Wednesday, Oct. 7 marks the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s 13th annual Science Day. Current chair of the Science Day committee and professor in the School of Computing and Informatics, Dr. Michael Totaro, shared about what goes on both during Science Day and behind the scenes of the event.
“I mean, we’ll get some juniors every now and then, but we really target seniors,” Totaro said. “So it’s an opportunity for a high school senior to experience a sort of day in the life of a student majoring in an undergraduate science degree program.”
The event begins bright and early at 7:30 a.m. in the Angelle Hall Auditorium with sign-ins and breakfast.
After a welcome address from the Dean of the College of Sciences Dr. Azmy Ackleh, the students break off into seven smaller tour groups to begin their day.
Every 20 minutes, the groups rotate taking part in major-specific exhibits. There is also an activity that remains in Angelle Hall: the Q&A panel with recent University science alums. Totaro noted, “And when their [high schoolers] near peers are speaking, that matters. People that just graduated, they want to hear what they have to say… they can connect very quickly.”
Dr. Calvin Berry, another committee member and statistics professor at the University, told The Vermilion that there are a total of 21 different Louisiana high schools. Now, outside of the event’s inner workings, the exhibits are what students primarily come to see.
Biology, chemistry, math, physics, computer science and informatics, geology and environmental science have interactive events set up to show students that majoring in a science is more than tedious lab work.
“Science is not just simply, you know, working in a dark, gloomy lab, boring for the rest of your life,” Totaro said.“No, it’s really… it’s all about exploration.”
Totaro added that some of Science Day’s biggest hits amongst the students are the School of Computing and Informatics and the Department of Physics. The former has an ever-popular virtual reality set-up.
The latter has some events that sound rather frightening on paper, such as a bed of nails that students are allowed to lay on.
Due to the properties of weight distribution, this is actually completely harmless.
These eye-catching exhibits are run completely by volunteer students. They are the heart of Science Day and really assist students seeing what it is like studying at the University.
Totaro said, “Yeah, the committee is faculty and staff, but to be perfectly honest with you, the entire thing has really been successful mainly because of our students.”
At the time of this paper’s physical release, Science Day has passed. At least one high school senior will have walked away with a new lens on what science is all about.
Science Day will return in the 2027-28 school year, just in time for the next wave of future students and scientists.