Fourth annual IU Science Fest opens doors to world-class labs, scientists

The free event is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Activities will take place in Jordan Hall, Lindley Hall, the Chemistry Building, Ballantine Hall, the Fine Arts Building, Kirkwood Observatory and the Student Building.

Last year's event attracted over 2,000 visitors to campus. A small sampling of this year's activities includes a low-temperature physics demonstration; a volcano simulation; the chance to experiment with VR headsets, Snapchat glasses and 3-D printers; controlling electric cars with brain impulses; geode rock smashing; a guided trek through IU's beautiful campus woodlands; and tours of IU's world-class research spaces, including the IU greenhouse, solar observatory, electron microscope facility and scientific glassblower's studio.

This year also marks the return of the popular electric fish demonstration, which debuted at last year's event. The demonstration, which is hosted by IU Bloomington faculty member G. Troy Smith, uses special equipment to show how several species of fish native to South America use weak electrical fields and highly sensitive receptor organs in their skin to communicate inside the dark, murky waters of the continent's rivers.

"Science Fest is an excellent opportunity for us to show off some of the exciting work happening in our lab here at IU and to convey the enthusiasm that we have for science to others in our community," said Smith, an associate professor in the Department of Biology, who runs the demonstration with several graduate and postgraduate students in his lab. "This is our second year participating in the event, and we're really looking forward to it."

Smith said the scientific methods on display are based on his lab's research into how these electric fish evolved their unusual manner of communication, which is used to detect both the species and the sex of other fishes, as males and females often produce different types of electrical signals.