On Friday, Oct. 24, the University of Northern Iowa hosted a spook-tacular event for the local community, bringing together science and Halloween fun for families and kids of all ages. 

The event was hosted on the second floor of the McCollum Science Hall by UNI’s American Chemical Society student chapter, Physics Club, Sigma Gamma Epsilon Earth Science Society, Pre-Med Club and the National Science Teaching Association.

Current students from the Biology, Physics and Earth Sciences departments turned plain labs and classrooms into scary-cool displays of experiments for the kids to see and participate in. All themed around Halloween, visitors were encouraged to dress up in costumes and participate in events such as Mummies Yummies, where you could make ice cream for root beer floats using liquid nitrogen or Devils Den, where onlookers watched as students demonstrated the excitement of pyrotechnics. 

Other fan favorites were demonstrations such as Frankenstein’s lab, Witchel Lair, Dangers of the Deep and Lair of Light, which let kids get a hands-on experience in helping with the experiments. Pirates Cove, Tesla’s Revenge and The Boneyard were also included in the long list of spine-chilling activities.

Many of the events were structured in 30-minute increments, allowing families to rotate through multiple demonstrations and experience the wide variety of scientific experiments on display. The experiments, geared more towards elementary-aged children, were intended to spark curiosity and excitement towards the creative and fun side of STEM. 

Organizers noted that events like these not only bring science to life but also inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers and educators.