| North Carolina Science Festival | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | NCSF |
| Formation | September 11, 2010 |
| Purpose/focus | STEM outreach and education |
| Headquarters | Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Region served | North Carolina |
| Parent organization | Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
| Affiliations | USA Science & Engineering Festival |
| Website | www.ncsciencefestival.org |
The North Carolina Science Festival (NCSF) is a multi-week event encompassing hundreds of science education and outreach events throughout the state of North Carolina. The festival is organized by Morehead Planetarium and Science Center in Chapel Hill, N.C., and highlights the educational, cultural and economic impact of science in the state. NCSF events include hands-on activities, talks, lab tours, exhibits and performances for all ages.
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The first North Carolina Science Festival was held Sept. 11-26, 2010, featuring Bugfest at the North Carolina Museum of Natural History as its kick-off event.[1] The festival coordinated with the USA Science and Engineering Festival and Observe the Moon night[2]
Many of the festival's 413 scheduled activities were hosted by museums and universities. Some were hosted by businesses with science connections; for example, North Carolina's wine industry was showcased in events featuring the science of winemaking.[3] The University of North Carolina hosted Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage of Mythbusters for a program at the Smith Center with nearly 5,000 in attendance.[3][4] East Carolina University and Go-Science hosted more than 2,000 participants for the Eastern Regional Science Expo with exhibitions and demonstrations. The festival concluded with the UNC Science Expo at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.[5]
The inaugural festival offered programs at 89 participating organizations, with 22 percent of these programs in the mountain region, 63 percent in the piedmont region and 15 percent in the coastal region. As of Oct. 7, 2010, 60 host organizations had already reported attendance for 98 events totalling 89,494 participants.
Sponsors for the 2010 North Carolina Science Festival were Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Time Warner Cable and SAS (platinum level); Biogen Idec, Lenovo, Magellan Science, The News & Observer and UNC Health Care (gold level); Inspire Pharmaceuticals, NC STEM Community Collaborative and UNC School of Education (silver level); BB&T, The Research Triangle Park, Life Technologies Foundation, Dr. Nicholas B. Duck and family and the NC GlaxoSmithKline Foundation (bronze level); with WRAL-TV5 and GoAskMom on WRAL.com as media sponsors.
Although no plans are confirmed at this time, the next North Carolina Science Festival is tentatively scheduled for April 2012.
The NCSF Board of Advisors comprises leaders from business, government and education who are charged with developing the festival as a permanent and sustainable program for North Carolina. As of October 2010, board members are: