fellow.

As a writer and a scientist, her interests in restoration include not only restoration of ecological communities, but restoration of our relationships to land. She holds a BS in Botany from SUNY ESF, an MS and PhD in Botany from the University of Wisconsin and is the author of numerous scientific papers on plant ecology, bryophyte ecology, traditional knowledge and restoration ecology. As a writer and a scientist, her interests in restoration include not only restoration of ecological communities, but restoration of our relationships to land. She lives on an old farm in upstate New York, tending gardens both cultivated and wild.

Livestream video of the event

The livestream will start on April 20, 2024 at 6:00 PM EST.

Learn more about Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge And The Teachings Of Plants