The Maine Science Festival
is a program of
MSF Trivia - News & Brews Takeover
Wednesday, March 20th | 6:30pm-8:00pm
Seasons - 427 Main Street
Join fellow trivia players for a night of science trivia created especially for the Maine Science Festival! And special for this year we are teaming up with our sponsor, Maine Public, and their News & Brews trivia team! This is a don't-miss night of fun!
Event type: trivia
Moderator: John Thompson, University of Maine Department of Physics and Astronomy
Recommended Audience: high school and up
Science on Tap presents: Senses
Thursday, March 21st | 6:30pm-8:00pm
Mason's Brewing Company, 15 Hardy Street, Brewer
Sometimes the best learning takes place in a bar. Relaxed atmospheres…..big science….
Join us this year for a glimpse of the science of the senses. Nimesha Ranasinghe
will be doing a live demonstration, presentation, and a discussion around computing + flavor, and Justin will be we will showcasing some VEMI projects that utilize haptics to augment visual information and provide accessible solutions. He'll also discuss virtual reality applications, dynamic mobile applications, and how haptic sensations can be produced in mid-air.
Event type: Forum
Presenters: Nimesha Ranasinghe, Assistant Professor of Spatial Computing & MIM Lab; Justin Brown, Laboratory Research Manager, VEMI Lab, University of Maine
Moderator: Jacqui White PhD,Director, Center for Biometric Analysis, Deputy Director, Scientific Services JAX MG, The Jackson Laboratory
Science on Tap is sponsored by The Jackson Laboratory
Field Trip Day
Friday, March 22nd | 9:45am-12:30pm
Cross Insurance Center, 515 Main Street, Bangor
Our Field Trip Day is for 7th & 8th grade students from schools in Maine, with the day’s programming specifically designed for this age group.
These events are limited to those schools that sign up in the preceding months. If you are interested in learning more about the 2025 Maine Science Festival Field Trip Day or would like to be notified when sign-ups are open, please send an email to schools@mainesciencefestival.org. The Field Trip Day is provided free of charge to the schools that attend.
2024 FTD is FULL.
Field Trip Day is sponsored by the Maine Discovery Museum
Teen Tech Night
Friday, March 22nd | 4:30 pm-7:00pm
Maine Discovery Museum, 74 Main Street, Bangor
Hey students in grades 6-10 - are you ready to explore the exciting world of computers and information technology? Join us for Teen Tech Night, where you can learn, share, collaborate, and delve into cutting-edge software and web-based tools.
This year's workshops will feature a range of captivating sessions designed to spark your curiosity and creativity like robotics, cyber security and more!
Participants, please remember to bring your own laptop to this event. If you do not have access to a laptop, please email Shelby Bryant at shelby@educatemaine.org.
Teen Tech Night is a drop-off event, and a delicious pizza dinner will be provided at 6 pm for all participants. Don't miss out on this opportunity for maximum engagement and hands-on learning!
Event type: Middle school workshops, hands-on activities, sessions
Audience: middle and high schoolers
Exploration Stations
Saturday, March 23rd | 9am - 4pm
Cross Insurance Center Ballroom, 515 Main Street, Bangor
Roll up your sleeves and learn through various hands-on activities from scientists and practitioners around the state. Make sure to stop in and visit each activity and discover that science is everywhere!
Activities include:
Video Games Teach History: Playing Europa Universalis IV • University of Maine
Introduction to Textiles • UMaine ASCC
Exploring Creative Technologies: Learning by Doing • Bangor Makerspace
Skins, skulls, and fishy fun • USGS Maine Cooperative Research Unit / Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology University of Maine
Bridge Building • TIDC at the University of Maine
E&I w/U and Me • Bangor Makerspace
Composting • 1 Earth Composting
Inspiring Tomorrow’s Pioneers • Owls Head Transportation Museum
LEGO SPIKE Coding • University of Southern Maine - STEM Outreach
Power Town Demonstrator • Versant Power
The Importance of Water Quality: Citizen Science Project • Friends of Katahdin Woods & Waters, Katahdin Learning Project
Explore UMaine’s Innovative Media Research and Commercialization Center • Innovative Media Research and Commercialization Center
Ticks of Maine • MaineHealth Institute for Research- Vector-borne Disease Lab
Safe Solar Viewing & Eclipse Watching • Versant Power Astronomy Center
Marble Run • Girl Scouts of Maine
The Science of Pharmacy • Rho Chi Society Chapter - Husson University
Stormwater Pollution Watershed Model • Bangor Area Stormwater Group (BASWG)
Hands-on activity • Challenger Learning Center of Maine
Guts! How we digest our food • Southern Maine Community College
Stream Smart Demo • NOAA Fisheries
How 2 internet: A live demo of web development, and cyber security • Maine Hacker Club
Tree Identification and Mystery box • Great Pond Mountain Conservation Trust
Obstacle Avoidance Using General Navigation Models on 4WD Rover • UMaine AI
Count the Nanobubbles • University of Maine - UM Space
Solar eclipse in your town • Challenger Learning Center of Maine
Event type: Hands-on
Recommended Audience: all ages
Maine Mobile BIOLAB
Saturday, March 23rd | 9am-4pm
Cross Insurance Center, 515 Main Street, Bangor
Come see the new state-of-the-art mobile science lab that will meet students around Maine where they live and learn, engaging them in the life sciences with an emphasis on rural and under-resourced communities. You'll be able to engage in some of the programming the students will be participating in and check out the lab!
Event type: hands-on
Presenters: Educate Maine
Recommended Audience: all ages
VEMI Lab - Duck Chase
Saturday, March 23rd | 10am-2pm
Main Ballroom, Cross Insurance Center, 515 Main Street, Bangor
Embark on a wild Duck Chase at the Maine Science Festival! Find hidden codes, play mini-games, and unlock virtual goodies showcasing research projects from the VEMI Lab and the Howell Lab. Explore how we use autonomous vehicles, virtual reality, rainbows, and slippery surfaces to make the world a more inclusive and safer place to live. Plus, lucky winners snag exciting prizes along the way!
Event type: hands-on
Presenters: VEMI Lab
Recommended Audience: middle school and up
Ham Radio: Explore a Fun Communications Hobby
Saturday, March 23rd | 10:00am-11:00am
Meeting Room C, Cross Insurance Center, 515 Main Street, Bangor
Join us for a fun exploration of ham radio by the Pine State Amateur Radio Club here in Bangor. There will be a presentation with video, live demonstrations, and displays describing the fun and challenging hobby of amateur radio! We want to make it an enjoyable, immersive experience for people of all ages!
Event type: Panel
Presenter: Ed Paradis, President, Pine State Amateur Radio Club
Moderator: Anne Krieg AICP, City of Bangor
Recommended Audience: all ages
Terraforming Mars In Minecraft
Saturday, March 23rd | 10:00am-11:00am
Meeting Room D, Cross Insurance Center, 515 Main Street, Bangor
Come explore a Minecraft simulation of Mars! Created by the “What-If Hypothetical Simulations in Minecraft” Project, you will be teleported to Mars, where there are a handful of existing structures. Collect data about how life on Mars would look; what is the gravity like? Is there harmful radiation? Is the surface a habitable temperature? What are the available materials? Then, from an inventory of materials both collected on Mars and shipped in from Earth, you can create your own Mars base!
Limited to the first 16 attendees.
Event type: Workshop
Presenter: Brooke Bolduc, University of Southern Maine STEM Outreach
Recommended Audience: middle school and up
The Power of Wind Turbines
Saturday, March 23rd | 10 AM - 11 AM
Meeting Room 5, Cross Insurance Center, 515 Main Street, Bangor
Young engineers will use our wind turbine kits to cover topics such as:
• How a wind turbine works to generate electricity.
• How to measure power output (voltage & amperage).
• How to store potential energy.
• Optimal blade design and testing.
Students will work with their own small wind turbine, multimeter, and more! Participation limited to the first 24 students.
Event type: Workshop
Presenters: Sarah Raymond-Boyan, Challenger Learning Center of Maine; Kirsten Hibbard, Challenger Learning Center of Maine
Recommended Audience: all ages
The Power of Wind Turbines is sponsored by Central Maine Power
Maine Invention Convention
Saturday, March 23rd | 10 AM - 2 PM
Prefunction Area, Cross Insurance Center, 515 Main Street, Bangor
The MIC Awards Ceremony will take place in Meeting Room 3&4 at 1:45pm
The Maine Invention Convention (a program of the Maine Discovery Museum) is a statewide competition that promotes innovative problem-solving and inventing by Maine middle school students. Students work with their peers and teachers to identify and solve problems using the Innovation Engineering process. At this event, students from each participating school compete for the top invention awards.
Event type: Poster Session
Moderator: Anna Martin, Maine Discovery Museum
Recommended Audience: all ages
Maine’s Forest at the ForeFront: Emerging Tools, Technology, and Products for the Forest Sector
Saturday, March 23rd | 10:00am-11:00 am
Meeting Rooms 3&4, Cross Insurance Center, 515 Main Street, Bangor
This one-hour session will highlight recent advances that will help transform Maine’s forest sector. Although often overshadowed by more iconic Maine products like lobsters and blueberries, Maine remains the most forested state in the US (89%) and an economy most dependent on the resource (5% of GDP, highest in US). The sector has seen major shifts in the last decade (e.g. mill closures, Covid disruptions, workforce challenge), but offers numerous strategic opportunities to achieve the state’s economic, sustainability, and climate action priorities. This session will cross-sector experts to discuss new tools, technology, and products that could help Maine become a national leader in digital forestry that supports the production and utilization of renewable biomaterials for a variety of potential applications. A particular focus will be on the use of Big Data, AI, and remote sensing to better monitor the forest itself, while the science and technology for future applications of Cellulose Nanofiber (CNF) will also be highlighted.
Event type: Panel
Presenters: Dr. Aaron Weiskittel, University of Maine Center for Research on Sustainable Forests; Ian Prior, Seven Islands Land Company; Dr. Mehdi Tajvidi, University of Maine
Moderator: Kate Dickerson, Maine Discovery Museum
Recommended Audience: All ages
Music & Sound: Instruments, Timbre, Harmonics, & Distortion
Saturday, March 23rd | 11:15am - 12:15pm
Meeting Room D, Cross Insurance Center, 515 Main Street, Bangor
In this presentation, the concept of timbre will be introduced, and the physics behind how various musical instruments create their unique harmonic makeups will be investigated. Multiple forms of sound synthesis will be demonstrated, and a discussion of harmonic distortion will explore the defining sonic signature of the electric guitar.
Event type: Talk
Presenter: Eric Ferguson, Husson University
Moderator: MacKenzie R. Stetzer Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Maine
Recommended Audience: high school and up
Total Solar Eclipse - April 8th of 2024
Saturday, March 23rd | 11:15am - 12:15pm
Meeting Rooms 1&2, Cross Insurance Center, 515 Main Street, Bangor
Shawn Laatsch, John Meader, Nikita Saini and Larry Berz will share how to prepare for the upcoming solar eclipses visible in Maine, including the Total Solar Eclipse of 2024! The workshop will include how eclipses work, how to see them, and some simple ways to construct pinhole projectors for safe viewing.
Event type: Talk
Presenters: Shawn Laatsch, Versant Power Astronomy Center; John Meader, Northern Stars Planetarium; Larry Berz, Lee Academy; Nikita Saini, University of Maine
Moderator: Emil Genest, Retired RSU22 Superintendent and Maine Discovery Museum Board Member
Recommended Audience: all ages
Total Solar Eclipse is sponsored by Versant Power
Do Chatbots Write About Electric Sheep?: AI Literacy
Saturday, March 23rd | 12:30pm - 1:30pm
Meeting Rooms 1&2, Cross Insurance Center, 515 Main Street, Bangor
This session by librarians Christopher Clark and Heather Perrone will cover the basics of AI literacy--what to know about AI tools, how to use them meaningfully, and how to evaluate tools and AI-generated content. We want to promote the useful aspects of AI while providing resources and skills for navigating it safely and effectively.
Event type: Presentation
Presenters: Christopher Clark, Fogler Library; Heather Perrone, Fogler Library
Moderator: Carlo DiCelico, Maine Masonic College
Sponsor: Maine Masonic College
Recommended Audience: all ages
Do Chatbots Write About Electric Sheep is sponsored by Maine Masonic College
The Science of Nutrition
Saturday, March 23rd | 12:30-1:30pm
Meeting Rooms 3&4, Cross Insurance Center, 515 Main Street, Bangor
An introduction to nutrition, including the major nutrients and what comprises a healthy diet.
Event type: Panel
Presenters: Julia Sabet, PhD, nutrition scientist; Mona Therrien-Genest DCN, Faculty University of Maine, Megan Colletto-Norrad, PhD, RD
Moderator: Kelly Pearson, Northern Light Health Foundation & Maine Discovery Museum Board Member
Recommended Audience: middle school and up
The Science of Nutrition is sponsored by Bioscience Association of Maine
The Fundamentals of Cheesemaking
PLEASE NOTE THIS EVENT IS HELD AT CENTRAL STREET FARMHOUSE
Saturday, March 23rd | 1:00pm - 2:00pm
Central Street Farmhouse, 30 Central Street, Bangor
Josh Parda, owner of CSF, will demonstrate how to make a simple and quick batch of fresh cheese, while sampling out cheese (or cheeses) made earlier in the day and discussing the science behind all kinds of cheeses.
Event type: Presentation
Presenter: Josh Parda, Central Street Farmhouse
Recommended Audience: all ages
Video Games Teach History
Saturday, March 23rd | 1:45pm-2:45pm
Meeting Rooms 1&2, Cross Insurance Center, 515 Main Street, Bangor
The interactive and immersive quality of video games has helped make them wildly popular and profitable entertainment media. This session will explore how the ability of gamers to relive, alter, and explore a game world has implications on how we understand fundamental aspects of the human experience. For example, history-based video games raise rich questions about "agency," the degree to which individuals shape their own future, in contrast with systematic trends. We will explore with the audience how video games might help us to think differently about the human experience.
Event type: Presentation
Presenters: Chapman Hall, University of Maine (Undergraduate Student), Liam Riordan, University of Maine, Robby Finley, University of Maine Philosophy Department
Moderator: Liam Riordan, University of Maine
Sponsor: Maine Community College System
Recommended Audience: middle school and up
Video Games Teach History is sponsored by Maine Community College System
Gulf of Maine Ocean Science Mini-Docuseries
Saturday, March 23rd | 2:45pm-3:45pm
Meeting Room D, Cross Insurance Center, 515 Main Street, Bangor
In 2021, a team of ocean scientists went on a research expedition across the Gulf of Maine to learn more about this dynamic region. Join us for a series of documentary videos filmed and created by University of Maine students accompanied by live Q&A sessions with ocean scientists who were on the research cruise and are still working to understand how the ocean and climate have changed here, from the last ice age to the present day. Each video lasts between 3 and 8 minutes and features a different aspect of ocean research. Together, the video series will take participants on a journey of discovery guided by the scientists who are working to uncover how our environment can change in the past, present, and future. Hands-on activities will also be occurring during the docuseries, including a dig-for-fossils sand pit, microscope station with real specimens on display, and a game table featuring enlarged, 3D-printed microfossils.
Event type: Workshop/Presentation
Presenters may include: Katherine Allen, Jillian Herlinger, Madelyn Woods, Tommy Young, Devin Coffey, Lilly Braun, David Jakacky, School of Earth and Climate Sciences, University of Maine
Audience: all ages
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO
THE INCOMING STORM
Future Driven: A Youth Climate Story
Saturday, March 23rd | 2:45pm-3:45pm
Meeting Room C, Cross Insurance Center, 515 Main Street, Bangor
Future Driven: A Youth Climate Story, brought opportunity for high school students in Maine to tell climate stories in their communities. Join Maine Public at 2:45pm for the awards to the student finalists for Future Driven: A Youth Climate Story.
Presenters: Cory Morrissey & Sophia Wood, Maine Public Broadcasting
Moderator: Kim Stewart, Maine Discovery Museum
Audience: all ages
The new date for this event is May 11, 2024!
5 Minute Genius™ - 2024 MSF Headliner
Saturday, May 11, 2024 | 7:00pm
Penobscot Theater Company, 131 Main Street, Bangor
5 Minute Genius™ features short, sharp talks by some of Maine’s finest scientists with 5 minutes per talk, plus 5 minutes for questions. Presenting a sprint through some of the most remarkable, cutting-edge science in Maine - you will feel like a genius in no time! Want more? Stick around for a reception after the event at The Stage Door.
Presenters:
Kendra Balchelder, WAVED Medical
Eva Balog, University of New England
Greg Gavelis, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
Danielle Levesque, University of Maine. Hot and (un)bothered: Predicting how mammals will cope with climate change
Anastasia Paulmann, MDI BioLab
Basile Tarchini, Jackson Laboratory
Lindsay Ware, Science Dogs of New England
Event type: Presentation
Moderator: Kate Dickerson, Maine Discovery Museum
Sponsor: Maine Technology Institute
Recommended Audience: high school and up
5 Minute Genius™ is sponsored by Maine Technology Institute
Please note the scavenger hunt is cancelled due to the potential to have very slippery sidewalks downtown.
Downtown Bangor Scavenger Hunt
Sunday, March 24th | 10am-1pm
HQ - Briar Patch, 27 Central Street, Bangor
A downtown science scavenger hunt! Pick up your sheet/ information at the Briar Patch, and go find the science the clues lead you to. Once done, return your signed slip to the Briar Patch. The top finisher receives a prize, and all who finish will be entered into a drawing for a goodie bag. The hunt has to be completed between 10 am -1 pm.
Audience: all ages
Please note the artist reception is cancelled but Chimera is still open and the artwork will still be up to view!
Unveiling Invisible Ocean Life at Bigelow Laboratory
Sunday, March 24th | 10:30am
Chimera Coffee, 24 Broad Street, Bangor
The ocean is filled with microscopic organisms (a.k.a. microbes). From the oxygen we breathe to the quality of our seafood, we can’t ignore the importance of microbes. There is still so much we don’t understand about these tiny powerhouses and their impact on the planet. Because we can’t see them, scientists have to get creative with how they study microbes. At Bigelow Laboratory we use a range of technology to help us see the invisible. Come explore this blue microscopic realm through our scientists’ eyes. Join us at 10:30 for a chance to ask questions to hear from the artists at Bigelow!
EXHIBIT WILL BE ON DISPLAY AT CHIMERA COFFEE THROUGH THE ENTIRE FESTIVAL.
Event type: Art exhibit
Presenters: Alaina Weinheimer, Ramunas Stepanauskas, Sarah Douglas, Shane Farrell, José A. Fernández Robledo, Maura Nimesto, Cath Mitchell, Pete Countway, Amanda Pinson, Dara Yiu, Melissa Rocker, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED
PFAS and Agriculture
Sunday, March 24th | 1:00pm-2:00pm
BookSpace, 48 Columbia St., Bangor
In this session, we will give an introduction to PFAS and how it came to be introduced in some agricultural soils in Maine. We will also share the results of a recent research project where we worked with a commercial farm that had contaminated soils to test PFAS uptake into vegetables. Co-presenters will include UMaine researchers, graduate students, and farmers.
Event type: Panel
Presenter: Rachel Schattman, University of Maine; Alexandra Scearce, University of Maine; Susan Hunter, Hunter Farm, Unity
Moderator: Kate Dickerson, Maine Discovery Museum
Recommended Audience: high school and up
PARTNER EVENT
The Celebration of Arts and Sciences will start at 9:00am at the Versant Power Astronomy Center & Jordan Planetarium.
9:00 - 10:20 A viewing of "Eclipse: The Moments of Wonder"
Description: Join us for an immersive view of eclipses, the most spectacular sights in the sky! Explore the nature of these special celestial alignments and get prepared to safely observe them. Experience the awe and wonder with stunning images of both solar and lunar eclipses captured by a world-renowned astro-photographer from locations around the globe. The program includes information on how to observe the April 2024 solar eclipse visible in Maine.
10:30 - 12:00 Associate Professor at University of Maine Justin Dimmel will present on "The Geometry of Starlight"
Description: This planetarium experience explores how ideas from plane geometry shape our visual experience of the sky.
12:00 - 12:30 Light Lunch
12:30 - 2:00 The University of Maine Honors College will have some of their students present their thesis for the audience.
Members of the public are encouraged to join and can stay for any or all of the three events happening at the Maine Masonic College's Celebration of Arts and Sciences.