The Second Annual St. Petersburg Science Festival, featuring nearly 100 fun, hands-on exhibits for people of all ages, will be held 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27, at USF St. Petersburg.

The free, family event, held in conjunction with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's 18th Annual MarineQuest, celebrates the wonders of science, technology, engineering and math.

Last year's inaugural St. Petersburg Science Festival drew more than 6,000 people. This year's festival will feature almost four times as many exhibits, eight food trucks and a full day of entertainment and presentations.

The festival kicks off at 10 a.m. at Harbor Walk Circle with the Mt. Zion Progressive Baptist Missionary Drum Line. The public is invited to join the marching band as it winds its way through the grounds along Bayboro Harbor to the entertainment stage for a welcome by Festival Co-Chairs Theresa Burress and E. Howard Rutherford followed by a "water works" experiment.

Festival exhibits will cover all topics under the sun, from robotics to Rosie Spoonbill, medicine, Mars exploration, marine life, green living and the World of the Worm. Entertainment will include Birds of Prey, a Mad Science Show, the Under the Sea Puppet Show and electronic music. Keynote Speaker and NASA Astronaut Ann M. Micklos will present "Seven Minutes of Terror: Landing the Mars Rover Curiosity" at 1 p.m. in DAVIS 130.

The festival is a collaboration among USF St. Petersburg, the USF College of Marine Science, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg College, Draper Laboratory, Progress Energy, Paramount Power, AAA The Auto Club Group, Bayfront Health System, United States Geological Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, The Pier Aquarium, Secrets of the Sea Marine Exploration Center and Aquarium, the City of St. Petersburg, Science Festival Alliance, yourmembership.com and Media Sponsors WEDU, BayNews 9 and WMNF-FM 88.5 Community Radio.

Among some of the cool exhibits:

Aldebaran Robotics
NAO Next Gen: the newest humanoid robot, will dance, tell stories, walk and follow objects. It can detect faces and has whole-body motion. NAO is the leading robotics platform used in science, education and research.

Bayfront Medical Center
"Optical Illusions" demonstrates that a region of no visual sensitivity known as the "blind spot" does exist on the retina of the human eye.

Boyd Hill Nature Preserve
"Wild Florida!" demonstrates the diverse wildlife living in the Tampa Bay area with live animals for children to touch or observe.

Dermazone
Three sessions teaching children (and adults) how to formulate their own body wash.

Great Explorations
"Bubbleology" offers hands-on explorations about the science and beauty of bubbles, including making a giant bubble surrounding a participant, making square bubbles, and an art project dispersing clear nail polish on water to capture the colors of bubbles.

The MATE Center
 "ROV in a Bag" allows kids to build their own underwater robot and learn how these machines operate in the ocean environment and the jobs they perform.

The Pier Aquarium
 "Corals on Acid" demonstrates the process of ocean acidification through live experiments and a display of coral reef fragments.

USF St. Petersburg
Sustainability Projects include pumping water uphill without electricity, creating a photosynthetic solar cell using chlorophyll and making biodiesel from vegetable oil and algae and create microbial fuel cells

The St. Petersburg Science Festival is designed to provide equal opportunity for enjoyment to all participants. If you would like to request any particular aids or services pursuant to disability laws, please contact the City of St. Petersburg Community Affairs Office, (727) 893-7345.


For up-to-date information about the St. Petersburg Science Festival, go to www.stpetescifest.org, or like the Facebook page, St. Petersburg Science Festival, or contact Science Festival Marketing Co-Chairs Nina Mahmoudi, nina.mahmoudi@bayfront.org, (727) 893-6807 and Emily Stehle, APR, estehle@pieraquarium.org, (727) 803-9799, ext. 207.