Photo of students standing behind a large table with science festival lanyards on talking to a student about their research. In front of them is several pages of paper with information on their research and the center.
NSF COMPASS Center trainees, (from left) Kateland Sipe, Sneha Aggarwal, and Vasu Gatne, share their research with visitors at the Science Festival. Photo by Lauren Tucker for Virginia Tech.

What happens when you turn a science fair upside down? At Virginia Tech's Science Festival last fall, the U.S. National Science Foundation COMPASS Center (Center for COMmunity Empowering Pandemic Prediction and Prevention from Atoms to SocietieS) and the Center for Communicating Science partnered to bring “Flip the Fair” to life on the third floor balcony of the Center for the Arts. 

    Flip the Fair reimagines the traditional science fair by placing graduate students in the role of presenter and festival-goers into the role of evaluator. School groups and families picked up judging sheets at the Flip the Fair welcome table and circulated through the exhibits, assessing presenters on communication skills, clarity, engagement, and scientific content. With clipboards in hand, visitors moved thoughtfully from poster to poster, asking questions, discussing what they learned, and practicing how to evaluate scientific presentations. While the Center for Communicating Science and the COMPASS Center have previously supported a graduate student-led Flip the Fair event in Roanoke, this Science Festival version was a first for all involved.

Two students wearing lanyards and black shirts looking closely at a poster that has a galaxy on it that is part of the science festival activity. One student has his hand on the poster to put his star in the correct spot for the activity.
Science festival exhibitors examine an activity at the COMPASS table, “In the Balance: Pandemic Prediction and Prevention in Action.” Here, young visitors placed star stickers on an image of the Milky Way to indicate whether they want to be a researcher some day or want to explore another career path. Photo by Lauren Tucker for Virginia Tech.

    This year’s Science Festival, organized by the Center for Education Networks and Impacts (CENI), attracted over 2,500 attendees who explored research demonstrations, hands-on activities, and opportunities to engage directly with scientists. Since 2014, the Science Festival has inspired the community to learn more about the research happening at Virginia Tech and to explore the notion that “science is bigger than you think.” This year, as part of its mission to communicate science and broaden access to STEM outreach, the NSF COMPASS Center helped sponsor the festival’s school field trips, which bussed in and fed over 400 children from across the state.

 

Student researcher pointing to a colorful map while talking to two kids and a parent. She is wearing a mask and interacting with the children while holding her paper map.
Graduate student Emily Ellis engages with students and families at the Science Festival’s Flip the Fair in an interactive discussion about her research, which uses satellites to learn more about rivers. Photo by Lauren Tucker for Virginia Tech.

    The NSF COMPASS Center’s “Jump” and “Empower” teams joined forces to create their own interactive exhibit for Flip the Fair. The COMPASS Jump team studies zoonotic diseases (diseases that spread between animals and humans) and machine learning (artificial intelligence, or AI), working toward computer systems that can make predictions about what animals might carry or spread disease and which viruses are likely to “jump” from animal to human. The COMPASS Empower team works with communities to understand their concerns, ensure pandemic research is ethical and effective, and build relationships of trust. They also train COMPASS researchers to communicate with clarity and meaning and provide and support opportunities for researchers to engage with community members, such as the Flip the Fair event.

Two student researchers talking to a young student and showing her orange letter cards. One of the student researchers is leaning down to interact with the young girl. They are looking at the orange letters on the presentation table.
U.S. NSF COMPASS Center graduate student trainees teach children how to play “Decode the Superhero,” a game at their exhibit exploring machine learning and pandemic prediction. Photo by Lauren Tucker for Virginia Tech.

    At the Jump/Empower exhibit, young festival-goers engaged with a hands-on game that challenged them to “decode” superhero names in a playful simulation of how machine learning tools can help predict which animals a virus might infect next. At nearby tables, children and adults shared their attitudes about the use of AI in zoonotic disease prediction by placing marbles into jars labeled with emojis representing excitement, skepticism, and fear, among others. COMPASS researchers also conducted brief interviews with adult volunteers to learn more about public perspectives on AI in pandemic research. Insights from these conversations will help shape future dialogues with community groups as the NSF COMPASS Center expands public engagement in pandemic science. 

Child talking with science festival volunteer from CCS and they are discussing his opinion on an AI related question. The CCS volunteer looks interested in his opinion. There are jars and marbles on the table with stickers and signs.
Science Festival Flip the Fair visitors dropped marbles in jars to let researchers know how they feel about the use of AI in pandemic prediction research. Photo by Lauren Tucker for Virginia Tech.

Including the COMPASS Center exhibit,  Flip the Fair at the Science Festival hosted six exhibit tables, each sharing a project designed to spark exploration and conversation.

Presenter standing to the right of her poster that is bright and colorful. This poster has the title "Talemate" and has lots of green and other colors.
Kathryn Seiple, one of the presenters of "AI and Robots for Young Children’s Learning." Photo by Lauren Tucker for Virginia Tech.

AI and Robots for Young Children’s Learning - Prize Winner for “Methods Master”
Poster Credit: Mahmut Sami Gurdal
Presenters: Mahmut Sami Gurdal, Jing Chen, Meryem Seyda Ozcan, Josie Vernon, Zahni Peterkin Williams, Maya Thomas, Grace Ambrosio, Owen Brydges, Kathryn Seiple, Leanne Bell, Izabella Faza, Raaga Puvvadi, Jack Quan, Hailey Annibell

Three researchers wearing science festival t-shirts who are standing next to their poster. There are two students on the right and one on the left side of the poster. They are all smiling for a picture.
From left, Steve Yoon, David Go, and Emily Ellis, presenters of "Capturing River Temperatures from Space." Photo by Lauren Tucker for Virginia Tech.

Capturing River Temperatures from Space - Prize winner for “Radical Results”
Poster Credit: Emily Ellis
Presenters: Emily Ellis, Steve Yoon, David Go, Yohtaro Kobayashi 

Researcher wearing a bright yellow shirt with lanyard. He is standing to the right of his poster and smiling for a picture.
Brice Crum, presenter of "Friends of the Forest: Aquatic Insects Need Healthy Forests." Photo by Lauren Tucker for Virginia Tech.

Friends of the Forest: Aquatic Insects Need Healthy Forests - Prize winner for “Curious Questioner”
Poster Credit and Presenter: Brice Crum 

Researcher wearing science festival activity hats. He is wearing science festival shirt and smiling for a photo on the left side of his poster.
Amartya Dutta, one of the presenters of "In the Balance: Pandemic Prediction and Prevention in Action." Photo by Lauren Tucker for Virginia Tech.

In the Balance: Pandemic Prediction and Prevention in Action (NSF COMPASS Center) - Prize winner for “Prettiest Poster”
Poster Credit: Blessy Antony
Presenters: Kateland Sipe, Vasu Gatne, Sneha Aggarwal, Amartya Dutta, Julie Gerdes, Jon Catherwood-Ginn, Erin Smith 

 

Researcher wearing science festival shirt and lanyard. He is smiling for a photo and standing to the left of his poster.
James Moloney, presenter of "Mosquitoes Eat Nectar?! Toxic Plants and Invasive Mosquitoes." Photo by Lauren Tucker for Virginia Tech.

Mosquitoes Eat Nectar?! Toxic Plants and Invasive Mosquitoes - Prize winner for “Best Overall”
Poster Credit and Presenter: James Moloney 

Researcher holding activity hat as well as wearing one and standing to the right of her poster. She is smiling for a photo and wearing her science festival shirt.
Sai Navya Vadlamudi welcomes visitors to the Flip the Fair section of the Science Festival. Photo by Lauren Tucker for Virginia Tech.

Want to be a Science Fair Judge? Step Into Flip the Fair: A Flipped Science Fair Experience!
Poster Credit: Lauren Tucker, Sai Navya Vadlamudi
Presenters: Sai Navya Vadlamudi, Bria Weisz, Carrie Kroehler

    With dedicated exhibitors and deeply engaged visitors, this year’s Science Festival demonstrated the continued impact of community-based science events. Congratulations to the Flip the Fair presenters for creating educational experiences that centered curiosity, communication, and active participation, and deep gratitude to Phyllis Newbill and the Center for Educational Networks and Impacts for allowing us to experiment with a Flip the Fair event within the Science Festival. The COMPASS Center and Center for Communicating Science hope to continue expanding opportunities for hands-on learning across our region and for dialogue about pandemic prediction and prevention.

By Lauren Tucker, Center for Communicating Science graduate assistant