x DIY Science ’15: Return of the Zone! | GeekGirlCon

DIY Science ’15: Return of the Zone!

Do you go gaga for close-ups of Pluto?

Do you quibble over the lack of dino feathers on Jurassic World?

Have you bemused your parents trying to explain that Spock is “the hunky one” in Star Trek? OK, maybe that’s just me.

In short, do you love science?

Well, strap on your lab goggles and pull up a laser because the DIY Science Zone is back for GeekGirlCon ‘15!

What is the DIY Science Zone?

Stand-back-Im-about-to-try-science

Image source: catplanet

The Zone is where you can do some hands-on science right there in the conference center–that’s right, you can take a break from panels, gaming, and workshops, and step over to the Zone, where our highly trained team of scientists and science educators will guide you through a selection of fun experiments and answer all your questions about their science specialism.

All experiments are kid-friendly, but folks of all ages are welcome and encouraged to join in.

In the Zone’s previous two years, participants have made light, slime, neurons, and raisins dance. They’ve explored the Riddle of Randomness and crime-scene fingerprinting. Scientists and non-scientists alike have learned loads–all while having a ton of fun.

Who’s on the Team?

The elite squad of Zone volunteers, many of them returning from previous years, includes:

What do we need from you?

[thermometer height=250 raised=6630 target=6000]

Just as energy cannot be created or destroyed, great science doesn’t come from thin air. (Mostly.) We’re asking you to help us raise $6000 to support the Zone. Aside from equipment and materials, these funds go to helping our volunteers with travel expenses in getting to the con, and of course there’ll be prizes at the event for super science participants!

If you’d like to donate, just fill out this handy-dandy form. (You will be taken to a PayPal donation page once you hit Submit.)

As always, any unused funds will be rolled over to help fund next year’s Zone, making it bigger and better than ever.

And if the good cause isn’t enough, the science team has signed up at each major fundraising milestone for some mild humiliation in the form of Acts of Whimsy.

Acts of Whimsy?

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Raychelle Burks slimes it up at GeekGirlCon ’14.
Image source: GeekGirlCon flickr

That’s right, you get to watch a bunch of scientists make a spectacle of themselves on video with ridiculous dares and silliness.

At $500, Jason will watch a terrible movie chosen for him by the ever-inventive Raychelle.

At $1000, Raychelle, the year-round GeekGirlCon rockstar who coordinates the DIY Science Zone, will once again listen to an entire album that causes her physical pain, and record her reactions. In previous years it’s been Nickleback and Pink Floyd; this year she’ll torture herself with Iggy Azalea.

If we raise $5000, things will culminate at the con with the entire team performing the Molecule Dance, led by Torrey Stenmark, which she describes thusly: “[It’s] set to the tune of the Chicken Dance but is an interactive educational interpretation of molecular vibrations.”

For more info on previous years’ whimsical shenanigans, check out Raychelle’s round-up at Scientopia.

 

Winter Downs
“Rock On!”

Winter Downs

Manager of Editorial Services at GeekGirlCon.

One response to “DIY Science ’15: Return of the Zone!”

  1. […] movie Crossroads, which he’s watching as his Act of Whimsy in celebration of the fact that our DIY Science Zone fundraiser has passed $500–and don’t forget to donate to the […]

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