Science & Nature Conference is a smash success

Wow! Yesterday I had the chance to be part of the annual Science and Nature Conference for Minnesota kids in 3rd through 6th grade, hosted here at Gustavus. Wow! Hundreds of kids (like, 500) from all over the state came to participate in sessions highlighting “super cool” (quote from a 6th grader) science demonstrations like the Rubens Tube, the life cycle of a drop of water, and the ecosystem of Minnesota’s rivers. The keynoter was “Mr. Dude” the mad scientist:

Here he is showing how dry ice moves from a solid right to a gas–one of the few elements that does this (who knew?)

Here’s a great video that KEYC took of yet another demonstration he did with 6th graders.

All I heard was how great it was to be at Gustavus, and I overheard the facilitators from host organization South Central Service Cooperative saying how Gustavus welcomes them every year with open arms. It was a sight: packs of kids running to sessions at Nobel, Olin and Confer and finding their way to classrooms to participate. Wow! I can’t wait til next year!