WSF Street Fair
The World Science Festival took to the streets in 2008 with a non-stop program of interactive exhibits, experiments, games, and shows designed to entertain and inspire. Thanks for joining us in the streets around Washington Square — it was fun, it was science, and it was free!
Click here to download the Street Fair's schedule (PDF, 268 kB)
Click here for a map showing where's what at the Street Fair (PDF, 603 kB)
Guests could share a laugh with Lucky the Dinosaur, the giant and lovable audio-animatronic creation from Walt Disney Imagineering. Then, go on an expedition with the American Museum of Natural History’s Movable Museum. Or get their hands dirty doing horticulture with the New York Botanical Garden!
Families visited The Scholastic Store, chatted with Miss Frizzle and hopped on Scholastic's Magic School Bus to explore science the Frizzle way. They met Clifford, the Big Red Dog, and for those who didn't quite know what to say to him — Word Girl was to the rescue!
Other favorite science TV characters were on site as well: The members of the CyberSquad from Thirteen/WNET's CyberChase invited guests to their virtual world. Then there was Snook, from PBS's "It's a Big Big World," a tree sloth who's always up for scientific exploration. Guests also had the oppurtunity to step inside The Zula Patrol Planetarium Dome.
Visitors discovered science, by playing with electricity (safely!), checking out a Segway, and dissecting an owl pellet. All this and much more was brought to you by Liberty Science Center, the New York Hall of Science, and the Franklin Institute Science Museum. Then, The Daily Planet from the Canadian Discovery Channel led an exploration of invisibility! And for a break, they met the New York City/New Jersey FIRST robotic program students, who created state-of-the-art robots that kept audiences saying, “How'd they do that?”
And that's just the start: spectators could also explore the Physics of Sports at “Sisters in Science” with Dr. Penny Hammrich and Shellie Myers, watch Mad Science present bubbling potions and phreaky physics, listen to Zach Powers the Science Rapper, and get a makeover from the Cosmic Face Painters! They met Carmelo, the Science Fellow, and Kenny the Kidney — and were on the look-out for surprise celebrity cameos.
At Festival stages and labs throughout the Street Fair, audiences experienced engaging scientific presentations by Lynn Brunelle and Lucy Hawking, study monkeys with Laurie Santos, and checked out the dynamic visual artistry of Scott Draves. They took in the Gazillion Bubbles Show, learned the secrets of Mathemagician Arthur Benjamin, and were amazed by Max Darwin’s magic tricks. Visitors enjoyed the energy-filled Power Up! Improv Troupe, and saw their ideas and inventions come to life with the Howtoons crew who created FUN with common everyday items!
Guests enjoyed exciting performances from Cool Rain Forest Connections and Butterfly Boogie of the Central Park Zoo Wildlife Theater and were “wowed” by the tricks of the Down with Gravity Jugglers. The iLAND dance research organization entertained audiences of all ages with dance performances based on bird migration and The Mathematicians were rockin’ with cool tunes.
