Activities for K-12 and up

Come explore interactive science booths, talks, and a planetarium at UCLA! Also, an award ceremony for a special guest you won't want to miss. All activities are free of charge and materials are provided - just bring your open mind!

66
Interactive Science Booths
18
Science Talks
450
Planetarium Tickets
1000s
of activities for everyone!

2025 Science Talks

15-min long presentations for all ages with time afterwards for questions. See the 2025 schedule below!
November 2, 2025 12:00 pm - 12:45 pm Room B (CS50)

Kickoff Celebration

Special kickoff to EYU at the beginning of the event by Dean Miguel García-Garibay of the division of Physical Sciences at UCLA including a presentation of the 2025 Science and Education Pioneer Award.

November 2, 2025 12:45 pm - 1:15 pm Room A (CS24)

Using math to understand the hidden lives of fungi

Fungi surround us, but somehow also live dark, hidden lives. Succeeding as organisms requires overcoming challenges to grow and disperse. By understanding the ingenuity of fungal solutions to these challenges, we learn about their mysterious world, as well as how to help prevent the harms that fungi can cause in ours. The other goal of […]

Marcus Roper Professor / UCLA Mathematics
November 2, 2025 12:45 pm - 1:15 pm Room B (CS50)

TBA

November 2, 2025 12:45 pm - 1:15 pm Room C (CS76)

From City to Chile: How to Find the Universe!

Astronomers go to special places like Chile to find planets, comets and galaxies. Can you do this in a city? What’s happening in Chile? Come learn about the special ingredient that makes all this possible! Recommended grade levels for this talk: 9th-12th

Laura-May Abron Astronomer / Griffith Observatory / Astronomer in Residence at the Grand Canyon
November 2, 2025 1:00 pm - 1:30 pm CNSI Auditorium

Space Weather and Satellites

Space weather is the weather in space, where the Sun sends out energy that ultimately ‘rains’ onto Earth. It can make Earth’s skies glow with aurora, or northern lights. Satellites can observe how these space storms move around Earth. Let’s check out how the Sun and Earth are connected! Recommended grade levels for this talk: […]

Dominique Stumbaugh Ph.D. Student / UCLA Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences / UCLA
November 2, 2025 1:30 pm - 2:00 pm Room A (CS24)

Snowing here but sizzling there: How Earth makes weather and climate

Embark on an exciting journey around the world to discover why some places are snowy while others are sizzling hot. Explore how Earth’s tilt, spin, and sunlight work together to create seasons, climate zones, and weather patterns. Learn why different parts of the planet feel so different at the same time of year. By the […]

Janine A. Baijnath-Rodino Professor / UCLA Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
November 2, 2025 1:30 pm - 2:00 pm Room B (CS50)

The Quest to Discover New Worlds: How We Take Pictures of Other Solar Systems

When we watch Star Wars or Star Trek, we see characters traveling between different solar systems, as if worlds that orbit around other stars are a given. But do the stars we see in the night sky really have their own planets, maybe even ones like Earth? Astronomers are on a quest to find that […]

Clarissa Do Ó Postdoctoral Fellow / CalTech Astronomy
November 2, 2025 1:30 pm - 2:00 pm Room C (CS76)

Near-Earth Objects: Hunting Rocks in Space

For billions of years, Earth’s landscape has changed slowly. Continents move relative to each other, mountains are worn down by wind and rain—these geologic forces take millions of years! But sometimes, change happens in an instant. A large asteroid impact can reshape the land in seconds! That’s why Principal Investigator Amy Mainzer and her amazing […]

Valeria Jaramillo Public Education Specialist / UCLA EPSS and NEO Surveyor
November 2, 2025 2:15 pm - 2:45 pm Room C (CS76)

Are we alone? UCLA SETI is on a quest to find out

How can we find evidence of life elsewhere?  Since 2016, UCLA SETI has been searching for signs of technology (technosignatures) in the galaxy with one of the largest radio telescopes on Earth. With UCLA undergraduate and graduate students, we have examined over 50,000 stars to date. Join us to find out why this search is […]

Jean-Luc Margot Professor / UCLA Department of Earth, Planetary, & Space Sciences / UCLA Department of Physics & Astronomy
November 2, 2025 2:15 pm - 2:45 pm Room B (CS50)

Seeing the Unseeable: How We Discover Black Holes

Black holes are invisible, yet we know they are out there—from the remains of dead stars to giants millions of times heavier than the Sun. But how can we study something that swallows even light? In this talk, we’ll explore the clever ways astronomers find black holes: by watching stars dance around them, listening to […]

Smadar Naoz Professor / UCLA Department of Physics & Astronomy
November 2, 2025 2:15 pm - 2:45 pm Room A (CS24)

Chilling with batteries: how freezing-cold microscopes unlock the hidden secrets of future batteries

From lemon batteries to atom-by-atom views, this talk shows how cryogenic electron microscopy (“cryo-EM”) lets us freeze battery materials to reveal the hidden reactions that power our phones, cars, and the grid. You’ll see why an ultra-thin interfacial layer (the solid-electrolyte interphase) controls performance and lifespan, and how UCLA researchers capture it in its native […]

Bo Liu PhD Student / UCLA Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
November 2, 2025 3:00 pm - 3:30 pm Room A (CS24)

We are Star Stuff: Searching for Oxygen All Over the Universe

On the tiniest scales, matter on Earth is made up of atoms. These atoms are so tiny, you can’t even see them with powerful microscopes. There are all different kinds of atoms: hydrogen, helium, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, iron, nickel, silver, gold, and platinum, to name a few. And each kind of atom has different properties. […]

Alice Shapley Professor / UCLA Physics and Astronomy
November 2, 2025 3:00 pm - 3:30 pm Room B (CS50)

Organic Chemistry in the Movies

Despite its bad reputation, organic chemistry is awesome and is all round us.  In this presentation, attendees will learn some of the basics of organic chemistry (yes, even kids can learn it!), while enjoying short clips from family-friendly movies. Recommended grade levels for this talk: 3rd-5th

Neil Garg Professor / UCLA Chemistry and Biochemistry
November 2, 2025 3:00 pm - 3:30 pm Room C (CS76)

Imaging the Invisible: From Black Holes to the Proton

Some things in the universe are too small or too far away to ever take a picture of with an ordinary camera. For example, we can’t take a photo of the inside of a proton, or the shadow of a black hole. But scientists have clever tricks: we use tiny clues from particles or light […]

Zhongbo Kang Professor / UCLA Department of Physics and Astronomy
November 2, 2025 3:45 pm - 4:15 pm Room A (CS24)

Consider the ant and be wise - what can humans learn from ants?

Ants form incredibly successful social systems. Over millions of years they have evolved the ability to construct intricate nests, cultivate crops, build bridges and rafts, and herd other animals; just to name a few exciting collective behaviors that ants accomplish. Inspired by ant behavior, humans have developed new computer algorithms, building architectures, and robot swarms. […]

Noa Pinter-Wollman Professor / UCLA Ecology and Evolutionary Biology & Computational and Systems Biology
November 2, 2025 3:45 pm - 4:15 pm Room B (CS50)

Molecular Compasses and Gyroscopes

Gyroscopes and compasses are simple tools that help us know which direction we’re going. A compass has a little needle that always points toward the Earth’s North Pole. A gyroscope has a spinning wheel that helps us stay steady and know if we are turning. Scientists at UCLA have found that some tiny molecules can […]

Miguel A. Garcia-Garibay Dean / UCLA Physical Sciences and Distinguished Professor / UCLA Chemistry and Biochemistry
November 2, 2025 3:45 pm - 4:15 pm Room C (CS76)

TBA

November 2, 2025 4:30 pm - 5:00 pm Room A (CS24)

Exotic Asteroids and Comets of the Solar System and Beyond

New technology in astronomy has resulted in the discovery of many new asteroids and comets in our solar system. Some are species of asteroids and comets that have never been seen before, such as interstellar comets from other stars, and minimoons, temporary tiny moons of the Earth. These asteroids and comets are telling us new […]

Bryce Bolin Staff Scientist at Eureka Scientific
November 2, 2025 4:30 pm - 5:00 pm Room B (CS50)

Fun with Plastics

Where do plastics come from? Which can be recycled? Can packing peanuts be recycled? How long are polymer chains? How many polymer chains are in a bowling ball? How are you supposed to open a ketchup package if it has no perforation marks? What is polyurethane foam used for and what is the largest polyurethane […]

Richard Kaner Distinguished Professor / UCLA Chemistry and Biochemistry / UCLA Materials Science & Engineering
November 2, 2025 4:30 pm - 5:00 pm Room C (CS76)

Scrubbed In: The Science of Cleaning up a Mess!

Whether you’re cooking dinner or performing cutting edge research, messiness is inevitable. From coffee stains to motor oil to chemical spills, cleaning is about understanding what your mess is made of and using that knowledge to choose the right solution for your problem. We’ll be talking about some of the science behind the techniques, technologies, […]

Noah Yan M.D./Ph.D. Student, UCLA MIMG