For the fourth year in a row, Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania departments of Materials Science and Engineering will host Philly Materials Science and Engineering Day on Saturday, February 1, 2014. Free and open to the public, the event will take place in the Bossone Research Enterprise Center at 31st and Market Streets offering people of all ages the chance to participate in hands-on science and engineering activities.
This year’s event is part of NOVA Education’s Making Stuff Outreach Coalition. A second season of Making Stuff premiered on PBS in October 2013 and in 2014, a community of 75 organizations across the country will host events around the episode themes of Wilder, Colder, Faster, and Safer.
Philly Materials Science and Engineering Day raises public awareness of the importance of materials science and engineering. Nearly everything in the world around us is made of something—stuff. Materials science and engineering is the study of that stuff—materials—and how we use the stuff to create useful things for everyday life. The event provides the public a chance to explore some of the stuff the world is made of and to learn about how materials impact us every day.
The day will include faculty and student-led hands-on demonstrations as well as activities and faculty talks about materials that include the following:
- Mix hip-hop and materials science with Grand Hank
- See materials inspired by nature
- Learn how materials make us safer
- Make ice cream colder and faster with liquid nitrogen
- Create a large-scale version of a carbon nanotube
- Watch how superconductors make trains travel faster
- Collect materials scavenger hunt stamps for prizes
- …and more
For more information on the event, please visit
www.phillymaterials.org. Support Philly Materials Science and Engineering Day on Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #PhillyMaterialsDay