The NC Science Festival Hosts 400 Science Events Across the State 

Full Steam Ahead! 

That’s the theme of the 2023 North Carolina Science Festival, and Erik MacIntosh, Community Engagement Coordinator at the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, which runs the festival, believes it’s appropriate for several reasons. 

“I think there is a lot of pent-up demand to get out, and we’ve made it a point to offer a wide variety of events in all types of venues to allow folks to be able to do that,” said MacIntosh. 

The COVID-19 pandemic canceled the 2020 festival, turned the 2021 version into a virtual event and made the 2022 version much smaller. This year’s statewide celebration of science promises a return to almost normal. 

More than 400 science events are scheduled in all 100 counties in the state. 

“In fact, some events, like the Gravity Games in Lenoir, are returning for the first time in four years,” adds MacIntosh. “But we’re also encouraging partners to keep those COVID modifications that made the events even better and more accessible.” 

That means reaching more people by turning in-person events into hybrid events or including an online component. 

The Importance of STEAM Skills 

But there’s another reason the festival’s Full Steam Ahead theme resonates. 

“Our partners tell us they want to explore how art intersects with science, technology, engineering and math,” explains MacIntosh. “Educators tell us that while STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) focuses on the hard skills, STEAM includes all those hard skills, plus the arts.” 

“STEAM encourages collaboration and creativity to understand STEM concepts,” said Sondi Hoffman, biology instructor at Wayne Community College (WCC) in Goldsboro. She’s also the organizer of WCC’s The Art of Science, one of the featured events in the 2023 North Carolina Science Festival. 

Scheduled for April 22, the carnival-style event features 20 stations where attendees can explore hand-on activities about biodiversity, biotechnology, plants, density and more. That’s right, attendees are exposed to STEAM principles. 

For example, children can create “Trait Bracelets” in one activity. 

“Different colored beads correspond to unique traits, including eye and hair color, which hand is dominant and more,” explained Hoffman. “The artists making bracelets learn about DNA while creating art.” 

The creation of a Venus flytrap, a type of carnivorous plant, out of a variety of materials is featured at another station. That activity exposes students to biology through art. 

“STEM focuses on the analytical side of the brain, which is important, but it doesn’t work with creativity,” said Hoffman. “STEAM wakes up the creative side of the brain, and people need to engage both sides for critical thinking.” 

The North Carolina Science Festival runs from April 1–30, 2023. To find a full list of events, visit ncsciencefestival.org. 

PBS North Carolina and Sci NC appreciate the support of the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.