Friday, Sept. 19 was the College of William and Mary’s third annual Sci-Fri event. This event offers a unique opportunity for college and K-12 students, faculty, community members and families to come together and explore what our school’s science departments have to offer.
For two and a half hours, the doors of the Integrated Science Center opened to anyone and everyone, and the building bustled with activities. From scavenger hunts to poster talks to lab demonstrations to building tours, there was something for everyone to enjoy at this event — even if they aren’t typically a science lover.
The idea for Sci-Fri came to Tyler Meldrum, associate professor of chemistry and director of undergraduate research, after working as a postdoctoral researcher in Germany.
“I saw that, in the city where I was, they had a big open university night where people would come out to tour labs and things,” Meldrum said. “I had the idea that, maybe, we could just get all of the science that’s happening in the ISC together to do a big community event for the campus community, but also for the Williamsburg community.”
Meldrum organized the first Sci-Fri in the fall of 2023, and has grown the event each year since. The first year of organizing Sci-Fri included a lot of logistical questions, mostly focusing around how the event would work and how they could pull it off.
“It was basically eight months of preparation to figure out, how do we get the marketing materials, how do we get the publicity, how do we get the volunteers, how do we recruit for the lab tours?” Meldrum said.
Many people involved noted that the event has only continued to grow and change, both within the inner circle and in terms of outside participants. There are now many more labs open during the event, offering tours, demonstrations and information about their research. There is even ice cream made using liquid nitrogen that visitors can snack on.
Meldrum said that, this year, for the first time ever, so many students were interested in sharing their research that two poster sessions were held, allowing space and time for each of the 26 undergraduates and labs that wanted to present their work.
The variety of labs that could be toured offered something for everyone who came to the event. With 23 sessions spanning the fields of biology, chemistry, applied sciences, computer science, data science, psychology and neuroscience, there was no shortage of new information and experiences. Labs taught topics such as tissue engineering, hands-on chemistry experiments, yeast evolution, AI in healthcare, brain activity, the memory of plants and so much more.
Sydney Foxx ’28 attended the event, and had a good time exploring the different displays.
“I liked the touch tank, the Allen Lab touch tank. And I also liked seeing the games that the stations had for the kids in the main atrium of the ISC, that was really cute to see because they had little wheels and candy and stuff, and the kids were having a lot of fun,” Foxx said.
A popular and recurring attraction of Sci-Fri is Jon Allen’s marine invertebrate touch tank. All three years of Sci-Fri, Allen, associate professor of biology, jumped at the chance to show off some of the organisms that reside in his lab. Along with offering up an abundance of starfish, urchins, crabs, sand dollars and other fun critters, Allen shared his thoughts on the event.
“I’m always surprised at how much traffic there is,” Allen said. “I was somewhat skeptical the first time they did it. I was like, ‘Is anyone going to come? Will people be interested?’ And I’ve been very pleasantly surprised every year. It seems like there’s more people, there are more stations in the ISC. It gets bigger and better every year, which is awesome, because it’s super rewarding.”
Allen also noted the abundance of community members who take advantage of this fun evening. It is an opportunity for members outside of the College community to learn more about science and about what the school and its students do. There were people of all ages strolling through the winding halls of the ISC: families with babies and children, middle and high school students, groups of friends, university students who came to support their classmates, community members who came to support their friends in the faculty, College faculty from other departments and more.
An overwhelming sense of community is something that College students feel at many campus events, but Sci-Fri offers a unique experience from the crowd that it draws in. It also offers an opportunity for colleagues from different departments to come together and create an exciting and informative event that sparks so much joy in the community.
Meldrum told a story of a high schooler who came to visit Sci-Fri one year, and grew progressively more excited when talking to a student who worked in one of the labs.
“[He said], ‘I didn’t know that there was such good STEM here. I’m definitely going to look into applying to William and Mary.’ It’s like, that’s the point,” Meldrum said.
The event exists to get people excited about science and learning more about what the College has to offer. Professors and students alike noted how fulfilling it is to see kids come out of their shells and get excited about what they’re seeing, which was apparent at every station throughout the building.
With such a large event, student volunteers are crucial to the success of the evening. Not only are they needed for presenting their own research or the work of the labs that they are involved in, but many students help with directions and ushering throughout the building, helping everyone find what piques their interest.
“[I enjoy] watching undergraduates interact with other people because that’s an opportunity for me to kind of see them get excited as teachers in a way,” Allen said. “Normally, their role is sitting in the classroom learning things, so it’s fun to watch them reflect that excitement back to people.”
This event gives students a unique opportunity to share what they love and dedicate many hours of their time to with people who may not have any prior interest in science. The joy from students getting to teach others could be heard loudly echoing throughout the halls. Kids with smiling faces darted from one classroom to the next, eager to keep learning more.
Sci-Fri is one of the only times that all of the scientific disciplines can come together at one place and time to offer so much information and enthusiasm alike. Based on the past three years, and with so much love for the event from both students and staff involved, as well as community members, it feels safe to say that Sci-Fri will only continue to grow into something more enthralling and vibrant as the years go on.
