Notre Dame to host St. Joseph County Public Library’s 28th Annual Science Alive

Author: Erin Blasko

Jordan Hall Of Science. Photo by Barbara Johnston/University of Notre Dame.
Jordan Hall Of Science. Photo by Barbara Johnston/University of Notre Dame.

With the St. Joseph County Public Library’s Main Library closed for renovations, Science Alive, the library’s annual STEM event for kids and adults, will move to the University of Notre Dame this year.

The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, at the Jordan Hall of Science. Parking will be available in the Joyce Lot. Campus is served by Transpo Route 7.

The event is a collaboration between the library and Notre Dame, which is providing the space as well as some building services free of charge.

The Main Library is scheduled to reopen with an expanded footprint, services and programming in the summer of 2021.

“We are grateful that Notre Dame has offered the Jordan Hall of Science to us for Science Alive this year,” said Erin Lawrence, manager of community engagement for the library. “We’ve partnered with campus faculty and students groups to offer exciting new presentations that require the building’s unique facilities. We’re looking forward to a very special Science Alive.”

Karen Morris, program director for the Advanced Placement Training and Incentive Program in Indiana at the Institute for Educational Initiatives at Notre Dame, helped coordinate the event.

“Jordan Hall of Science is a great location for Science Alive,” Morris said. “We invite everyone to explore the electrifying activities, encounter the natural world and experience life as a STEM professional.”

Now in its 28th year, Science Alive is a day of scientific fun and discovery, with hands-on exhibits and special programs, including weather and live animal programs, related to science, technology, engineering and math.

With the move to Notre Dame, this year’s event will include a pair of shows in Notre Dame’s Digital Visualization Theater, a planetarium-like theater that immerses viewers in high-resolution, high-definition images projected on a 50-foot-diameter dome.

The Cognition, Learning and Development Lab, the Biology Graduate Student Organization and the Center for Sustainable Energy (ND Energy) at Notre Dame will participate in the event as well.

For more information, visit sjcpl.org/science-alive.