On Saturday and Sunday, August 10 & 11, attendees of the Maryland Science Center’s annual Mess Fest embraced the chaos of creativity, donning paint clothes and dirty sneakers for a day of messy, interactive fun. The celebration, known for its embrace of mucky, slimy, and sticky science, featured a range of activities. Participants engaged in paint-splattering catapult challenges, dove their hands into pools of goopy oobleck, created spin art on specially designed bikes, and left their artistic impressions on the Science Center’s windows.
Cienna Patel, 7, explores oobleck, a goo made from corn starch and water. Credit: Carl Schmidt/Federal Hill Photography, LLCOrion Thapa, 7, reacts to the explosion created by dropping a stack of mentos into soda. Mess Fest at the MD Science Center in Baltimore, Maryland on Aug 8, 2024. (credit: Carl Schmidt/Federal Hill Photography, LLC)Dillon Sullivan, 9, uses a miniature catapult to fling a paint soaked cotton ball at a target. Mess Fest at the MD Science Center in Baltimore, Maryland on Aug 8, 2024. (credit: Carl Schmidt/Federal Hill Photography, LLC)Jacques Bertrand, 8, attempts to push a spatula through oobleck, a goo made from cornstarch and water. Credit: Carl Schmidt/Federal Hill Photography, LLCAttendees pedal a stationary bike that drives a spinning platform to which paper has been mounted. Paints are poured on the paper before or after the platform starts rotating, and the spinning motion flings the paint across the paper. Credit: Carl Schmidt/Federal Hill Photography, LLCAttendees pedal a stationary bike which drives a spinning platform to which paper has been mounted. Paints are poured on the paper before or after the platform starts rotating, and the spinning motion flings the paint across the paper. The paper is placed on this table to dry. Mess Fest at the MD Science Center in Baltimore, Maryland on Aug 8, 2024. (credit: Carl Schmidt/Federal Hill Photography, LLC)Attendees watch paint filled balloons, dropped from the top of the MD Science Center, splatter on the ground. Mess Fest at the MD Science Center in Baltimore, Maryland on Aug 8, 2024. (credit: Carl Schmidt/Federal Hill Photography, LLC)Darby Lachowicz, 9, paints on the MD Science Center windows. Credit: Carl Schmidt/Federal Hill Photography, LLCChildren paint on the MD Science Center windows. Credit: Carl Schmidt/Federal Hill Photography, LLC
