Explain like I’m five: 18th edition of the Cambridge Science Carnival makes tough science accessible
Kirby Heck: “The energy is incredible. It’s totally electrifying, no pun intended”
Jieruei Chang–The Tech
Jieruei Chang–The Tech
Jieruei Chang–The Tech
A little exoplanet drifts around an alien sun. Slowly, mechanically, the planet orbits in the darkness of a foam-board box until it passes between a star and a phone’s light sensor. On an adjacent computer screen, the star’s light dims — the telltale sign of a planet — to the collective excitement of a small gaggle of children.
“The TESS [Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite] is looking for exoplanets, which are planets outside of our solar system found around other stars,” explained Katharine Hesse, a researcher at the MIT Kavli Institute. “We’re here to share a little bit about how TESS finds planets.” Though the metal-and-foam-board mockup at the booth was a far simpler version of the $200 million TESS mission, it captured the essence of a very real scientific challenge: finding new worlds with just a glimmer of light.
Making hard science accessible is the goal of the Cambridge Science Carnival, now in its 18th year. On Sept. 21, 2025, more than 17,000 visitors packed into the Kendall/MIT Open Space to explore over 150 booths from MIT, Tufts, Northeastern, Harvard, and other organizations across Massachusetts. Founded by the MIT Museum in 2007, the Carnival’s mission is to “bring science out of the labs and onto the streets.”
Amid the periodic booms of electrifying physics demonstrations, participants controlled underwater robots to complete navigation challenges. “These are kits that students put together using over-the-counter materials to develop underwater remotely operated vehicles,” said Robert Vincent, Assistant Director of the MIT Sea Grant program. The goal is to teach students the principles of “electrical, mechanical engineering, physics and ocean biology, and ocean ecology.”
During the carnival, many demonstrations emphasized robotics, with over 19 booths set up to display a wide variety of robots and a separate section dedicated entirely to the subject. Demonstration areas gave teams a platform to showcase their work and accomplishments. MIT Arcturus, an autonomous boat build team, hosted an activity to make miniature boats from pool noodles while their competition boat mapped its environment with LIDAR in real time.
Graduate student Kirby Heck, a fifth-year PhD student in MIT’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, ran his booth, titled “Harnessing Power from the Wind,” back for a second year. There, participants could build their own miniature wind turbines and test them in a tabletop wind tunnel to see how much power they could generate.
“The energy at the Cambridge Science [Carnival] is incredible. It’s totally electrifying, no pun intended,” said Heck. “People get super into it. They tinker with their design, try it in the tunnel, improve it, and try again until they get something that spins and produces power.”
For Heck, the takeaway is less about the technical details and more about the spark of curiosity: “Our goal is just to encourage people to build hands-on and create engineering experiences for themselves in the future.”
In addition to the many engineering booths, Cambridge Science Carnival also showcased the biological side of science. At the MIT Microbiome Club booth, visitors peered through microscopes at slides prepared from fermented foods and learned how “good bacteria” supports gut health. The organizers also provided free samples of these fermented foods, including kefir, kimchi, and sauerkraut, to all visitors. “I think it’s definitely a great representation of what our club’s mission is — [spreading] awareness to the community [and] showing how the microbiome is involved in our everyday lives,” Microbiome Club President Jean Yu '27 explained.
University students and researchers weren’t the only ones manning booths at the Carnival. High school FIRST Robotics Competition teams like the Boston-based Lobstah Bots ran exhibition matches with last year’s competition robots. In a fenced-off arena, they raced to stack PVC-pipe “coral” and pick up rubber-ball “algae” to cheers from onlookers. Nonprofit groups were also present at the Carnival, with groups like Cycle to Science displaying their map of science tourism locations in Boston. At the climate education nonprofit Change is Simple’s booth, outreach educator Marina Turchin used a wave tank to demonstrate the effects of erosion.
Many families have made the Carnival a tradition. Cambridge resident Lina has been bringing her kids for three years. Meanwhile, Billy, another resident, brought his niece Eliana for the first time. When asked about her favorite part of science, she exclaimed, “Slime!”
Cambridge City Councilwoman Patty Nolan has witnessed the Carnival evolve over the years. She brought her kids to the “very first one”; now, they’re in their 20s. “The energy here in the plaza is wonderfully exciting,” Nolan remarked.
Nolan also spoke to the broader importance of science literacy, stating, “I think [science is] essential for medical breakthroughs, for the longevity of the planet, but it’s also essential for democracy." Especially in a time where science is under threat, Nolan commented, "It’s the only way that we can move forward with progress in almost any area.”
If the goal of the Cambridge Science Carnival is to spread science literacy to the general public, it seems to be working. “This is our biggest year so far here,” said Sasha Wallinger, Director of Marketing and Communications at the MIT Museum. “[The Carnival] has really become a community event that welcomes the MIT audience, as well as the city of Cambridge.”