One thing we here at the Philadelphia Science Festival are serious about is getting you involved, and what better way to do that than a scavenger hunt coordinated by La Salle University and Drexel University?

Hello, and welcome to Café Preview 2! Today I have 6 more Cafés to tell you about. Get excited…

Have you ever noticed that when you get a cold, you can’t taste things as well? That the flavors of the food you put in your mouth seem muted? It’s because you can’t smell as well. Our sense of smell is a critical component in our ability to enjoy the flavors of food.  But what else does smell do for us?

One part of the Festival that I’m excited about is the Cafés. These smaller events take place at locations all around the city, including museums, universities, and bars/restaurants. There are 30 events in all, so over the next few weeks I’ll be bringing you previews of the Cafés in groups of five. Today I’ve got the first five events for you.

In the past few years, there’s been an increasing amount of distrust around vaccines. There are those that believe it causes “issues,” like autism, which in turn, has led to a drop in the number of parents who allow their children to get vaccinated. The result? Increased cases of whooping cough, measles, and other infectious diseases. In addition to the rise in these incidents, human beings as a species are beginning to lose their “herd” immunity, paving the way for resurgence in epidemics.

Last week was the Philadelphia Science Festival Press Preview, which I was lucky enough to attend. Ten demonstrations were set up by the Planetarium and featured some pretty nifty information. Each was dedicated to an event that is happening at the Festival, giving the press the chance to get an idea of what we can expect in April. Here’s a preview of what you will see in a few weeks.

Hey everyone!

Now would be a great time to take a look at the schedule (http://www.philasciencefestival.org/calendar) on the Science Festival's website for one exciting reason: tickets went on sale last week! Read the descriptions, find out what sounds interesting, and buy your tickets.

While the Science Festival has included tons of new programming this year, they’ve decided to bring back a couple popular ones from last year. One of these events is the Science Cabaret. The event will feature three “contestants.” At first I thought that meant a contestant could be any old person, but it’s actually three scientists preforming chemistry demos and songs. So there’s no need to worry about anything blowing up, these guys are professionals.

One of the most familiar concepts in American (or really global) media is the superhero. There’s Superman, Batman, Wonderwoman, and the Tick. They may not have particularly creative names, but they’re there when we need them and they always save the day…all in under an hour no less! But let’s face it, they’re imaginary. So what do we do now? Who do we rely on? I mean, there’s no such thing as a superhero, right?

I disagree.