Cool Science festival returns to Colorado Springs to make science fun and accessible for people of all ages

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The annual Cool Science festival comes back to Colorado Springs Saturday, Sept. 24. with a goal of making science fun.

"We look at this as what's often referred to as informal education," Cool Science Board President Ron Furstenau said. "We're trying to give them things beyond what they could get in the classroom. A lot of the volunteers for Cool Science are scientists or engineers and we're able to bring to the table some things that a school probably could not. We really like to get hands-on and perhaps things people haven't encountered before and haven't associated with science. We're trying to make science fun for everyone."

The festival consists of 16 days of engaging activities with 70 hosted events. Everything is hands-on and ranges from underground cave tours at Cave of the Winds, Fire training science and skill testing with the Colorado Springs Fire Department, beer science with Bristol Brewing, mushroom gardening, stargazing, and geology tours at Manitou's Mineral Springs.

"Whether it be from a nature standpoint at Garden of the Gods. We have a lot of stargazing activities, some hiking activities," Furstenau said. "Even something at the paint mines. So lots of different things but all science related."

The largest and most popular event of the festival is Carnival Day at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs on Oct. 1. There will be science magic shows, experiments, laboratory tours, demos, rockets, drones, animals, and more.

For more information and to view a full schedule of events, visit the Cool Science website.