Student organizations filled the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom on Monday and Tuesday with fake snow, oozing slime and ice cream to attempt to attract kids to science careers.
The Engineering & Science Fair, sponsored by the UF College of Engineering, boasted a record-breaking turnout of more than 1,300 elementary, middle and high school students, said Kathryn Kearns, director of the fair and an engineering junior.
UF, SFCC and Lake City Community College students also visited the exhibition, Kearns said.
"The great thing about (the fair) is that it really is appropriate for every age," she said.
She said the exhibition, which featured 37 science organizations, is the biggest event of National Engineers Week, which lasts from Feb. 15 through Saturday.
The American Institute of Chemical Engineers, which showcased ice cream frozen by liquid nitrogen, won the Visitors' Choice award.
The Center for Catalysis earned the most outstanding overall exhibit, which featured crystal gardens, imploding soda cans and slime.
Adam Veige, a faculty member of the center, said his team developed experiments that appeal to children, parents and teachers.
The center went through about 20 liters of slime during the two-day fair, he said.
