Seven-year-old Lucas Fuentes and his 4-year-old sister, Luna, were on hand Saturday morning to learn about extracting DNA from a strawberry.
The siblings were among thousands of learning-eager people who attended the annual San Diego Festival of Science and Engineering, which returned to Petco Park for its 17th year. The festival featured specialty areas about cybersecurity, robotics, sustainable building, arts, and a mixed-reality experience by the U.S. Navy, among others.
“It’s important that they get to know that there’s many things out there for them to learn,” said their father, Martín Fuentes.
The free event seeks to encourage the community to learn more about science, technology, engineering, arts and math through fun and educational activities for all ages.
Organizers were expecting 20,000 people to attend throughout the day.
“Science, technology, engineering and math, it’s in everything we do every day,” said Sara Pagano, the festival’s executive director. “So even if it’s not a career path that you want to follow, it’s just an amazing way to engage students with their interest in general and let them explore and learn, and really understand what’s happening in the world.”
Pagano said one of the perks of the festival is that it allows for conversations between students and people working in these fields.
“They might meet someone from a similar neighborhood or background and say ‘You took this path, this is something I can do too’, ‘How did you get there? And how could I get there?’ — and they are able to just see the spark of possibility for themselves,” she said.
More than 100 exhibitors set up hands-on learning experiences, educational activities, and experiments throughout the stadium.
“That’s why these festivals are great,” said Vero Ehrlich, project manager with biotech company Thermo Fisher. “Even the little kids, two or three years old, can do something. And we also get some college students and they ask for positions.”
At the Thermo Fisher booth, kids were able to experience the extraction of a strawberry’s DNA using special items and learn about each step of the process.
Another exhibitor was women’s health company Hologic, which offered an activity for kids to extract the DNA of a blueberry.
“We are trying to influence and we are trying to inspire students to go into STEM,” said Marilyn Vi, senior director of research and development operations. “If we have 100 students and we get about 10 to 12 students, it’s a win.”
First-time attendee Valerie Moreno of San Diego brought her 4-year-old son, Demian, to the festival.
“It’s amazing to start educating the kids about science,” said Moreno, who felt this knowledge is crucial for the future generations. “The world is moving forward, and technology is moving forward along with them.”
