SciFest returns with new demonstrations

Illinois Valley Community College’s SciFest is back and bigger than ever.

The annual science celebration returns to the College Gymnasium on April 17 at 7 p.m. with a growing array of demonstrations, including putting a person inside a bubble and serving freshly made liquid nitrogen ice cream.

More than 100 activities will be set up at stations around the gym, inviting participation. Visitors set their pace, often returning to a table to repeat their favorite experiments.

Center court spectacles take place throughout the evening as a 55-gallon barrel implodes, a soda geyser rockets towards the ceiling, fire dances to music, and a bed of nails occupant awaits their fate. Curious participants then can test the bed of nails themselves.

Experiments range from high-tech to simple and represent the broad range of sciences from biology and geology to chemistry and physics. An augmented reality sandbox reflects the landscapes that can be created, such as mountains, lakes or even rain. A mylar balloon soars or sinks as its helium power heats and cools. Microscopes, fossils, and mineral displays are always popular, and lines form early at the ice cream station.

“SciFest stands out as an immersive experience rather than a science show to watch,” said Dr. Matthew Johll, who advises the college Chem Club, the event’s host. “One of my students this year remembers participating in SciFest 10 years ago. Now, that’s remembering. If you just watch somebody else doing an experiment, it is a different experience completely.”

SciFest engages the whole family. “Parents get to see their children’s excitement and the children see excitement in their parents,” Johll said.

New experiments enter the rotation each year as familiar ones are retired for a time. “Every year we challenge ourselves to add more and our students are challenged to find new ways to reach the audience,” Johll said.

In the weeks leading to SciFest, student organizers check their supplies and test the experiments to be sure they are ready to debut that evening. They are busy now testing bubble solutions to prepare for a giant bubble demonstration as the festival’s bubble science experiments expand.

SciFest may be an audience’s introduction to science, but the college students also get to see it from a new angle as theories from their textbooks and labs come to life. “It gives them a direct connection and they see science in action. By doing a demonstration to illustrate the topics they discussed in class, they learn how to interact and communicate with an audience of varying ages. That is a learned skill and a valuable opportunity they would not get otherwise,” Johll said.