By TONY GUERRERO
Hays Post
For the first time in Hays, the Kansas Science Festival sparked curiosity among children, turning downtown into a living lab of real-world science.
The festival was held on Sunday on Main Street and was filled with hands-on STEM activities. Organizer Dallas Haselhorst said it was the event's first outside of Manhattan.
"Science and STEM are really involved in everything. This was to show kids that there's a lot of different science and engineering-inspired technology," Haselhorst said.
With interactive booths and opportunities to meet researchers from across Kansas, the event aimed to highlight the importance of science in everyday life.
The festival featured four activity sites along Main Street, where about 25 presenters showcased various scientific fields to attendees.
Stacy Campbell, agent with the Cottonwood District, used a model aquifer at the festival to help children understand how underground water systems function.
Using food coloring and tubing, he demonstrated how water and pollutants travel through soil layers, providing a simple visual for kids.
"Even when I was a kid, I lived where the aquifer was... I always thought it was this big underground cavern where water was, but it's really in the soil. All these different layers can hold the water," Campbell said.
Several activities were held under the Hays Outdoor Pavilion, including a roped-off area where elephant toothpaste would erupt from a tube, requiring science goggles.
Arvin Cruz, chair of the Fort Hays State University Chemistry Department, supervised the FHSU Chemistry Club as they demonstrated experiments such as liquid nitrogen, disappearing styrofoam and burning cloth.
Cruz also emphasized the importance of making science approachable to kids and families rather than just experts, hoping similar events will encourage others to explore careers in science.
"Someday we'll be gone from Earth, and we'll need a new generation of scientists," Cruz said.
Activities spanned from the Hays Public Library to STEM Harvest on the south end of Main Street, where children could learn from researchers, examine artifacts and interact with animals.
Haselhorst said Hays was selected for the Kansas Science Festival due to its strong educational foundation, including Fort Hays State University and STEM Harvest.
He said that if the event is successful, Hays could become a model for bringing the festival to other rural communities across the state.
"Maybe in the future, aside from just those four locations, we line up Main Street with different presenters, tables and organizations showing what they do in the form of STEM," Haslehorst said.
Children also learned from the FHSU Robotics Team, the university’s Science and Mathematics Education Institute, the Sternberg Museum and the Hays Fire Department. They also had the chance to view the sun safely through telescopes and enjoy face painting.
