April 14 will be a Saturday filled with free fun of the scientific and athletic variety at UNC-Chapel Hill.
All of the day’s events are free and open to the public.
Activities begin at 11 a.m. with the Science Expo, a hands-on science fair event that is part of the 2012 North Carolina Science Festival. Science events for all ages will be available, such as a “small science” area for kids, a chemistry magic show, professor discussions on a range of science topics and an Ask-A-Scientist booth.
Oliver Smithies, recipient of the 2007 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine, will be the featured speaker for the keynote presentation at 11:30 a.m. in Gerrard Hall. UNC President Emeritus William Friday will interview Smithies and open the hall for a question and answer session.
At 1:15 p.m., Chancellor Holden Thorp and Buck Goldstein, entrepreneur in residence, will sign their book “Engines of Innovation: The Entrepreneurial University in the 21st Century” at a booth near South Road.
See a complete schedule of activities and a map. Free parking will be offered throughout campus.
The expo ends at 3 p.m., which is when the spring football game is scheduled to begin at Kenan Stadium. UNC Athletics has partnered with the expo, which is expected to draw thousands of visitors to Chapel Hill. Winners of the Science Expo’s football contest will compete at halftime of the spring game.
Food vendors, merchandise tents and interactive games will be set up along Stadium Drive starting at 11 a.m. Stadium Drive will be blocked off from South Road to Gate 2 of Kenan Stadium and feature live music. Carolina players will be available for autographs at 1 p.m.
The game will be broadcast at ESPN3.com.
Published April 11, 2012.