Last updated 9-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! There will be more exciting shows but we're still working on the lineup, so check back often! |
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 ** Masks required inside all campus buildings **
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We'll also have over 70 hands-on STEAM activity stations. A few are already listed below but lots more will be added in the coming days!
You can expect 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.
We still need lots of help to pull this off. Ask about volunteer opportunities for groups and individuals.
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.
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 (coming soon) 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 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), Engineering & Applied Science (ENGR) and Osborne Center (OCSE) (see campus map). We will have Information Tables with 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 on the campus map).
- Food: The University Center food court may be open- we'll update this soon.
- Weather: We'll go rain or shine. If it is raining, snowing or extremely cold we will move many of the outside activities 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. Use the hashtag #CSCSF.
- T-Shirts: Remember this day all year with our official Cool Science Festival T-shirt. Children's and adult's sizes will be available at the lower El Pomar Center (EPC) Information Table for a $15 donation to Cool Science (cash only).
* 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:
Cool Science and the U.S. Air Force Academy: Chemistry Magic Show
Show Time: 10:00 am (~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).
Show Time: 10:00 am (~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).
More coming soon!
Hands-on Activity Stations:
American Guild of Organists:
Build a real, working pipe organ with our OrgelKids kit and learn how it works: where the wind comes from; what happens when you press a key; and so much more! Autism Vision of Colorado: Make your own dinosaur tracks in Playdough while identifying and coloring various dinosaurs. 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. 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: Cut out your own paper rocket, add a nose cone and fins then use a compressed air launcher to blast off! 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 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. 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. 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. 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: Details coming soon. Nature & Wildlife Discovery Center: Learn about hawks, owls, eagles, falcons and vultures and even meet 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. 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:
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: Details coming soon. 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: 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. Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center: Learn about the Amazing Prehistoric Seas in our ocean themed interactive program. Royal Crest Dairy 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. Slim Rail Model Railroad Club: 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! Sustainable Educational Experience on the Shire at Old Ranch: Details coming soon. 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 Air Force Academy Computer Science: Meet our humanoid robots Pepper, Furhat, and Misty II and learn a bit about how they work. U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Play some fun games to learn about protecting our environment. UCCS Advanced Manufacturing Laboratory: We'll demonstrate how we use 3D printers to manufacture rocket propellent pastes. UCCS American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics: Demonstration of aerospace systems, including a cubesat (small satellite) and a regeneratively cooled rocket engine. 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 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 and use beads and string to spell your initials in binary code. UCCS HyperFalcos: Watch our linear indiction mini hyperloop hi-tech transportation track and learn about our design for the 2022 Hyperloop Pod competition. 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) |
More coming soon!
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.