Inquiry,   Exploration   and Discovery  - that is what the Funfest is all about!

There are several ‘hands on“ workshops that bring Math and Science to life, demonstrating everyday (and not so everyday) mathematical and scientific principles at the MSTFF. In past years, we have had more than 60 workshops / exhibits  such as:

• The Human Brain / Heart  (with real human   
                                    brain and heart  specimens)
• Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream
• Fighter Jet Cockpit / Trainer
• Physics Factory
• Mad Science
• Fun with Electronics
• 3-2-1 Blast Off
• Night Vision Goggles
• Insect Discovery
• Whirligigs and Aerodynamics
• Exploring Mars
• Living and Working in Space
• Hovercraft
• Physics and Karate
• MathMovesU
• Women In Science

And many, many more
We encourage professionals to bring workshops/ exhibits that are interactive, educational, and fun!  Explore, touch, observe, look into microscopes, talk with hundreds of students, and bring the wonders of the science that are all around us to life for Tucson's student body.    The Funfest is absolutely free to attend!  In fact, our very generous sponsors even pay for the school buses so that any group that wants to attend – can!
The Scientists ….

Engineers....Doctors...Fighter Pilots…. Astronomers…Researchers...Physicists..... Neurologists.........Computer Scientists..... Pharmacists.....Professors…Educators….

Entomologists…..Biologists…..Rocket Scientists…..Dendrochronologists…

Criminologists…Technologists…Geologists… and many other types of mathematicians and scientists.  What do they all have in common?  The desire to share their love of very diverse math and sciences with the students in our community.

Over the past 5 years, the Funfest has become a much looked-forward-to event for Tucson students and teachers.   There is no way we can meet the increasing demand for people that want to attend the Funfest.  Therefore, we have targeted grades 4 -8 because studies have shown that those students most benefit from the experience that the Funfest has to offer (more students start to lose an interest in math and science in grades 4-8 – so we want to reinforce how cool math and science can be to this age group!).   To help insure a quality learning experience for the Funfest attendees, we also limit registration to no more than 2000 people a day.  We do have opportunities for older school groups to attend and even participate in developing their own workshops/exhibits – but these must be coordinated with the Funfest planning committee in advance.

Intended Audiences

The intended audience for the Funfest is school groups and home school groups.  We do everything possible to target grades 4th - 8th, but on occasion do have older high school students that attend.  the majority of our attendees are from public and private schools.  We do require a student to adult ratio of 8:1, so there are several teachers and parent chaperones also in attendance. 

Highlights / Impacts Observed from past MSTFF events

Setup Information (See FAQS below)

Professional organizations / companies / educational institutions can register to bring an exhibit/workshop to the Funfest by registering their booth/workshop for the days that they plan to be at the Funfest.  Be sure to register as a “workshop” and read the guidelines posted carefully.  We do not require that you attend all 3 days, but it is easier for all involved if you can!  If you have any questions, please contact our planning committee at 794-5858 and someone will be happy to get back to you as quickly as possible. 

2)  Is there a cost for companies or organizations to participate in the Funfest?

We do not charge companies to participate – we only ask that you bring a fun, interactive demonstration of some math or science related activity to share with Tucson students.  We also ask that you bring all of your own materials/supplies required for your workshop – we do provide electricity, tables and chairs that can be set up in a variety of styles to maximize the learning environment, but can not provide other supplies or equipment.   

3)       How much space should I plan to get for my exhibit / workshop?

The basic booth size is 15’ deep x 20’ wide.  However, if necessary, more space can be allocated on 10’ increments, provided we know  in advance that you need more space.  There are 3 generic formats for the booth space:

Theatre Style is intended for those workshops that are not necessarily interactive, but more instructional.  It consists of two 2’x10’ tables and 32 chairs set up in rows of 8 chairs per row.

Classroom Style is intended for hands-on activities for several people at a time.  It includes four 10’ tables with 8 chairs seated around each table. 

We encourage all workshop / exhibit owners to set up their booths on the Wednesday before the Funfest opens to the general public (Feb 15^th).  We have staff on hand from 1pm – 9pm on Wednesday night.  US Expo will be setting up the modular booths/partitions in the morning on the 15^th and should be ready for exhibitors to start moving in after 1pm.  There will be Funfest Planning Committee members on site to help direct you to your assigned booth.  A few weeks before the event, further instructions will be emailed to the exhibit owner, including check-in, setup instructions, parking passes, and booth assignments.  Be sure to bring everything that you will need for your booth – in general we do not provide supplies and/or tools for booth setup.  We will have a few misc items available in the event you forgot a basic supply (markers, tape, staplers, scissors, etc).  We will have nametags pre-printed for everyone that we know will be working at your booth.  (see item 6 below).

5)  Is there access to bring in large trailers or large equipment into the exhibit halls? 

Yes, the TCC has access doors to the exhibit halls that are large enough for large semi trailers and other large equipment.  If you need that type of access, please make a note when you register so that we can strategically locate your exhibit in a location to minimize move-in / move-out issues. 

6)  What type of facilities will we have available to us in our exhibits / workshops?  Does the TCC have Internet access?

When you register, please specify the type of booth space you will be needing (see #3 above) and any special needs that you have, such additional room for your activity.  We also can have booths outside in the back alley of the exhibit halls for things like launching rockets, noisy exhibits, or very messy exhibits.  Be sure to note whether you will be needing electricity.  If you need more tables or chairs than specified in the generic booth layouts, we will try our very best to accommodate your needs.  The cost for Internet access at the TCC is very high and is for individual connections on a per day basis.  We have chosen to spend the money that our sponsors provide on educational giveaways for the teachers and students, and therefore can not offer free internet service. 

7)  Do I need to individually register all the people that will be working in my exhibit / workshop?

Because we like to thank our volunteers after the event and also have preprinted name tags for everyone, we do ask that each person working in a booth register individually as a “volunteer”.  The volunteers can specify the days that they will be at the Funfest and also which workshop / exhibit they will be working at.  The booth owner should register with the exhibit and provide their contact information as the primary person that we will communicate with. 

8)  Are there other volunteers that can be assigned to help out in my workshop?

We do have a few volunteers that can be assigned to help out in exhibits and workshops and/or help with crowd control.  If you need extra help, please note that when you register and we will make every attempt to assign additional help to you.  However, we can not guarantee that we will have enough volunteers for everyone, so please do your best to man the workshops / exhibits that you are bringing. 

9)  How many kids should we expect each day and what are their age ranges?

We currently have more than 6000 students / teachers / chaperones registered to attend the Funfest (registration filled in 3 days this year – wow!).  We try to maintain a maximum of about 3000 attendees a day, however, there have been times when school buses drop off kids that were not pre-registered.  This makes it very hard for everyone when this happens, but we do our very best to discourage this behavior and do not give “walk-ins” any type of giveaways since our supplies are limited to those that had pre-registered.  In general, we have also limited registration to grades 4^th – 8^th, however we do have a few high school groups from charter schools registered to attend. 

10)  Is there food available for purchase?

The TCC does not have any food vendors on site during the hours of the Funfest.  However, the planning committee does host a complimentary continental breakfast for all volunteers.  We encourage you to take at least one break throughout the morning and also DRINK LOTS OF WATER!  Water bottles will be available for all volunteers to keep in their exhibit area. 

11)  Is it safe to leave equipment set up over night in my booth/workshop?

We secure the exhibit halls each afternoon after everyone has left for the day.  The only people that are allowed in the Exhibit Hall after hours are TCC Security guards and members of the planning committee.   Large equipment is safe to leave overnight, however we do encourage people to take any portable electronic devices with them at the end of each Funfest shift.  In general, we can not be held responsible for lost or stolen equipment, but do make every attempt to provide a secured and locked environment when the Funfest is closed. 

12)  Is parking free at the TCC?

Our very generous sponsors pay for volunteers parking which is normally $6 per day.   Parking passes will be emailed out to you a few weeks prior to the event. 

13)  What should exhibitors / volunteers wear?

We strongly encourage you to wear very comfortable clothes appropriate for whatever type of hands-on demonstration you will be doing.  Please make sure that your clothing is age appropriate and not offensive to the students that will be attending.  We strongly encourage you to wear polo shirts, T-shirts, lab coats with your companies/organizations logo on it to help advertise their involvement in the Funfest.  

14)  Can we sell anything or give out giveaways or handouts to the students and teachers? 

Because we are providing a free field trip to local area schools, we do not allow you to sell any type of goods at the Funfest.  However, we do encourage you to bring reference materials that you can hand out to the kids/teachers that attend.    Handouts / giveaways advertising your organization and the work/service they provide are also encouraged.  Each student will be given a plastic bag that can be used to collect various handouts / giveaways that you want to distribute.  Please be sure that any materials that are distributed are age appropriate and non-offensive. 

15)  Are police officers or emergency medical teams available in the event of an accident?

We always have at least 3 off duty police officers roaming through the exhibit halls during the hours of the Funfest.  We have emergency first aid kits available at the Raytheon Prize Booth and emergency medical teams can be called if necessary.  We generally have a few doctors / nurses / firemen participating in the Funfest and they can be called upon if necessary.  Please be sure to report any suspicious behavior on the part of the students to the appropriate authorities (any member of the Funfest planning committee that are patrolling the area at all times or the police officers that are at the Funfest).  Also be sure to report any incidents that may occur to Sharon ONeal, the Funfest Director.   Most schools want to know if their students are behaving in an inappropriate manner. 

16)   When do we tear down and remove our exhibits after the event is over?

The Funfest closes its doors for the year at 1pm on Friday, Feb 17^th.  Exhibitors can start removing their equipment at that time.  We do ask that you do not start tearing down until after 1pm so that there are not a lot of extra people in the way of everyone cleaning up.

17)   Why do you ask the exhibitors to complete an evaluation?

Every year we have tried to incorporate lessons learned and improvements to the Funfest based on teacher and workshop owner feedback.  Your comments are so important to us – we want the Funfest to be a great experience for all.  Please do take the time to fill out the evaluations that are emailed to you or handed out at the event – we read each and every one of them!