UWM hosts Wisconsin Science Festival in Milwaukee Oct. 21-23

MILWAUKEE – Dive into Lake Michigan without getting wet, learn the secrets of glow-in-the-dark microbes and see how Iron Age people made ale (and get a taste) when the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee hosts the Wisconsin Science Festival in Milwaukee Oct. 21-23.

The statewide festival is produced by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, UW-Madison and the Morgridge Institute for Research. In Milwaukee, UWM is the featured partner, offering 11 free and interactive public shows targeted at older students and adults. See the full lineup at uwm.edu/sciencefest.

“This is a festival for grown-up kids. These programs offer a brush with the spectacle of science, and the thrill of learning something interesting in a hands-on, celebratory environment,” said Phyllis King, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs.

The programs are not strictly limited to science topics. Instead, the festival has a “STEAM theme,” displaying the wonders of science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics.

The signature program on Saturday night at Wisconsin Lutheran College’s Schwan Concert Hall is a perfect example. Think of “Big Ideas for Busy People” as “speed dating with research” – an all-star, interdisciplinary faculty cast will present a series of provocative ideas that have surfaced in research so the rest of us can understand the amazingness. But here’s the hitch: Each speaker has only five minutes to tell you and just five minutes for follow-up questions before it’s on to the next hot topic – from black holes to green energy.

To recognize the 50th anniversary of UWM’s first doctoral degree program, festival programming will include two shorter “Big Ideas” programs at area coffeehouses that feature some of the university’s doctoral students. They will present their “big ideas” in a variety of fields – in only five minutes, with five minutes of follow-up questions.

Also on tap is a show held at SC Johnson in Racine that features a multimedia show about Frank Lloyd Wright’s early inspirations. That show includes a tour of the SC Johnson campus where Wright designed two of the company’s office buildings.

Back at the UWM campus, don’t miss a special show at the Manfred Olson Planetarium that blends theater performance with viewing of the night sky; tours of the Zilber School of Public Health labs where scientists probe things in the environment that can make you sick; workshops on the internet-connected world; and more.

About UWM

As Wisconsin’s only public urban research university, UWM has established an international reputation for excellence in research, community engagement, teaching and entrepreneurism. On an operating budget of $705 million, UWM educates more than 28,000 students and is an engine for innovation in southeastern Wisconsin. The Princeton Review named UWM a “2015 Best in the Midwest” university based on overall academic excellence and student reviews. Its economic impact is more than $1.5 billion per year in Wisconsin alone.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.