ollege of DuPage to Host Second Annual STEM-CON Event April 29

College of DuPage to Host Second Annual STEM-CON Event April 29

On Saturday, April 29, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the PE Center Arena, College of DuPage will host a HUGE, interactive, fun and FREE event celebrating science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Participants of all ages will have the opportunity to learn about STEM in an approachable, lay-person format with dozens of hands-on activities. Here are just a few of the 41 hands-on events planned for 2017 STEM-CON:

•Create your own fractal art masterpieces and then snap a selfie with your art

•Examine human skeletons and see how acid affects bones - removes calcium, turns them "rubbery"

•Learn about the physics of flight with a real aircraft on hand

•Design, test, reimagine and revise your own flying contraptions in SciTech Museum's vertical wind tunnel

•Be wowed by the principles of energy when a concrete block is smashed over a COD professor lying on a bed of nails

•Watch the release of a weather balloon going 12.5 miles into the atmosphere

•Learn about the building processes of rockets and solar cars

•Take a closer look at the real world of crime solving through hands-on activities, including how to classify and identify a fingerprinting investigation

•Learn about coding and computers by making a Minecraft piano or generating a cat meme by utilizing a Raspberry Pi

•Learn about scale and context Use Lego Studio sets to build skyscrapers

•Use modeling clay and seashells to learn how fossils form

•View how river systems are made and shores are created over hundreds of thousands of years (in a few minutes)

•Experience and eye-opening demonstration as exhibitors change water to the state of freezing or boiling without adding or removing heat

These are just a sample of the excitement of STEM-CON. Featured speakers include Dr. Eugenia Cheng who uses unexpectedly connected examples from music, juggling and baking to show that math can be made fun and intriguing for all; stick bomb celebrity Andre Jefferson; anti-cyberbullying advocate and ReThink inventor Trisha Prabhu; and Fermilab's "Mr. Freeze" Jerry Zimmerman who will demonstrate cryogenics.

Get Your Geek On at STEM-CON!

STEM-CON is funded pursuant to a grant from the Illinois Community College Board and funded partially through the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006.