Super Science Saturday celebrating Year of Light

Exploring the anatomy of glow sticks, laser light shows and tours of the solar system are just a handful of activities the West Michigan community is invited to experience at this year’s Super Science Saturday.

In celebration of the International Year of Light, Grand Valley’s Regional Math and Science Center and Physics Department are hosting “Super Science Saturday: The Wonder of Light,” Saturday, January 24 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. in the Seymour and Esther Padnos Hall of Science on the Allendale Campus.

This year’s event will provide educational activities and opportunities for students and their families to experience light and how it applies to science, technology, history and art. Super Science Saturday will offer a diverse array of activities for people of all ages including:

• John Perlin, professor of physics at University of California, discussing his book, “Let It Shine: The 6,000 Year Story of Solar Energy.”
• Exploring light as a communication method — from ancient signals to modern fiber optics.
• Learning about glow sticks, exploring glow-in-the-dark materials and how to write invisible messages.
• Creating drawings to reflect how we perceive light while learning how artists throughout history have created the illusion of light.
• Designing rainbow fish while learning about the color spectrum and color wheel.
• Taking to-scale walking tours of the solar system.

Super Science Saturday is free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.gvsu.edu/rmsc or call the Regional Math and Science Center at (616) 331-2267.