Explore “The Science of You” at the San Diego Science Festival

How does chocolate prevent heart disease? What do the machines researchers are using to help prepare for the next big earthquake look like? How does a pitcher throw a knuckleball, a pitch with no movement, to a helpless batter?

These questions are only the beginning of what the San Diego Science Festival sets out to answer. With more than 500 activities planned across the county throughout the month of March, the festival aims to make science accessible, interactive, and fun, highlighting the impact of science and innovation on our lives.

Scripps Research is proud to be a participating partner in the festival. On opening day, researchers from Professor Art Olson’s lab shared their work at the High Tech Fair in the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Displaying 3-dimensional molecular models constructed with cutting-edge fabricators and an “augmented reality” program that enables further manipulation of these models in an artificial computer environment, fair-goers saw the future of biomedical research. Also presenting at the fair were high school participants in the Scripps Research summer internship program and the new SMART (Students Modeling a Research Topic) team program.

A key focus of the festival will be engaging students in the excitement of scientific exploration. On April 1, as part of the festival’s Science on the Mesa Day, the Scripps Research Institute will host students from Mar Vista High School on the Scripps Research La Jolla campus for talks on careers in the biosciences and laboratory tours.

And on Saturday, April 4, the festival will culminate with a grand celebration of scientific exploration and discovery at Expo Day. Expo-goers can participate in workshops, behind-the-scenes tours, talks, performances, and film screenings. Come see Scripps Research’s state-of-the-art molecular models and meet tomorrow’s scientists – summer interns and SMART team participants – at Scripps Research’s booth at Balboa Park. The event, which features more than 300 free hands-on activities, demonstrations and experiments, runs from 10:30 AM to 6 PM and is based in the central corridor of Balboa Park. Please visit the San Diego Science Festival website for more information.