Community & Giving

August 23, 2023

Free MEGAMicrobe interactive event set for Sept. 23

MEGAMicrobe, a free exploration of the world of microbes, will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23, at Gower Elementary School.

Students, parents, families and teachers are welcome to attend MEGAMicrobe, a free exploration of the world of MEGAMicrobe, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23, at Gower Elementary School, located at 650 Old Hickory Boulevard in Nashville.

Hosted by the Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology and Inflammation (VI4) in partnership with Nashville’s Adventure Science Center, the sixth annual MEGAMicrobe event invites children ages 5 to 14 to conduct science experiments, join in hands-on activities and games, and win prizes and giveaways.

This year’s theme is Mission:Microbe. Interactive booths will include “Frogs and Mission Earth;” “MEGAMooocrobes,” a voyage into the digestive tract of an “astronaut cow;” and “Survivor Microbe,” an exploration of microscopic water bears (tardigrades), living creatures that look like they’re from another planet.

Science is important, say researchers from Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center who volunteer for MEGAMicrobe. But it’s accessible and can be a lot of fun, too.

For more information, visit https://www.vumc.org/viiii/megamicrobe, or send an email to VI4Research@vumc.org.