NC Science Festival

Yesterday, I had the great pleasure of meeting Jonathan Frederick, Director of the NC Science Festival, an initiative of the UNC Morehead Planetarium and Science Center. This celebration, from April 13th-29th, is the first statewide science festival in the nation. Jonathan and his team are engaging participants across the state to create, host, sponsor, etc. events.

Their goal is to make April be known as the “science month” in North Carolina. The Festival includes both traditional and funky events, from an open house to a kitchen chemistry event in a local restaurant. Companies and organizations can submit programs that are already going on, or they can create a new program for the week of the Festival. Their long-term vision for the Festival is to have 1 million people participating each year at events all over the state.

Based on the feedback from 2010 Event hosts, there are a number of improvements from last year. For example:

• Individual webpage url for your event.
• Improved calendar functionality allows people to find your event that much easier.
• Option to upload your own event photo or logo.
• Customizable event flyer available.
• News media release template available to promote your individual event.

For the 2010 Final Report, future goals, and additional details on the festival, please visit: www.ncsciencefestival.org

Not only is this a wonderful opportunity to showcase our region’s (among other municipalities across the state) many science related activities, but it also gives our area great exposure in terms of economic development as the activities take place right here at home, while still connecting us to the state at large.

If you have any resources/programs/contacts in mind, I urge you to pass them on to myself or the NC Science Festival organizers. I look forward to your participation!