The 2nd Annual Science Festival Showcase takes place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday in the University Ballroom of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

The festival is hosted by Eastern’s biology department and is free and open to the public. There will also be free parking at the Union since the university will be closed in observance of Lincoln’s birthday, according to a press release.

Throughout the festival, those in attendance can meet a NASA representative, see a real human brain, build a DNA strand and participate in several experiments, according to a press release.

There will be three main experiments or main stage shows conducted at different intervals throughout the festival.

The first is “Fire and Ice,” which will be 20 minutes long and features experiments with liquid nitrogen, dry ice and flames. That showcase will be at 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 12:45 p.m.

This is followed by “Don’t Try this at Home,” which is another 20-minute show played at 10:30 a.m., noon and 1:30 p.m. The show involves making toothpaste “fit for an elephant” and how many helium balloons it takes to get a human off the ground, according to a press release.

The final show is called “Biology is a Life Saver” and is 15 minutes long and is at 11:15 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. The show features Lt. Matt MacDonald from the Charleston Fire Department, who will share his experiences as a firefighter and biologist.

For more information contact the Biology Department at 581-3126 or visit www.eiu.edu/biology.

The News staff can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].