Feb. 24, 2025 - Kids of all ages and their families are invited to 91³Ō¹Ļās 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 91³Ō¹Ļ programs and from area partners like the MOXI Museum
of Santa Barbara; kidSTREAM Childrenās Museum; the Port of Hueneme, Santa Barbara
Zoo, and more are planning to participate.
Since it began in 2009, the CSU Channel Islands' (91³Ō¹Ļ) 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.
āItās 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,ā said Phil Hampton, the carnivalās founder and 91³Ō¹Ļās 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 sheepās eye or ābling with scienceā by electroplating a ring with gold, they can also find out what college is all about.
āWeāre going to have college-going information sessions in Spanish and English,ā Hampton said. āThere 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 itās like to go to college.ā
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.
āSanta Barbara Zoo will feature their conservation work,ā said 91³Ō¹Ļ Assistant Professor of Biology Rudi von May, who is helping to coordinate the Carnival. āThey will have a hands-on activity involving Monarch butterflies.ā
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 91³Ō¹Ļ 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 91³Ō¹Ļ campus in 2024, it drew more than 2,000 guests, continuing to grow each year.
āWhen kids do hands-on science, their curiosity is sparked, and they are naturally curious,ā von May said. āThey experience not only science, but the arts and dance and music. Regardless of how they choose to learn about the world around us, itās the love of learning thatās the important thing.ā