MSU Science Night returns for entire Bozeman community

The walls of the SUB ballrooms rang with laughter and excitement as MSU Science Night (MSUSN) welcomed an evening crowd on Thursday, Feb. 6. There, kids were engrossed by the different science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) activities and experiences, while parents helped their children with crafts at circular tables in the center of the room.

The event is put on by Academic Technology and Outreach (ATO), a division of the Office of Academic Affairs and Provost.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent quarantine, MSUSN was a yearly tradition that was open to school groups and the general Bozeman community, according to Outreach Specialist for the ATO Jamie Cornish.

After public areas began to reopen in 2022, MSUSN started back up for school groups, but not for members of the general public. This year, for the first time since 2020, the whole Bozeman community was once again welcome to attend MSUSN.

According to Cornish, these events help educate and build a bridge between MSU and the greater Bozeman community. “I think this event is really important because it’s a great way for [the] town to come together [and] for the university to showcase its amazing research to local people,” Cornish said.

Cornish also explained what a unique opportunity it was for the community. “It's really a great way to talk to students and researchers and find out what they're doing and where your tax [dollars] are going [and] the kind of opportunities you can get at MSU,” Cornish said.

The event was primarily run by graduate and undergraduate science students. Behind one of the student-run booths on Thursday night stood Balyn Muffley, a graduate student getting her P.h.D in chemistry. Her booth was interactive, having the attendees disperse food coloring around a plate of milk with just one dot of dish soap, demonstrating the effects of surface tension on liquid.

“I really, really value STEM outreach, I’ve been involved with it for many years,” Muffley said. “I just think it’s really important —  especially in young kids —  to just spark amazement in science and more importantly to show representation in science.”

Brent and Callie Harberts are the parents of a fourth grader who attended on Friday night. “Our son actually called me after school asking to come, and we like that it exposes him to the sciences,” Callie said.

The Harberts expressed interest in having their son attend more events like this. “We are always watching for these types of events, it’s cool to expose him to campus too, because this is where he wants to go,” Brent said.

According to Cornish, the event also fostered joy and excitement within both visitors and the people presenting their research. She said that this energy is important when it comes to fostering a love of STEM.

“It’s neat to watch the public come in here and come to life [and to hear,] oh, I love dinosaurs, I love space. They can come in and really get hands-on information and talk and share. It’s just a very joyous, enriching activity,” Cornish said.

MSUSN will be back next February with both a midday session for students and a night session for the Bozeman community.

To keep up to date with more events held by the MSU’s Academic Technology and Outreach office, visit https://ato.montana.edu/.