Halloween is making an encore this Saturday at the Mystery Science Room as part of the Math & Science Family Fun Fair.
The Mystery Science Room, a creation of aerospace engineering assistant professor James Flaten, will be one of the fairâÄôs main attractions. The event will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Coffman Union.
The Mystery Science Room is a display of several physics demonstrations that are âÄújust a bit weirdâÄù and are presented like a haunted laboratory, Flaten said.
âÄúSome of these demonstrations you might see in class, but here they are presented in a way that is just a bit unusual,âÄù he said.
âÄúLittle kids will get one thing out of it, and big kids and faculty will get something out of it, but they will all be mystified,âÄù Flaten said.
Six student organizations and several University of Minnesota College of Science & Engineering departments are going to be presenting their studies to families in attendance as well.
Event organizer Katherine Cramer said the fair offers âÄúthe opportunity to be ambassadors to our future scientists and engineers,âÄù which she said is vital to the future success of the science and engineering programs at the University.
One of the student groups with a display will be Engineers Without Borders.
The display will include a mini-model of the water distribution system the group built and plans to implement it in a small Guatemalan village with only remote access to clean water, said EWB outreach officer Kathleen Thurmes.
âÄúFor younger children, itâÄôs a demonstration that gravity works,âÄù she said. âÄúFor older children, they will be learning about siphons and hydraulic pressure.âÄù
Attendance has been high in recent years, as the fair nears its 20th anniversary. More than 2,000 people have attended previous fairs.