Andrew Toll, a 4-year-old from Scottsdale, contemplates how to continue his fort at the fourth annual Connect2STEM event at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in downtown Phoenix on Friday. (Nicole Neri/DD)
Over 7,500 children and parents interacted with hundreds of hands-on exhibits at the fourth annual Connect2STEM event at the University of Arizona College of Medicine Phoenix.
Ethan Holt, a fill-in presenter for STEM Bus Mobile Labs, blows nitrogen steam out of his mouth after pouring liquid nitrogen over marshmallows at the fourth annual Connect2STEM event at the University of Arizona College of Medicine on Friday. (Nicole Neri/DD)Children cover their ears during the controlled explosion of a plastic bottle filled with liquid nitrogen in a “cannon” filled with ping-pong balls, which fly up, dented by the explosion at the fourth annual Connect2STEM event. (Nicole Neri/DD)A boy holds a “chill pill,” a marshmallow frozen by liquid nitrogen, in his mouth. (Nicole Neri/DD)
This year’s event had record attendance, making it the largest STEM event in Phoenix, according to UA Health Sciences spokeswoman Marian Frank.
Jamie Noonan, 4, plays in and builds a fort. (Nicole Neri/DD)Andrew Toll, 4; his mother, Debbie Toll, from Scottsdale; and his grandmother Sherry Hillman, visiting from Peoria, Illinois; build a fort at the fourth annual Connect2STEM event.
Connect2STEM featured over 200 science-, technology-, engineering-, mathematics- and medical-related exhibits including foaming toothpaste, cow eye and pig heart dissections, fort building, exploding plastic bottles and simulations with the school’s medical models.
Children play with nitrogen steam coming out of a bottle filled with water and liquid nitrogen as the nitrogen boils away. Nitrogen is a liquid at -321 degrees Fahrenheit and quickly boils at room temperature.A boy ties cloth walls to a fort he was helping build at the fourth annual Connect2STEM event. (Nicole Neri/DD)
The event also kicked off this year’s Arizona SciTech Festival, a month-long campaign with events across the state to inspire kids to pursue STEM careers.
Lilia Belous, 5, plays with a model umbilical cord. (Nicole Neri/DD)Children watch as a volunteer makes ice cream using liquid nitrogen at the fourth annual Connect2STEM event. Nitrogen is a liquid at -321 degrees Fahrenheit and quickly boils at room temperature, so it can freeze ice cream quickly without diluting it. (Nicole Neri/DD)Khloe Hunter, 9, watches as helium bubbles grow right before floating away. (Nicole Neri/DD)
All three public universities were represented. Local community organizations and businesses also had exhibits, including the Children’s Museum of Phoenix, the Heard Museum and Phoenix Zoo.
Melissa Cody, an artist-in-residence at the Phoenix Heard Museum, demonstrates how she hand-weaves intricate rugs at the fourth annual Connect2STEM event. (Nicole Neri/DD)
