NOVA Night of Science Gets 200 Kids Excited About STEM

On May 12, 2022, the two-year wait was over. The Math, Science, Business and Technology Division of the Annandale Campus held its annual Night of Science. This annual event, begun in 2017, engages children in the greater Northern Virginia K-12 community with an interest in STEM, sparking their curiosity and encouraging them to pursue a future as a STEM student, as well as a lifelong interest in Science and Education.

Over two hundred kids and their parents were treated to an experiential learning extravaganza. Faculty, staff, and students from the division as well as Annandale’s Faculty Staff Resource Center, NOVA SySTEMic and NOVA’s Sustainability Office developed and ran a variety of interactive and engaging activity stations in mathematics, engineering, anatomy and physiology, microbiology, biology, physics, geology, chemistry, robotics, virtual reality, laser printing and sustainability. There was even a fermentation station where kids and their parents could nibble on cheese sticks, chocolate and yogurt and learn the science behind the food.

This was an amazing event where kids of all ages could let their curiosity run wild. As one parent commented afterwards, “I just want to express my gratitude to you and the entire facility team that made tonight possible. I can’t over emphasize the importance of planting the seeds of curiosity in our young children. I watched my daughters become engaged and excited about science because of your enthusiastic professors and students. They were marvelous. Thank you and to everyone for tonight.”

This free community event was sponsored by the NOVA-AN’s Provost’s Office and the American Society of Microbiology. Click here for more info on Night of Science.

Submitted by:
Karen Bushaw-Newton, AN-Biology, KBushaw@nvcc.edu