Hundreds of Students and Parents Participate in Science Night

Nearly 400 students and their parents took part in the third annual Bellefonte Family Science Night on November 18, co-hosted by the Bellefonte Area School District and Penn State’s Eberly College of Science. Along with teachers from the district, over 100 volunteers, including 60 staff and students from 15 organizations at Penn State, provided hands-on activities for students and their families.

Bellefonte Family Science Night is a community based program with the goal of promoting community and family support of STEM education in local schools. Penn State graduate students, faculty, and the Outreach Office bring hands-on activities to Bellefonte Middle School. The mission of the program is to get students engaged in science at a young age and encourage them to pursue studies and careers in science.

The event featured a variety of topics ranging from astronomy to chemistry, and included multiple demonstrations, chemistry experiments, and other activities. The goal of the activities is to stimulate students’ interest in science and encourage their creativity.

Penn State organizations participating in the event include: Science-U, the Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium, Ridge 2000 Education, the Nittany Chemical Society, the Society of Physics Students, the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences Geo Wall, Soil Science, Ecology, EcoCAR, Science LionPride, NASA Aerospace Education Services Project, Penn State’s University Student Launch Initiative club, 4H and Cooperative Extension, and the Penn State Association for Women in Science.

This event was also made possible by the generosity of our event sponsors: the Penn State Eberly College of Science, Fulton Bank, the YMCA of Centre County, Chick-fil-A, Pizza Mia, Eat’n Park, Sheetz, the Olive Garden, and Pure Imagination.

Visit the Eberly College of Science Outreach website for more information on additional family-friendly activities and events.