In case you missed our earlier posts on this awesome event (found here and here), this is the final weekend to stop by, brush up on your STEM skills, and hopefully learn something cool at the Nebraska Science Festival!

It runs today, tomorrow, and Sunday, and then we’re left to wait until next year for more interesting events, outstanding opportunities, and exciting learning experiences. It’s fantastic to see fields like science and engineering taking the spotlight for an entire week.

If you’re constrained by location, search their (Hastings, La Vista, Kearney, Bellevue, Douglas, and more all host science festival activities), so don’t be alarmed if you don’t happen to live in Lincoln or Omaha.

Here’s our final roundup of what not to miss! If you head out to any of these, send us a tweet or leave a comment and let us know how it was!

The Nebraska Academy of Scientists works to provide opportunities for scientific research in the Great Plains region, promote science education, and improve the effectiveness of science in the promotion of human welfare and environmental quality– in short, they’re an amazing group. On April 17th at 11:00am, they will hold their 125th annual meeting featuring research presentations by professionals, graduate students, and undergraduates from across Nebraska.

If you’re interested in disease control, their keynote speakers Sean Gibbs, Ph.D. and Shelley Schedhelm (both members of the UNMC/Nebraska Medicine team that cared for ebola patients) will present on “Nebraska Biocontainment Unit Planning and Response to Ebola,” which should be a fascinating lecture.

If you live in Valley, Nebraska, head over on April 18th from 10am to 2pm to join Gary Brown of G.W. Brown. Co. at the City of Valley Library to see how a microscope works! You can bring something you’d like to view under a microscope, or just work with the samples they have on hand. This will be in conjunction with some other science presentation events at the library, so call 402.359.9924 for details.

Hastings, Nebraska residents can bring students (2-6th graders) to the Morrison-Reeves Science Center, Room 131 on April 18th at 10am for some amazing hands-on experience 3-D sculpting a small scale dinosaur! “This workshop will compare living and extinct animals as well as explore some of the considerations artists face as they work with scientists to create sculptures for museum displays. Materials and tools will be provided.” Gary Staab is a sculptor, naturalist, and musician who builds natural history and prehistoric life models for institutions such as the Smithsonian and the National Geographic Society. Originally from Grand Island, he, his wife, and children live on a lake near Kearney, MO. Respond to as space is limited!

There’s such a wide variety of awesome opportunities this weekend, so make sure to take advantage of them while they’re here!

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