Rockefeller community science festival draws hundreds for day of hands-on learning

Coffee filter parachutes flew through plastic tubing, tobacco hornworms wriggled in outstretched palms, and models of molecules were fashioned into keychains. Ten years after it first debuted, RockEDU's annual festival for kids in kindergarten through grade eight, drew another excited and energized crowd.

On September 28, over 800 attendees, including students from more than 140 schools across the city's 5 boroughs, the tri-state area, and beyond, visited 36 hands-on learning stations that were led by 150 volunteers from Rockefeller, neighboring and collaborating institutions, and local high schools.

The event, once again free to all attendees, was made possible thanks to the generous support of The Andreas C. Dracopoulos Family Science and Society Initiative, the Bessent-Freeman Family Foundation, The Wasily Family Foundation, The Steinman Family Foundation, and Regina and Jeffrey Kessler. Middle schools in New York City and local non-profit organizations that provide educational opportunities for children were invited as part of the university's continued community outreach efforts.