Liquid Nitrogen Show and Demos

Mr. Freeze’s demonstration is a science-based show that uses liquid nitrogen to demonstrate the interesting and fun properties of cryogenics. The show includes surprises and explosions, and explains the effects of extreme cold.

Then, make ice cream rapidly, freeze flowers, and shrink balloons with this hands-on liquid nitrogen demo conducted by the Talapin Lab.

Emergency Medicine Demos

Learn how to do CPR, play with an interactive virtual heart, use a real stethoscope to listen to the heart and lungs, or tour an ambulance with the help of UChicago Medicine!

Microscopy: Cancer Cells Under a Microscope

Dive into the process of studying live immune cells and cancer cells using microscopy with the help of labs from the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering!

Superconductor Magnet Track

Watch as physical principles allow a superconductor to levitate above a magnetic track. Learn how it works with Molecular Engineering undergrad student, Corrie Barnes!

Physics of Skateboarding

Each trick in skateboarding seems to defy gravity – but behind it all there are physical principles that define every second in the air and on the ground. With scientist-skaters, learn how gravity, friction, and more allow for all your favorite tricks. And try it out too!

Robot Row

Control a Robot with ChatGPT: The future is now! With the help of the Robotics lab from Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago, you can interact with different robots, including a robot arm you can command simply by speaking to it and a two-armed robot that will mimic your motion!
Computer Graphics & AI: Have you ever wanted to give Batman a silly face or morph a horse into an astronaut? Now you can! In this demo, you can manipulate and edit virtual 3D objects and characters using AI.

It’s a jellyfish world!

View live jellyfish and hydra, take photographs with a dissecting scope, and talk with our volunteers like Professor Jocelyn Malamy about jellyfish research!

Purifying Drinking Water

Learn how your drinking water is purified and gets delivered to your home, compare Lake Michigan water to purified water, and learn how water testing is done with Angel Hawthorne from the City of Chicago.

Paleo Demos: Bones and Fossils

Skulls of Snakes & Lizards: Explore reptile specimens from the Field Museum and learn about the evolution of lizard and snake skulls with graduate student researchers.
Fossil Discovery and Preparation: Prepare fossil replicas with real tools used in a fossil preparation lab, match real fossils with 3D print replicas in a fun game, or even explore your own sandy dig site to find dinosaur teeth and fossils!

Sea the rainbow: the molecular secret to the ocean’s natural colors

Learn about how evolution works at the molecular level through interactive games that change protein structure and function. These changes will be realized by proteins that change color, which can be seen by the naked eye. No microscopes required!

Tiny Invaders: The Science of Viruses

Learn about the structures and infection mechanisms of viruses and build your own model out of paper with the help of UChicago Genehackers!

Human-Computer Integration

Imagine leaping over a fence in virtual reality. It looks like you’re jumping high—but does it feel like it? Computer scientist Pedro Lopes and his Human-Computer Integration Lab will demo their work with virtual and augmented reality experiences.

Planetary Science Extravaganza: From Microbes to Comets

Build your own comet, learn how to identify minerals, and view microbes in this multiscale demo with Geophysics grad student, María Hernández.

Pipette Watercolor Painting

Explore everyday science supplies such as test tubes, transfer pipets, and well-plates to make colorful suncatchers to take home in this demo led by Women+ in Chemistry.

Laser Maze

Learn about reflections and light by bouncing a laser through a maze to hit targets and earn points! Can you beat the designer of the maze, Physical Chemistry grad student, Liv Mumma?

DNA Extraction

Extract DNA from strawberries or your own saliva in demos from the James Franck Institute!

Trapping Atoms with Spinning Fields

To explore the nanoscale method of trapping ions with electric fields, Physics grad student Ryan White will use a pottery wheel and 3D printed saddle to showcase how to trap a ball in place.

Meet a Meteorite

Have you ever wanted to touch something that came from space? Interact with real space rocks and meteorite fossils in this demo put on by meteorite scientists!

Light Infrared Thermal Energy (LITE) Workshop

Grad student Genesis Higueros will guide exploration with thermal cameras to see heat transfer on materials with different optical properties.