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Welcome Home School Groups!
We are currently FULL on both days of the Funfest, but please add your name to our waiting list in the event an opening pops up.
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:
And many, many more 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. Who can attend?
Over the past 5 years, the Funfest has become a much looked-forward-to event for How to Register |
 Highlights of the MSTFF
As you can see from the many photos on our website, there are many opportunities for your students to get hands-on learning of various math and science disciplines. Every year the line-up of workshops and exhibits changes, however we have many return exhibitors year after year. We will post the list of workshops that are registered by mid October. However, they are subject to change because we have historically had last minute add-ons right up to the Funfest event.
There is so much to see and experience at the Funfest – there is no way that any group can see it all in the 4 hours that the Funfest is open. We STRONGLY encourage each group to spend the maximum amount of time at the Funfest. Arrive as close to 9:00am as possible and stay to 1:00pm if you can. With varied school start times and bus availability, we realize that this may not be possible for every group. We have never found a group that got bored at the Funfest! The most crowded times at the Funfest are between 10:00am – Noon. Groups that arrive before 10:00 and that can stay after 12:00 have been rewarded by real quality time with our professionals. From a 3rd grade teacher: “…Thank you for this wonderful opportunity. My kids learn more in this single day than I could ever accomplish in the classroom. From now on, I will incorporate more hands-on activities in my lesson plans, and will do more exploration and analysis of all different types of sciences….” |
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Frequently Asked Questions: 1) Can small private groups / families register to attend? Absolutely! We have many small groups/families that bring their kids on their own. We do ask that younger children be properly escorted. No child should be dropped off at the Funfest and picked up later. 2) Can home school groups register to attend? 3) Can we register groups other than grades 4th – 8th?
Over the past 8 years, the Funfest has become a much looked-forward-to event for 4) If the day that I want to bring my group is full – can I sign up on a waiting list? Yes, you can be added to the waiting list for any given day or you can sign your group up to attend an alternate day. Groups on the waiting list will be given priority based on either a first come first served basis AND the number of slots opened (for example – if 25 slots opened up on a given day, then we would give the first group of 25 or less on the waiting list the option of taking the open slots. 5) Can we bring our lunches – is there a place to eat at the Convention Center? We strongly encourage school groups to bring their lunches if possible. Some groups have made special arrangements with their school cafeterias to have sack lunches prepared for those students who normally receive their lunch through a subsidized lunch program. Many groups have taken a 20-30 minute break from the Funfest activities to eat lunch on one of the grassy areas around the TCC or in the lobby/entry of the convention center. There is no place to purchase food or water at the TCC during the Funfest – so school groups need to make their own provisions for lunch. We can not be responsible for lunches, but some groups have brought coolers and left them in an out of the way place near our registration tables or even left them on their school buses until lunchtime. 6) Will the kids in my group get bored? We have yet to find a school group that got bored at the Funfest! How could you? With more than 60+ different hands-on exhibits/workshops it would be hard not to find something that interests everyone! We quite often hear the opposite from school groups - there is too much to see and do! 7) How can we maximize the learning experience for our students? In the past, some home school teachers have prepared a journal that students are asked to write observations in as they visit different workshops/exhibits or science fair projects. When the teachers get back to the classroom, they continue to have students share what they learned and saw at the Funfest with each other. Because there is so much to see, it is very likely that smaller groups escorted by parents/teachers will see different things. In fact, you may want to ask that your smaller groups cover different aspects of the Funfest to get more coverage! Another way that you can help maximize the learning is to ensure that your students are well behaved and attentive to the scientists at the workshops. Tell them to ask the scientists questions. What better opportunity to interact with professional scientists and engineers than when they are at the Funfest? There are more than 200 professionals on the Funfest floor on any given day! 8) How do we find out what exhibits / workshops will be at the Funfest? We will post the list of workshops that are registered by mid October. However, they are subject to change because we have historically had last minute add-ons right up to the Funfest event. However, in the past here is just a small sampling of the 60+ workshops that have been there (this is just a sample – not the actual line-up of workshops):
9) Why are some exhibits / workshops available only on some of the days? We rely completely on the hundreds of professional scientists/mathematicians and engineers that volunteer their own time to make the Funfest happen. Exhibitors are not paid nor do the companies that they represent pay to have an exhibit at the Funfest. They are there for one reason – they want to share and encourage 10) How much does it cost to attend? The Funfest is absolutely free to attend! In fact, our very generous sponsors even pay for your buses so that any group that wants to attend – can! 11) Is there a required student/adult ratio? Yes, we require an 8:1 student to adult ratio. We ask that an adult stay with their group at all times and help to keep students under control. We have more than 2000 people at the Funfest each day and it can get a bit overwhelming if an adult is not closely supervising the students they are with. The energy and excitement that is generated at the Funfest is amazing and we ask that the adults help to keep the energy channeled for an effective learning experience. 12) If I am driving a private vehicle, where do I park and how much does it cost for parking? There is ample parking available at the TCC for a nominal fee of $6 per vehicle (subject to current TCC pricing). 13) How can I get other specific questions answered? Because everyone on our planning committee works full time at other jobs (believe it or not – everyone on the planning committee does this in the evenings and in their spare time!), it can be challenging to reach us during the day. By far, the best way to reach us is to email us at mathsciencefunfest@comcast.net. Someone checks the email at least once a day, and frequently throughout the day. You can also leave a voicemail at 794-5858 and someone will return your call within 24 hours. 14) What do we do when we arrive at the Funfest? About 2 weeks prior to the Funfest, you will be mailed a packet of information that contains registration information, nametags for all your students/adults, and a map and list of workshops that will be at the Funfest. Please distribute the nametags to the students before they arrive and be sure that they are wearing them at all times. Also complete the registration card and give it to one of the registration volunteers to “check-in” your group. Bags of goodies will be distributed to all students at the time they are registered. The whole registration process goes fairly quickly, however some delays may be incurred if numerous school groups arrive at the same time. Last year, our generous sponsors also made it possible for teachers to receive a goodie bag. These bags included teaching aids to help with additional hands-on activities in the classroom. We also were able to give every teacher an electronic temperature probe (Go-Temp) and a book filled with different experiments that could be done with the probes. We hope to be able to do something similar again this year. 15) Why do you ask the home school teachers 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 sent to you in your registration packets – we read each and every one of them! 16) How can my students thank the organizers for making the Funfest possible? Every year, thousands of hours are donated by the Funfest Planning Committee and the professional scientists and engineers that bring their particular math and science to life for The Planning Committee and our sponsors love to hear from students, teachers and even parents. Each year we receive hundreds of thank you notes and cards and we love reading every one of them! Please keep the cards, letters and notes coming after the Funfest and be sure to tell all our sponsors what your students learned! It really does make a difference and means so much to all of our volunteers! Cards and letters can be sent to the same address as teacher evaluations are sent to (they are included in the registration packet that will be mailed out a few weeks prior to the event). 17) How can I get on the mailing list for next year’s Funfest? For the past several years, we have opened registration for the Funfest about 4 months prior to the event. We have made improvements to our website and registration tools so that you can register on-line. You can send an email to mathsciencefunfest@comcast.net and ask to be added to next year’s mailing list. We will make every effort to get notices out to you about a week before registration opens. 18) How will I know if my group is moved from the waiting list to the registered list? You will be sent an email notification about 2 weeks before the event, or sooner if another group cancels their reservation prior to that time. You can check the status of your waiting list status by sending an email to mathsciencefunfest@comcast.net or can call 794-5858 to leave a voicemail inquiry. 19) If my group is on the waiting list, is there a chance that we will get to attend? Yes, there is always a chance. The sooner you register your group the better. We try to take groups on a first-come-first served order, however depending on the size of your group there may be instances when a smaller group that is behind you on the waiting list may get in depending on the number of slots that open up. 20) How many professional scientists and engineers participate in the Funfest each year? Every year, we have had at least 250 professional scientists, mathematicians, doctors and engineers volunteer their time and talents to make the Funfest possible. Last year we had more than 60 different companies/organizations/affiliations participating with many diverse sciences represented. It is truly a unique opportunity to interact with these professionals and they do it because they love it!
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