Dear Friends,
Please mark your calendar- Cool Science is set to host our 16th annual Colorado Springs Cool Science Festival from September 27th thru October 12th 2025, with the Cool Science Carnival Day at UCCS on Saturday, September 27th. It will feature 16 days of fun and engaging STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) events taking place throughout the Pikes Peak Region.
We would like to invite your organization to join us in celebrating STEAM by presenting a fun demonstration or hands-on activity station for kids on Carnival Day, by hosting a special event during festival week, or providing volunteers for Carnival Day or during the week. As always, there is no cost to participate, and our team is always available to assist you in any way we can. We want you to have just as much fun as all those who attend!
Most of you probably know the drill, but if you’re new to the CSCSF here’s a quick synopsis.
Cool Science Carnival Day at UCCS (Sep. 27, 10 am – 4 pm): This is a whole day for the kids (primarily K-8th, but lots of fun for all ages), completely free, and featuring a wide variety of demonstration shows, performances, lab tours and hands-on exhibits and activities spotlighting all aspects of STEAM. Examples include everything from launching paper airplanes and rockets to robots, slime, submarines, explosions, virtual reality, race cars, dinosaurs, telescopes, drones, scavenger hunts and other games, experiments and of course plants, animals and fungi. We had a huge turnout last year with about 8,000 folks attending throughout the day, and we’re expecting even more this year.
Festival Special Events (Sep. 27 – Oct. 12): This is your chance to show off the STEAM in what you do, and where you do it. Events can be for the general public, adults only, kids only, families, or whatever audience you desire. It’s your event- we’re just including it under our festival umbrella. You can limit participants, require reservations or charge a modest fee to cover expenses. Examples include stargazing parties, science comedy or trivia nights, scavenger hunts, escape rooms, cooking classes, tours, caving and rock-climbing skills, talks, classes, workshops, nature hikes and open house events. Got a crazy idea? We’re always looking for new and exciting ways to show folks how STEAM touches their lives. Thanks to the popularity of several virtual (online) events in past years, we are also happy to consider this option for your event if you prefer.
Volunteers: Maybe your organization or group isn’t quite ready to tackle it on your own. We can set you up and show you everything you need to run one of our Cool Science Carnival activity stations. We also have lots of other opportunities for individuals and groups to volunteer on Carnival Day and throughout the festival weeks.
There’s more information about how to join the festival, as well as application forms when you’re ready to sign up, on our Join the Festival website. You can also check out the festival and Carnival Day pages from previous years in our
festival archive to see what groups have done in the past. If you have any questions at all or want to brainstorm (or ask us for) some ideas, please don’t hesitate to contact me anytime. Also, if you think you want to participate but aren’t quite ready to sign up, just send me a quick reply to this email and I’ll be sure to hold a spot for you and follow up later. Finally, please feel free to pass this email along to any colleagues or other groups you think may be interested in participating, and you can
help us to promote the festival through your social media and by sharing our Media Resources. Thanks for your support, and I hope to see you this fall!
Best regards,
marc
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Marc Straub, Executive Director
Cool Science
P.O. Box 50015
Colorado Springs, CO 80949
Ph: 719-964-1042
marc@coolscience.org
www.coolscience.org
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram & YouTube: @CScoolscience
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Cool Science is a home-grown 501(c)(3) whose mission is to promote the understanding and wonder of science. Our passionate volunteers- mostly real scientists, engineers and educators- provide a variety of engaging, intimidation-free and interactive learning experiences in schools, libraries and other public venues. To find out more about us and how you can bring Cool Science to your school, support us or volunteer, visit our website at http://www.coolscience.org .
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The tabs below such as the Sign-up Sheet For IEEE and other volunteers in supporting the IEEE Pikes Peak Section part are currently a work in progress. Our initial 2025 goal is to have volunteers for the Cool Science Carnival Day, scheduled for 27 September (Saturday). One or two hours of support in demonstrating basic or advanced engineering concepts is greatly appreciated.
