04/2015

On Saturday, April 18, 2015, the Movassaghi Group and the Novartis Team (led by Larry Hamann) teamed up for a second year to bring chemistry to the Cambridge Science Festival Science Carnival and Robot Zoo held at the Cambridge Library and Field House.

This year the team facilitate an interactive “We Make Molecules” booth in the main Carnival area and also held one of the Carnival’s first EVER Science Cafés! In a separate room, the team ran a full schedule of activities in the Café. The Novartis team developed an amazing 3-D “Molecules in Motion” show with voiceovers to demonstrate and explain molecule structures and their relevancy to everyday life. Participants were required to wear 3-D glasses! In addition, Prof. Movassaghi and Paul Gormisky (Novartis) shared with Café participants how chemists make molecules and about new chemical innovations in medicine and materials development. The Café ended with a panel of chemists and professionals from MIT and Novartis sharing their work and paths with others.

The CCHF reached hundreds of kids and adults, even more than last year.

“We had SO MUCH TRAFFIC AT THE BOOTH!! It was crazy! “ –Kolby White (Movassaghi Group)

“We definitely inspired some budding young scientists to consider a path following [our] footsteps.” –Larry Hamann (Novartis)