Science Center in St. Louis to host national science festival

ST. LOUIS -- From hot-button issues in the newspaper to the fermented beer in the fridge, Americans are surrounded by science all the time. The St. Louis Science Center is launching a festival this week to help people better understand, and enjoy, the ways that science plays a role in everyday lives.

St. Louis was chosen from about 20 American cities to host SciFest, which is based on a popular English gathering called the Cheltenham Science Festival.

Many topics covered

"There's this potpourri for the intellectually stimulated," said Doug King, president and chief executive of the St. Louis Science Center. Most presentations are an hour long, and scientists will tackle topics from the latest developments in stem-cell science to the physics of rock guitar -- using riffs from Vivaldi to Queen to illustrate points.

"You don't have this sense of, 'Here's my speech; where are my slides? I've got a plane to catch,'" King said. Presentations will be interactive, with scientists giving demonstrations, engaging audiences in the conversation and keeping their talks at a relatable level, he said.

Topics include everything from University of Texas professor and author Diandra Leslie-Pelecky on the "Physics of NASCAR" to Harvard physicist Giovanni Fazio on the birth and death of stars.

Most of the presentations are geared toward adults, though there are special school programs planned. Participants pay by the session, with most costing $6. The festival itself costs about $500,000, King said, with corporate sponsors and community partners assisting.

Sparking interest

SciFest co-director Naomi Joshi said it seems almost every aspect of people's lives, from elevators to iPods, relates to science, but "we don't talk about science at the dinner table."

She said many adults may not have had a good experience with science in school, so they don't tie what's going on in their lives to science, and as a result also don't encourage children to be enthusiastic about it.

SciFest, with separate presentations about chocolate or climate change, dating or depression, aims to spark some new interest.

King said St. Louis educational centers, businesses and researchers worked to get SciFest in the city, much as a community vies to host the NCAA Final Four.

The event's name, he said, is misleading -- some think it's a celebration of science fiction.

"It's not science fiction," King said. "It's even cooler."