Kids' Tech University

Kids’ Tech University, a program of Virginia Tech, is an annual event that takes place on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg. The program puts researchers in front of middle school kids to give exciting interactive sessions on some of the most interesting questions that kids often ask. More than simply teaching the participants about science, the goal is to get them excited about science and technology.

Kids’ Tech University features an educational session for teachers to learn about new demonstrations and opportunities to bring science into their own classrooms, a storytelling or lecture session where a scientist gives a presentation to the kids, followed by a fair with dozens of stations where children can go and explore different aspects of science. To help bring science into their own classrooms, the middle school teachers have the opportunity to learn about new demonstrations in a workshop designed specially for them.

The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine began participating in the event in 2011. That year, Helena Carvalho, an assistant professor of biomedical science, presented the storytelling session, and students from the medical school staffed hands-on exhibits about our special senses. Each year since, Carvalho and students at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine return to the fair and inspire wonder and excitement in some 400 children who attend the event.