Flagstaff Festival of Science -- 2007

A great community, volunteer-organized event, sponsored by numerous Flagstaff institutions and businesses, the annual Flagstaff Festival of Science will have after-school, night and weekend activities beginning this Friday through September 30. Opening ceremonies, if you will, are at Ardrey Auditorium on the campus of Northern Arizona University Friday night, September 21, but the first event is in the afternoon at 3 p.m. Check the Festival website for a full schedule of activities.

A focal point of the event is the famous, mysterious “Sickle Claw Dinosaur,” which will be on display at The Museum of Northern Arizona. Discoverer and paleontologist, Dr. David Gillette, will provide the Keynote Presentation of the festival at Audrey Auditorium on Friday night, immediately following the “Dig Science Ballet, ”  at 7 p.m. The dinosaur skeleton was found in southern Utah and presents numerous scientific questions which Dr. Gillette will discuss in his lecture, which is aimed for older students and adults.

Friday’s kick-off after school tour will go behind the scenes at Norton Materials Recovery – our Flagstaff recycling center. Tour is from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Butler Road and Babbitt Drive.

Also, Friday evening is Campus Night Sky Viewing from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at NAU’s Atmospheric Research Observatory. This opportunity to lose oneself in the night sky, and appreciate why Flagstaff values its dark skies and is an International Dark Sky City, will be repeated at the same time Friday, Saturday and Sunday on both weekends of the Festival.

Saturday, Wheeler Park will be filled with Flagstaff Festival of Science activities, beginning at 10:00 a.m. to 2 p.m. Kids will have the opportunity to perform mock heart surgery, dig for fossils, explore space, learn about sustainable living, and uncover the secrets of original human inhabitants of Northern Arizona.

There will also be events on Saturday at Slide Rock State Park, NAU’s Wettlaw Science and Engineering Building, and Riordan Mansion State Historic Park.

This Sunday, there will be Interferometer Tours on Anderson Mesa for older teens. Reservations are required. Call 928-779-5132. (As will all Festival events, the tours are free.)

Also, on Sunday, there will be Walnut Canyon Open House, Elden Pueblo Public Day, Fort Valley Experimental Station Open House, and Keyhole Sink Rock Art Field Trip. Finally, Sunday evening, the Lowell Observatory Open House beginning at 5:30 p.m. and a special lecture at Riordan Mansion: “Pluto and Beyond,” the story of the human drama at Lowell Observatory while early space discoveries occurred.

Then get set for a week of after-school and evening adventures with the Flagstaff Festival of Science!