Community Science Festival Highlights New Jersey Innovation and Diversity

 

TRENTON, N.J. – In keeping with the NJ 350th Anniversary themes of diversity and innovation, a varied slate of programs and exhibits will explore New Jersey innovation and all things science at the New Jersey State Museum’s Super Science Saturday on Saturday, May 3, 2014, 10am to 4pm. Now in its 34th year, Super Science Saturday features fun, hands-on educational and entertaining family-friendly programs. General admission and parking are free; Planetarium admission will be a discounted ticket price of $5 per person. For more information visit www.statemuseum.nj.gov.

“Super Science Saturday is a great tradition here at the Museum; an opportunity to engage visitors and cultivate an interest and passion for science and New Jersey innovation.” said Anthony Gardner, Executive Director of the NJ State Museum. He continued, “New Jersey has always been home to innovators, and as we celebrate NJ’s 350th, we are excited to introduce the Museum’s new Innovation Lab and Learning Center, which offers science and technology programs to help further learning and innovation throughout our state.”

The Innovation Lab and Learning Center are on the Museum’s second floor and visitors are encouraged to explore, meet, and interact with real scientists and see the latest fossil finds excavated by the Natural History staff.

Super Science Saturday, made possible in part by funding support provide by the Friends of the New Jersey State Museum, features fun workshops, experiments, engaging performances and Planetarium shows. Activities include goopy workshops on polymers, Grounds for Sculpture’s the Art and Science of Patina workshops; investigating Nano technology through hands-on experiments and so much more. Dozens of exhibitors will be on hand with interactive activities and demonstrations, visitors will enjoy a live theater program; families can participate in a scavenger hunt and more!

The day’s activities and schedule are as follows:

Exhibitors:
Visit more than 30 exhibitor booths featuring science, technology, engineering and educational groups from around the region to enjoy continuous demonstrations and hands-on activities. Visit TeamMaker on the lawn outside to explore physics and earth science through games and challenges that’s fun for the whole family! And the Radio Disney Live “Road Crew” will be on hand from 12:00 – 2:00 with music, trivia games and prizes. Among the groups participating are the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, NJ Audubon Society, Aerospace is IT, Robodyssey Systems, American Chemical Society, Dr. Dinosaur, Jenkinson’s Aquarium, The Old Barracks, and Grounds for Sculpture.

Live theater show
Jump With Jill the Rock Star Nutritionist, 11:30 am Museum Auditorium. Join Jill and her DJ for a show that is both educationally sound and completely rock & roll. Armed with catchy songs, upbeat dance moves, and a hip wardrobe, Jump with Jill uses the same tools normally used to sell junk food and keep kids sedentary to get kids engaged, moving, and learning about healthy habits. Created by Registered Dietitian and musician Jill Jayne, the show uses singable messages to make healthy habits memorable.

Workshops:
Workshops are scheduled in the new Innovation Learning Center (next door to the Innovation Lab) and the Lower Level Classroom.

Innovation Lab

• 11:30 NANO - Participate in Nano experiments and learn more about this science.
• 12:30 & 1:30 Art and Science of Patina with Grounds for Sculpture – learn how different chemical reactions make artistic effects on metal artwork, then make your own sculpture and try it yourself!
• 2:30 Drawn to Dinosaurs: Paleo Art – Join Paleo artist Jason Poole and see up close and personal how a paleontological artist reconstructs a dinosaur from the bones up. Kids are welcome to draw along as the artist works and explains the process.

Lower Level Classroom

• 11:00 & 2:00 Backyard Tweets preschool science – Using specimens from the Museum’s Natural History collection, children learn how New Jersey’s wildlife communicate through sound, body language, scent, and color. Children will create a musical instrument that mimics one of New Jersey’s endangered species.
• 12:00 & 3:00 Polymers - Explore the science of atoms, chemical reactions and the behavior of matter in a fun, goopy workshop! Participants engage their artistic side at the end by creating a sculpture out of their newly formed polymer.

Planetarium
Six different programs throughout the day with a discounted ticket price of just $5 per person. Ticket sales begin at 10:30 am and continue until all shows are sold out. For best selection, purchase tickets early in the day.

Show schedule:

• 11:00 Sesame Street’s One World, One Sky (ages 2 – 6 with adults) Noon Laser Kid Power (general audiences)
• 1:00 Earth, Moon, Sky (general audiences) 2:00 Laser Kid Power (general audiences)
• 3:00 Stars! (general audiences)
• 4:00 Laser Kid Power (general audiences) Additionally, the Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton will present observations of the daytime sky using their telescopes

Exhibits
The Museum offers a vibrant slate of science, history and art exhibitions. The Natural History Highlights exhibition features a sampling of many of the most impressive, most popular specimens in the collections of the Bureau of Natural History. Through the exhibition, visitors learn about many of the various sciences that comprise “natural history.”

Drawn To Dinosaurs: Hadrosaurus foulkii is now on display in the Museum’s Natural History Hall. The exhibit, on loan from the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, features a 25 foot long cast of New Jersey’s official state dinosaur plus a hand-drawn, life size, realistic illustration of Hadrosaurus in action and fossils from a related duck-billed dinosaur.

NANO, “where visitors discover a world unseen” is on display through August 17th. Created by the National Science Foundation, the exhibit includes hand-on, interactive stations that invite exploration of nano phenomena and real world applications and implications. The exhibit is made possible by the Princeton Center for Complex Materials in partnership with the Princeton Library and the New Jersey State Museum.

A listing of the other current exhibitions can be found on the Museum’s website at www.statemuseum.nj.gov.

For more information about Super Science Saturday and a complete listing of participants and schedules, visit the museum’s website at www.statemuseum.nj.gov, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

 

About the New Jersey State Museum

Established in 1895, the New Jersey State Museums serves the life-long educational needs of residents and visitors through its collections, exhibitions, programs, publications and scholarships in science, history and the arts. Within a broad context, the Museum explores the natural and cultural diversity of New Jersey, past and present. The New Jersey State Museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.

The New Jersey State Museum, located at 205 West State Street in Trenton, is open Tuesday through Sunday from 9 am to 4:45 pm. The Museum is closed Mondays and all state holidays. For more information, please visit the Museum’s website at www.statemuseum.nj.gov or call the recorded information line at (609) 292-6464. On weekends, free parking is available in lots adjacent to and behind the Museum. Please visit www.trentonparking.com for a number of options for parking in downtown Trenton during the week.

About the Friends of the New Jersey State Museum

The Friends of the New Jersey State Museum was founded in 1968 as a non-profit 501(c)(3) to support the Museum's collections, exhibitions and programs through fundraising, volunteerism, advocacy and marketing. Through the Friends, the State Museum has received generous support for its exhibitions and programs from PSEG; NJM Insurance Company; PNC; Comcast; Robert Wood Johnson Healthcare Group; State Farm Insurance Company; Insurance Council of New Jersey (21st Century Insurance and Financial Service; Hanover Insurance Company; Liberty Mutual Group; Progressive Insurance Company; Selective Insurance Company of America; The Norfolk & Dedham Group; Travelers of New Jersey; United Services Automobile Association); NRG Energy; Prudential; The September 11th Educational Trust; ShopRite; Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey; Kreisler Manufacturing Corporation; New Jersey Natural Gas; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation; and Property Casualty Insurers Association of America.

The Friends also operate a gift shop selling merchandise related to the Museum's exhibitions and New Jersey history and culture. Proceeds support the Museum's collections, exhibitions and programs.