Drexel's Rube Goldberg Device to Kickoff Weeklong Celebration of Science in Philadelphia

Philadelphia Science Festival

The press of a button triggering a chain reaction of more than 300 energy transfers will serve as the elaborate opening to the 2014 Philadelphia Science Festival. The harbinger of this year’s week of science excitement is a Rube Goldberg machine –a complex device designed to perform a simple task- built by Drexel engineering students with the goal of setting a world record.

The Dragons’ attempt at history will take place in Bossone Research Center’s third-floor atrium at 11 a.m. on Friday, April 25 as the official start of the festival. It will also be webcast live here. In the week that follows more than 100 science-related events will take place throughout the city, many of them hosted or directed by Drexel and the Academy of Natural Sciences.

Other Drexel and ANS related events at the festival include:

On Friday, April 25 at 6 p.m., at the Science Carnival After Hours, Drexel researchers will lead a discussion on chromatography of flowers at the Franklin Institute. For tickets click here.

On Saturday, April 26 from 10 a.m. to noon, at Clark Park and Hunting Park, Drexel students from the Biomedical Graduate Student Association will lead a demonstration about using catalysts to make Styrofoam as part of Discovery Day: Clark Park and Discovery Day: Hunting Park. Undergraduates from the College of Engineering will also be putting on demonstrations about flying paper airplanes, making play dough, launching balloon rockets and building marshmallow towers.

On Sunday, April 27 Drexel’s ExCITe Center will host a seminar on wearable technology as part of PSF’s Explorer Sunday program at 10:30 a.m.

On Monday April 28, at 3:30 p.m., undergraduate science and engineering students and researchers from the Academy of Natural Sciences will help lead a number of Neighborhood Science After School demonstrations, including programs at the Charles Durham Library, Ramonita de Rodriguez Library, and Cecil B. Moore Library.

On Tuesday, April 29 at 3:30 p.m., Drexel science and engineering undergraduates will lead a Neighborhood Science After School program about building and flying paper airplanes at the Logan Library.

  • Starting at 5 p.m. professors from the College of Engineering will be among the presenters at Science Night at the Ballpark at Citizens Bank Park. The researchers will discuss the materials used in sports and the biomechanics involved in playing various sports. At 7:05 p.m. the Phillies will take on the New York Mets. Use the discount code: SCIENCE for an $8 discount when purchasing tickets to the game.
  • At 6 p.m., researchers from Drexel’s College of Medicine and School of Public Health will present Perspectives on Health, a Science Café event held at Rembrandt’s.
  • Also at 6 p.m., a researcher from the College of Engineering will take part in the West Philly Science Showcase, a Science Café on the groundbreaking scientific research being conducted in University City, at the World Café Live. For tickets to the event, click here.
  • Also at 6 p.m., an Academy of Natural Sciences researcher will be part of a Science Happy Hour panel about Misunderstood Monsters, including fierce predators like the Siberian tiger and Tyrannosaurus Rex. The happy hour will be held at Continental Old City.
  • At 6:30 p.m., researchers from the College of Engineering and Academy of Natural Sciences will participate in a Science Café program called ICK! Creatures That Make Your Skin Crawl and the Lovely Reasons Why, held at Frankford Hall.

On Wednesday, April 30 at 3:30 p.m., undergraduate science and engineering students and researchers from the Academy of Natural Sciences will lead a Neighborhood Science After School presentation at Charles Santore Library.

On Thursday, May 1 at 10 a.m., the Academy of Natural Sciences will host a Science Festival Field Trip. For tickets and reservations, click here.

On Saturday, May 3 Drexel researchers and students will take part in several exhibitions at the Science Carnival on the Parkway, including presentations on math and music; environmental conservation; the Drexel Smart House; polymers; air pollution; static electricity; rainwater management; nutrition; healthcare; physics in movie; and computer hardware. The carnival starts at 10 a.m. on the Ben Franklin Parkway

For information about all of the events taking place at the Philadelphia Science Festival visit www.philasciencefestival.org.

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