YES! F.A.I.R.

This past weekend we had the pleasure of exhibiting the Sensational SciFest at Tampa’s annual YES! FAIR; an arts festival for people with diverse abilities.

You may be thinking: what’s a science festival doing at an arts event? Well, we were showing that science is creative! That, and making connections with community organizations dedicated to spaces and experiences more accessible for everyone.

Back to the science and art though. The acronym STEAM nicely encompasses Art in between Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. These ideas are not mutually exclusive. And we found a way for kids to explore science through some hands-on, colorful and fruity activities to tickle their senses.

Our Scientists Inc table set up at the fair

Organizer Darcy demonstrating an activity to create colorful cells

Darcy helping some little ones stick their cells to our display

Two girls, one making cells, the other making mini explosions

Our scientist/artists' interpretation of cells

An exhibition by disabled artists

We had a great day interacting with all our visitors and finding out about the work being done by our neighboring organizations. A lot of big smiles and many a “wow”.

The fair was also an important learning exercise for us though. Lessons like: don’t leave liquids at the front of a table for blind visitors to place their hands in (oops!). Now it’s time to start putting the learning into practice. Onward: to the festival itself!