February 24, 2006
MEDIA CONTACT: Caroline Witherspoon
or Jocelyn Collado
Becker Communications
(808) 533-4165
DISCOVER YOUR INNER SCIENTIST AT BISHOP MUSEUM’S
MAD ABOUT SCIENCE FESTIVAL ON MARCH 11
**New Science On A Sphere Exhibit to Debut**
HONOLULU – Come discover your inner scientist at Bishop Museum’s 2nd Annual Mad About Science Festival. On Saturday, March 11, 2006 from 10 a.m. – 9 p.m., kids and families will have dozens of hands-on activities, experiments, and entertaining shows to explore and discover more about geology, archeology, biology, botany, ecology, and other exciting sciences.
This year’s Mad About Science Festival takes a special look at the environment and wildlife of Hawai‘i, with activity booths and games from Bishop Museum’s Holoholo Science program, the Waikiki Aquarium, Board of Water Supply, Hawai‘i Nature Center, O‘ahu Invasive Species Committee, Hawai‘i Water Environment Alliance, Kahea-Hawai‘i Environmental Alliance, East Maui Watershed Partnership, Hawai‘i Wildlife Steering Committee, Conservation Council for Hawai‘i, and more. Kids will also be able to interact with real scientists and see where they work through free behind-the-scenes tours of Bishop Museum’s Natural Science Collections, one of the 5th largest in the world, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Space is limited for these tours, so visitors are encouraged to come early and sign up.
Also, debuting at the festival will be a new permanent exhibit, Science On A Sphere. The exhibit features a 68-inch, 200 lb. white fiberglass sphere, suspended from a custom-made aluminum structure, which serves as a 3-D movie screen to display full-color animated images from satellites and other sources of geophysical and astronomical data. Bishop Museum is one of only four science and technology centers in the United States housing Science On A Sphere as a permanent display.
The festival will also feature a number of entertaining shows designed to further inform and excite interest in science. Presentations range from a variety of topics, from fun physical science experiments from Mad Science Hawaii, water recycling from the Board of Water Supply, environmental conservation from La Pietra’s Project Citizen, and even Killer Asteroids from the Institute for Astronomy. There will also be a special presentation on Bishop Museum’s Hawai‘i Biological Survey, the only complete checklist of plants and animals of any state in the nation, and the first completed in the world, consisting of over 25,000 species.
Festival-goers can also enjoy rides from Heather’s Inflatables, delicious food and snacks, prize giveaways, and stargazing at night with the Hawai‘i Astronomical Society and Institute for Astronomy. The first 500 kids to the event will get a set of newly released Series V Hawai‘i Biological Survey Good Guys/Bad Guys trading cards.
The 2nd Annual Mad About Science Festival is made possible with the support of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Education through Cultural and Historical Organizations (ECHO). Science On A Sphere is made possible with the support of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Admission is $3 for local residents and military and free for Bishop Museum members and children ages 3 and under. For information, call 847-3511 or visit www.bishopmuseum.org.