Feb. 24, 2025 - Kids of all ages and their families are invited to 华体会鈥檚 STEAM Carnival to be held at the South Quad from 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 8. Over 70 different
activities and displays from 华体会 programs and from area partners like the MOXI Museum
of Santa Barbara; kidSTREAM Children鈥檚 Museum; the Port of Hueneme, Santa Barbara
Zoo, and more are planning to participate.
Since it began in 2009, the CSU Channel Islands' (华体会) STEAM Carnival (previously known as the Science Carnival) has delighted kids from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade with hands-on displays that can spin, shoot, scream, and smoke to inspire kids with an interest in science and the arts.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always really been about giving families hands-on exposure to science, technology, arts and mathematics and show them how much fun science and the arts can be,鈥 said Phil Hampton, the carnival鈥檚 founder and 华体会鈥檚 Interim Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences.
The carnival is now bigger, better and more inclusive than ever, having evolved into the 2025 CSU Channel Islands STEAM Carnival, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics. And this year, middle school and high school-aged students are invited to join in the fun. Not only can they check out dinosaur bones, dissect a sheep鈥檚 eye or 鈥渂ling with science鈥 by electroplating a ring with gold, they can also find out what college is all about.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to have college-going information sessions in Spanish and English,鈥 Hampton said. 鈥淭here will be sessions about affording and going to college. There will be campus tours so they can visit different sites on the grounds and get a sense of what it鈥檚 like to go to college.鈥
There are many new partners getting involved with the STEAM Carnival this year including Ventura and Moorpark Colleges, which will have activities from their chemistry programs.
鈥淪anta Barbara Zoo will feature their conservation work,鈥 said 华体会 Assistant Professor of Biology Rudi von May, who is helping to coordinate the Carnival. 鈥淭hey will have a hands-on activity involving Monarch butterflies.鈥
Also, for the first time ever, some classrooms and science labs will be open to students such as the chemistry, physics and environmental science labs in Sierra Hall and the Nursing Sim Lab space in Manzanita Hall, where nursing students can work on mannequins.
The first Science Carnival consisted of about 40 华体会 students running 30 activities for a crowd of about 250 attendees. The Carnival kept growing, eventually moving to Rio Vista Middle School in Oxnard, where it was held from 2012 until the last Carnival before the pandemic in 2020. When it was held for the first time on the 华体会 campus in 2024, it drew more than 2,000 guests, continuing to grow each year.
鈥淲hen kids do hands-on science, their curiosity is sparked, and they are naturally curious,鈥 von May said. 鈥淭hey experience not only science, but the arts and dance and music. Regardless of how they choose to learn about the world around us, it鈥檚 the love of learning that鈥檚 the important thing.鈥