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Last updated 30-Sep-2022 (be sure to refresh your browser)
For many of our most devoted young fans Cool Science Carnival Day for Kids IS the festival! Carnival Day at UCCS (even though it wasn't called that yet) actually began in 2009, and was such a huge hit that it was a no-brainer when we decided to expand it the following year to create the multi-day celebration of all things STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Math) that we all enjoy now. Cool Science Carnival Day for Kids at UCCS is truly STEAM on steroids! You certainly won't want to miss USAFA Professor Emeritus and Cool Science co-founder Dr. Ron Furstenau present his popular Chemistry Magic show with lots of color changing "potions" and explosions! 
Chemistry Magic Show with Dr. Ron
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If You're Going
What: Cool Science Carnival Day for Kids When: Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022 10am-4pm Where: Univ of Colorado- Colo Spgs 1420 Austin Bluffs Pkwy., Colorado Springs (map) Who: Primarily for kids K-8th (fun for all!) Why: Because STEAM Rocks! How: With your help, please donate below |
If that's not enough chemistry magic for you, UCCS Prof. Elise Naughton and some of her students will also present their "Chemical Illusions" magic show. And speaking of magic, we'll have not one but two master magicians, Eddie Goldstein from Boulder and Bruce Black from Colorado Springs who will amaze as well as teach you some of the science that makes their "magic" so astounding.
But there's a lot more than just shows on Carnival Day! We'll have over 70 hands-on STEAM activity stations featuring rockets, robots, race cars and electric vehicles, virtual and augmented reality stations, really loud and really fast racing drones, telescopes, solar S'mores, catapults and mousetrap cars, bubbles, submarines, dinosaurs, satellites, liquid nitrogen ice cream and much more!
Of course you can also meet plenty of live animals, including arthropods, raptors, Colorado native fish and macro-invertibrates in a "pond soup". If you prefer your animal encounters stuffed and mounted then check out the UCCS Natural History Museum. Examine tiny aquatic animals, fungi and bacteria through microscopes. You'll even learn how to train your own pets by playing a fun game.
All of this is presented by Cool Science and dozens of participating companies, schools, museums, clubs, nonprofits and other organizations from throughout eastern Colorado. It's all FREE (including parking) and fun for all ages! Check out some photos from previous Carnival Days. And if you can't wait for the excitement be sure to check out the videos from the 2021 virtual Carnival Day.
Note: We will be following all UCCS campus COVID-19 guidelines during this event. Right now masks are NOT required on campus. Check this page often for any updates to these policies.
Don't forget that Carnival Day is just one of dozens of great Colorado Springs Cool Science Festival events for all ages. Check out the full 16+ day schedule for more information.
You can also join our mailing list to keep updated on the festival and Carnival Day (or read any emails you've missed here).
We still need lots of help to pull this off. Ask about volunteer opportunities for groups and individuals.
Of course you can also meet plenty of live animals, including arthropods, raptors, Colorado native fish and macro-invertibrates in a "pond soup". If you prefer your animal encounters stuffed and mounted then check out the UCCS Natural History Museum. Examine tiny aquatic animals, fungi and bacteria through microscopes. You'll even learn how to train your own pets by playing a fun game.
All of this is presented by Cool Science and dozens of participating companies, schools, museums, clubs, nonprofits and other organizations from throughout eastern Colorado. It's all FREE (including parking) and fun for all ages! Check out some photos from previous Carnival Days. And if you can't wait for the excitement be sure to check out the videos from the 2021 virtual Carnival Day.
Note: We will be following all UCCS campus COVID-19 guidelines during this event. Right now masks are NOT required on campus. Check this page often for any updates to these policies.
Don't forget that Carnival Day is just one of dozens of great Colorado Springs Cool Science Festival events for all ages. Check out the full 16+ day schedule for more information.
You can also join our mailing list to keep updated on the festival and Carnival Day (or read any emails you've missed here).
We still need lots of help to pull this off. Ask about volunteer opportunities for groups and individuals.
Planning Your Visit
- Pre-Registration: Carnival Day is FREE, but please pre-register online to help us to know how many people are coming, kid's ages and how you found our about the event. It only takes a couple minutes.
- Pre-Arrival: If you like to prepare for big events in advance, download a copy of our Carnival Day Map/Flyer (442KB PDF) to plan your route through all the fun activities.
- Best Time to Come: In a "normal" year we expect nearly 6,000 people to attend throughout the day. Of course with lingering COVID concerns this may not be a normal year yet, but it's always best to arrive earlier.
- Parking: All campus parking lots are FREE on Carnival Day, but fill up quickly, so check the campus parking map for more information.
- Arrival: Our activities will be spread across much of the UCCS central main campus, inside and outside the University Center (UCTR), Centennial Hall (CENT), Gallogly Events Center (GEC) and Osborne Center (OCSE) (see campus map). We will have maps and volunteers to assist you at the main entrances to each of these buildings, but a good place to start is the lower University Center plaza on the east side of the El Pomar Center (EPC just to the right of "KFL" on this campus map).
- Food: The University Center food court, Cafe 65, will be open until 2pm as well as the coffee shop, also in the University Center. The variety and quantity of food available may be limited, however, so you may want to bring your own snacks.
- Weather: We'll go rain or shine. If it is raining, snowing or extremely cold we will move most of the outside activities indoors, and of course the majority of our activity stations are already indoors.
- Social Media: Help us spread the word. Please share this page with your friends (Facebook "Like" and "Share" buttons above) and share your comments and photos with us on our Carnival Day Facebook event page (and be sure to like us on our Facebook page too). You can also tweet to us @CScoolscience, and we're on Instagram and TikTok. Use the hashtag #CSCSF.
- T-Shirts: Remember this day all year with our official Cool Science Festival T-shirt (designed by UCCS student Jeremy Lee). Children's and adult's sizes will be available at the lower University Center (UCTR) Information Table for a $15 donation to Cool Science (cash only).
T-shirt (click to zoom in)
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Help us promote the Festival!
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* Please help us keep this event admission FREE *
Suggested donation $2/child ($5/family)
Donate at Information Tables (cash only) or online through ColoradoGives
Suggested donation $2/child ($5/family)
Donate at Information Tables (cash only) or online through ColoradoGives
Demonstration Shows, Tours and Performances:
Black's Magic: "The Science of Magic / The Magic of Science!! "
Show Times: 1:30 pm and 3:00 pm
Master Magician Bruce Black will present a fun, educational magic show that demonstrates scientific principles AND actually teaches a few magic tricks by looking at the scientific principles behind some famous magic illusions. Show Highlight - Using Magic to Stop A War!! (all ages, outdoors on the Upper Plaza stage).
Cool Science and the U.S. Air Force Academy: Chemistry Magic Show
Show Times: 10:30 am and noon (~50 minutes)
Always a fan favorite, experience the wonders of chemistry with our own Dr. Ron Furstenau performing his signature magic show for all ages. "Potions" will change colors, explode and even freeze right before your eyes (all ages, Centennial 203).
Eddie Goldstein: "The Magical Math and Science Show"
Show Times: 11:00 am and noon
World-famous science performer and magician, Eddie Goldstein, combines math and science in this one-of-a-kind show - a totally fun blend of science demos, intriguing explanations, and sleight of hand magic. "Peek behind the scenes” as you learn the scientific principles behind some of magic’s most clever secrets (all ages, outdoors on the Upper Plaza stage).
UCCS Chemistry: Chemical Illusions (A Chemistry Magic Show)
Performance Times: 1:30 pm and 3:00 pm
Dr. Elise Naughton from the UCCS Chemistry Dept. demonstrates her own take on the magic of chemistry with rainbow fire, flaming gummy bears, an electric pickle, a genie in a bottle and more! (all ages, Centennial 203).
UCCS Computer Science Bioinformatics Lab: Understanding Human Genome and Genes using Artificial Intelligence
Demonstration Times: 11:30 am; 12:30 and 1:30 pm (~40 minutes)
Learn how the Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms created in the Dr. Oluwatosin Oluwadare-led bioinformatics group may be used to reconstruct the spatial arrangement of the human genome structure within the cell nucleus and how the chromosomes and genome fold within the cell to impact gene expression (middle and high school students and adults, Osborne (OCSE) - A-210).
UCCS Advanced Manufacturing Lab: 3D Printing Rockets
Demonstration Times: Noon; 12:30 and 1:00 pm (~20 minutes)
This demo will cover the considerations that go into printing dense pastes like rocket motor propellent. We will talk about formulation (what types of materials we can use?), manufacturing (how can we make the shapes that we need?), and characterization (how do we know the motor will perform the way we need?) (middle and high school students and adults, Osborne (OCSE) - A-208).
Show Times: 1:30 pm and 3:00 pm
Master Magician Bruce Black will present a fun, educational magic show that demonstrates scientific principles AND actually teaches a few magic tricks by looking at the scientific principles behind some famous magic illusions. Show Highlight - Using Magic to Stop A War!! (all ages, outdoors on the Upper Plaza stage).
Cool Science and the U.S. Air Force Academy: Chemistry Magic Show
Show Times: 10:30 am and noon (~50 minutes)
Always a fan favorite, experience the wonders of chemistry with our own Dr. Ron Furstenau performing his signature magic show for all ages. "Potions" will change colors, explode and even freeze right before your eyes (all ages, Centennial 203).
Eddie Goldstein: "The Magical Math and Science Show"
Show Times: 11:00 am and noon
World-famous science performer and magician, Eddie Goldstein, combines math and science in this one-of-a-kind show - a totally fun blend of science demos, intriguing explanations, and sleight of hand magic. "Peek behind the scenes” as you learn the scientific principles behind some of magic’s most clever secrets (all ages, outdoors on the Upper Plaza stage).
UCCS Chemistry: Chemical Illusions (A Chemistry Magic Show)
Performance Times: 1:30 pm and 3:00 pm
Dr. Elise Naughton from the UCCS Chemistry Dept. demonstrates her own take on the magic of chemistry with rainbow fire, flaming gummy bears, an electric pickle, a genie in a bottle and more! (all ages, Centennial 203).
UCCS Computer Science Bioinformatics Lab: Understanding Human Genome and Genes using Artificial Intelligence
Demonstration Times: 11:30 am; 12:30 and 1:30 pm (~40 minutes)
Learn how the Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms created in the Dr. Oluwatosin Oluwadare-led bioinformatics group may be used to reconstruct the spatial arrangement of the human genome structure within the cell nucleus and how the chromosomes and genome fold within the cell to impact gene expression (middle and high school students and adults, Osborne (OCSE) - A-210).
UCCS Advanced Manufacturing Lab: 3D Printing Rockets
Demonstration Times: Noon; 12:30 and 1:00 pm (~20 minutes)
This demo will cover the considerations that go into printing dense pastes like rocket motor propellent. We will talk about formulation (what types of materials we can use?), manufacturing (how can we make the shapes that we need?), and characterization (how do we know the motor will perform the way we need?) (middle and high school students and adults, Osborne (OCSE) - A-208).
** BONUS ACTIVITY **
Cool Science has partnered with the Boston Museum of Science EiE Families for an online engineering activity (ages 4-11) that you can do at home. Download the PDF or visit the web page to get started!
Hands-on Activity Stations:
(unfortunately we've had several last-minute cancellations due to positive COVID tests)
(unfortunately we've had several last-minute cancellations due to positive COVID tests)
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Academy for Advanced & Creative Learning:
You will use Isaac Newton's RGB wheel to demonstrate the color cycle of light and the sieve of Eratosthenes to locate prime numbers and break encrypted codes. American Numismatic Association - The Money Museum: Learn about the elements have been used throughout history to make money and play "Guess Which Coin Weighs More?" to win a real coin prize. AIAA Rocky Mountain Section: Learn about rocketry as engineers from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) help you build and launch Alka-Selzer rockets and water pressure rockets. Autism Vision of Colorado: Make your own dinosaur tracks in Playdough while identifying and coloring various dinosaurs. Beth-El Johnson Simulation Learning Center (UCCS) : Meet a robotic child manikin experiencing an emergency and practice giving life-saving epinephrine. You can also "drive" a telepresence robot and learn about healthcare careers and how STEAM is an essential part of healthcare. Boys and Girls Clubs of the Pikes Peak Region: Several of our members will demonstrate flying drones that they built from scratch to play Drone Soccer. Cave of the Winds: Learn how some caves and rocks form with our Geology Lab. CaveSim: Put on a harness and practice various climbing techniques with pulleys and mechanical ascenders on our12' tall vertical caving tower. Challenger Learning Center of Colorado: "Exploring Gravity Across the Solar System": calculate your weight on other planetary bodies; play with a hands-on gravity well; and tackle a "Marble Run" hands-on engineering design challenge. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo: [Note: 10 am to 2 pm only] Interact with live animals and touchable biofacts from the ZOOMobile. You might meet snakes, hedgehogs, lizards, or who knows what else. Children's Hospital Colorado - Colorado Springs: Keep Calm and Breathe with tools to help children with emotional self regulation, specifically when feeling worried, stressed or anxious. Civil Air Patrol - Colorado Springs Cadet Squadron: Are you a rocket scientist? Build a paper rocket and launch with compressed air to fly 300 feet down range- or you might not be so lucky and it may blow up on the launch pad. What kind of rocket will you build? Civil Air Patrol - Pikes Peak Composite Squadron: How do airplanes fly? Learn about Bernoulli's Principle with paper airplanes, mask making and fun demonstrations. Colorado Parks and Wildlife: Experience why the wildlife and fish native to Colorado are so important at this hands-on activity station with live fish. Colorado Springs Astronomical Society: Safely observe the sun's surface and its atmosphere- 93 million miles away- using our special filtered telescopes. It's more than just a yellow ball! Colorado Springs Fire Department: Explore a real Fire Department HAZMAT truck and equipment. Colorado Springs Rocket Society (COSROCS): Build a quality Estes Rocket Model that will take to the skies! Rocket Society members will be on stand-by to help with the construction and to answer any questions you may have on rockets. Cool Science & UCCS Circle K: Make fog-filled soap bubbles with solid carbon dioxide (aka "dry ice")! Dinosaur Resource Center: "Let's Talk About Dinosaurs!" with skulls, claws and all kinds of fun dinosaur stuff. Donor Alliance: Play with Charlie, a life-size operation game, to learn about transplantable organs and talk with volunteers that have been personally touched by donation! Drive Electric Colorado: We'll showcase a variety of electric vehicles and you can ask our team of experts any EV question, from financial incentives to range and charging. El Paso County Nature Centers: Meet the tiny & big creatures of El Paso County with pelts, skulls, scats, and tracks of a few mammals, as well as fresh pond water with macro life swimming about. Estes Rockets: See amazing display rockets, build a model rocket with COSROCS, and enter for a chance to win an Estes Gift Set. FIRST Robotics Team Cougars Gone Wired from Coronado H.S.: Cougars Gone Wired invites you to come play robot soccer and play catch with our competition robot. Gather Food Studio & S.E.E.: Gather will partner with the Sustainable Educational Experience on the Shire at Old Ranch (SEE) to talk and taste herbs. Learn how your taste buds work and how you can change the flavors of foods by combining different ingredients. Discover why you might think you don't like something and turn your dislikes into likes! Harrison School District 2: Experience the joy of building blocks, simple electronics and app-enabled commands while using math, technology and coding to bring a Star Wars themed Robot to life! Girl Scouts of Colorado: Experiment with dry-erase marker ink in water to levitate a stick figure "Marker Man" and learn about solubility and density. Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region: Learn the importance and science of clicker training animals by trying it yourself with a (human) partner. Are you smarter than a dog? iFLY Colorado Springs: Learn how we use forces and physics to make indoor skydiving possible. Kratos Defense: Join us on a "Fox Hunt" and learn a tiny bit about satellite communication while you use an antenna to locate our missing employee. Lockheed Martin: Take a ride on our rocket sled - powered by you! Nature & Wildlife Discovery Center: Explore our skins and skulls touch table, learn about our resident raptors and even meet and greet with some live birds of prey. National Space Science & Technology Institute: Check out the Mobile Earth & Space Observatory (MESO), with telescopes and several more hands-on activities. National Weather Service (Pueblo): We will have a few interactive displays talking about flash flooding, tornadoes, and weather safety in general. Northrop Grumman: Explore the movement of air and how weight and construction affect flight by testing different objects in our wind tubes to see which ones float and which ones don't! North Cheyenne Cañon Park: Minerals & Morsels - Discover and explore the geologic processes that created one of the oldest rocks of the Pikes Peak Region and North Cheyenne Cañon Park by making your own ‘granite chip cookie’. |
One Voice 4 Change:
Learn how students design payloads for CubeSat Sims that can then be launched on a high altitude balloon. OptTek Systems: Sharpen your engineering design skills by building the largest box you can from a single sheet of paper. We'll also have a computer guessing game and a robot. Pikes Peak Library District: Join Pikes Peak Library District (PPLD) in our exploration of force, motion, and visual effects as you create a Penny Spinner. Pikes Peak Mycological Society: Marvelous Mushrooms and Fantastic Fungi - See mushrooms gathered in the woods, live fungi being grown in tanks and learn how to cultivate fungi on logs. Pikes Peak Regional Science and Engineering Fair: Middle and high school students will present their science fair projects and explain the difference between a science demonstration and an experiment. Pikes Peak Soap Box Derby: See the internal workings of a Soap Box Derby car cut in half then take a (slow) ride in a real working car to get the feel of racing. Pikes Peak State College Engineering: Play with ping pong launchers and mouse trap cars. Come by and try to launch the ball to hit the target! Planet Walk Colorado Springs: Walk a scale model of the inner planets of our solar system and learn about the Sun and planets along the way. Pueblo Zoo: Support for Songbirds: Stop by the booth to learn about birds, explore bird biofacts, and promise to take on an action that will make a difference! Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center: Learn about the Amazing Prehistoric Seas in our ocean themed interactive program. Royal Crest Dairy, Palmer HS Science and Cool Science: Learn about dairy products while making tasty ice cream in less than 2 minutes using liquid nitrogen at -320°F. School District 49: Experience District 49's virtual and augmented reality platform, zSpace, on our one and only IGNITE: Expeditions bus. Southeast Colorado Renewable Energy Society (SECRES): Use the sun's energy to generate electricity and heat to cook S'Mores. Space Foundation Discovery Center: Did you know that you can paint with a robot?! Did you know that you can drive a robot underwater?! Come on out to play with Sphero Bolts in water and paint! That Science Fairy: A Twist on Engineering - explore a simple machine and play a game of Twister with your body. U.S Air Force Academy Cybersecurity: Come and learn about how to hide messages with ciphers. Hack a Jefferson wheel, explore the Caesar Cipher, solve some puzzles, and be able to send secret messages to your friends and more! U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Play some fun games to learn about protecting our environment. UCCS American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics: Demonstration of aerospace systems, including a cubesat (small satellite) and a regeneratively cooled rocket engine. UCCS American Society of Mechanical Engineers: Learn about Computer Aided Design (CAD) tools as student instructors guide you through an introductory project using SolidWorks. UCCS Anthropology Club: Dig into the past with casts of famous skulls and a sifting station for finding artifacts. UCCS Biochemistry & Chemistry Club: Use common household acids and bases to paint pictures on goldenrod paper (paper made with a pH indicator dye). UCCS BioFrontiers Center: Take a tour of the UCCS BioFrontiers lab spaces! See state-of-the-art equipment, visualize nanoscale science, experience the exciting world of quantum. UCCS Bug Club: Insectpalooza! Come experience insects, spiders & all things arthropod - live and preserved- housed in the UCCS Biology Dept ! We also have feeding demonstrations & interactions with select critters. UCCS Chemistry & Biochemistry: Experiment with the enzymes in your own saliva that help break down the food you eat. UCCS Cognitive Development Lab: Is it easier to remember pictures or words, and why do you think that? Play our fun memory game and win prizes to learn how you remember information. UCCS Cyber Security Programs Office: Learn about cybersecurity, put on a headset to experience virtual reality and use beads and string to spell your initials in binary code. UCCS Electrical and Computer Engineering: We'll demonstrate UCCS student's Arduino Robot projects then you can play with our LEGO Robots. UCCS GES Geomorphology Research Lab: What is geomorphology? Students from Geography and Environmental Studies (GES) will demonstrate some special instruments they use to examine the lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, atmosphere, cryosphere, and anthrosphere. UCCS Global Medical Brigades: You can practice some basic first aid and physiological measurements like blood pressure and heart rate, learn about health professions and our volunteering efforts for local and international communities in need. UCCS High Altitude Race Engineering: UCCS engineering students will showcase the 2022 electric racecar they built for the Formula Society of Automotive Engineers (FSAE) competition. UCCS Hyperloop Team (The HyperFalcos): We will demonstrate hand-held passive magnetic levitation and a rotary Halbach array vehicle running along a linear railway track. UCCS Natural History Museum: See more than 800 skeletons, skulls, and preserved specimens ranging from hippos to mountain lions to a saber-toothed tiger! (Osborne B402) UCCS Physics and Energy Science: Learn how the large Foucalt pendulum in the Osborne lobby works and what it tells us about the Earth. UCCS STEM Education Outreach, Pre-Collegiate Dept: Soap bubbles- big and small! Make your own bubble wand and build a candy catapult! Yeet 3D LLC Drones and 3D Printers: Kids will love our racing drones that go really fast and are loud! We'll also be 3D printing cool trinkets for kids to take home. Zometool: The Heart of STEAM Zometool turns quantum math into child’s play. Learn about space, the infinitely dimensional universe and how time does not exist - or just build incredibly beautiful models! |
Thanks to all of our Cool Science volunteers and the participating organizations that make Carnival Day possible!
Disclaimer: Please be aware that by attending this event, you consent to your likeness being used, without compensation, in photography for use in any and all media, whether known or subsequent. You release Cool Science, its successors, assigns and licensees from any liability whatsoever of any nature.
Disclaimer: Please be aware that by attending this event, you consent to your likeness being used, without compensation, in photography for use in any and all media, whether known or subsequent. You release Cool Science, its successors, assigns and licensees from any liability whatsoever of any nature.
