Family Science Saturday gets kids excited about learning

Alpha Chi Sigma's annual Family Science Saturday took place this weekend, helping bring science to young children and families

By Alicia Szczesniak

On Saturday March 22, 2025, the Ohio University chapter of the Alpha Chi Sigma (AXΣ) professional fraternity held their annual Family Science Saturday at the Chemistry Building. Family Science Saturday is a science fair full of science experiments and projects geared towards kids. 

Grace Purvis and Tyler Kelley, the Outreach Chair and President of AXΣ, spoke with the Lynx Rufus about the reason for the event. 

“I’ve been thinking of it as just getting kids excited about science and excited to learn about it, maybe learn some cool stuff while they're here, but mostly just getting them excited,” Purvis said.

And the kids definitely were excited. All throughout the building, kids and families were learning and participating in all the projects and experiments. A couple of members of the fraternity explained their experiments to the Lynx Rufus. 

Danielle, a freshman biochemistry major, explained the homemade lava lamps that kids were making. Kids start by mixing oil and colored water in a cup. Then, the difference in the densities of the oil and water leads to oil “bubbles” forming, very similar to the appearance of a lava lamp.

Alongside Danielle, Becca, a member of AXΣ, explained her project. She mixed together an indicator, vinegar, water and baking soda, which changed the mixture from clear to a purplish-pink color. 

But Family Science Saturday is not just about showing kids cool experiments. It’s also about fostering a love of science and learning in children who may not have those same opportunities elsewhere.

“I know that Southeast Ohio is one of the poorest areas of the country. Athens county specifically is really underserved by things like science education outreach, just in general. So we wanted to be part of that to help give those kids the opportunity to learn about science that they might not otherwise have” Kelley said. 

Wanna chat? Email Alicia at as589820@ohio.edu, or follow her on Instagram @alicia_szcz