Environment

Since 2009 Castle Park High students, with Dr. Pomeroy of UCSD, have learned to produce biodiesel from vegetable oil. Students use a particle counter to determine how “clean” the fuel burns and discuss how particulate impacts our global climate. Students present this field data to support the benefits of biodiesel. Our booth, as in years past, will demonstrate the step-by-step process of biodiesel synthesis, discuss the advantages of biodiesel over petroleum and outline the ease of production.

The e3 Civic High STEM booth will feature a robotics demonstration from the school's FIRST Robotics team, the Griffins. The booth will also feature an interactive gardening experience that will allow visitors to pot and take home a small plant that will inspire them to think about how they can contribute to a greener world. Whether interested in human anatomy and physiology, aviation, robotics, agriculture, or nutrition, scholars can explore their curiosity for STEM at e3 Civic High.

NASA's Space Communications and Navigation Program at NASA Glenn Research Center will feature the PufferSphere exhibit. A 360 degree multi-touch, interactive system that can display video, photos, motion graphics, text and any other visual resources. We will also have several Oculus Go virtual reality headsets where visitors can travel from Earth to the Moon learning about current and future space communication.

Working alongside San Diego River Park Foundation scientists, kids can conduct a bioassessment of the San Diego River by examining and sorting living aquatic invertebrates (“River Bugs”) in a sample of water collected from the San Diego River! By identifying the types of River Bugs found in our sample, kids can determine whether the River water is healthy!

Learn about ocean plastic pollution and animal anatomy! Our table will offer examples of ocean plastic pollution and visual materials related to this. Visitors will do a quick experiment to determine the type of plastic in the pollutants. For younger children, NOAA-published age-appropriate materials (coloring sheets, puzzles) will be available. In addition, we will offer human and animal models for examination, with visitors being asked to identify different anatomical regions.

Festival participants will discover and learn about the science projects performed at Cabrillo National Monument with hands-on, inquiry-based activities that highlight our herpetofauna (reptile & amphibian) monitoring and Science Explorer's Club. Participants will take data about our native reptiles & amphibians as well as exploring other science themes (tidepool monitoring, bird monitoring, etc.).

Hands-on interaction with Animal Ambassadors from Reptile and Arthropod worlds.