For its March Science Saturday, Stetson University’s Gillespie Museum will host a range of activities for young scientists in two areas, Florida Fossils and Physics.

The hands-on workshops and demonstrations will be held from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 24, at the Gillespie Museum, 234 E. Michigan Ave., DeLand. The free event is open to the public.  Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.  For more information call 386.822.7330.

“Science Saturdays are held monthly at the museum, giving Stetson faculty and undergraduates an opportunity to teach scientific principles and current practices to young scientists,” explains museum director Karen Cole, Ph.D.

In the museum and adjacent Rinker Environmental Learning Center, visitors will learn about the history of Florida’s landforms and biota through a scavenger hunt, an outdoor fossil dig, and a fossil-making corner.  The museum’s newest permanent display, Florida Formations: Shifting Seas and Sediments, offers a learning context for these activities.

In Sage Science Center, students from the Society of Physics Students (SPS) will offer a dazzling display of physics experiments, including a demonstration of the wavelengths of sound, using a standing-wave flame tube; a Magdeburg Hemisphere vacuum tug-of-war; and some of the dazzling effects of liquid nitrogen.  Their advisor, Kevin Riggs, Ph.D., professor of physics, explains, “The ‘Physics Extravaganza’ program is designed to show that physics is both a ‘hot’ topic (flame tube) and is really ‘cool’ (liquid nitrogen).”

Scientists and their families are asked to begin at the Gillespie Museum. Guides will lead visitors to activities at both sites.  The Gillespie Museum’s collection and earth science displays will also be open for self-guided tours.

For more information about Stetson’s Science Saturday program, visit the museum website at www2.stetson.edu/gillespie.