Illinois Valley Community College will host its annual SciFest on April 17 at 7 p.m. in the College Gymnasium, featuring more than 100 interactive science demonstrations and experiments.

The event invites visitors to participate in hands-on activities at stations throughout the gym, from augmented reality sandboxes to liquid nitrogen ice cream stations. Spectacles on center court include a 55-gallon barrel implosion, a soda geyser, fire dancing to music, and a bed of nails demonstration that audience members can test themselves.

Experiments span biology, geology, chemistry, and physics. Highlights include a giant bubble demonstration that places a person inside, mylar balloons that rise and sink as helium heats and cools, microscope displays, fossil and mineral collections, and ice cream made fresh with liquid nitrogen.

“SciFest stands out as an immersive experience rather than a science show to watch,” said Matthew Johll, who advises the college’s Chemistry Club, the event’s host. “One of my students this year remembers participating in SciFest 10 years ago. Now, that’s remembering. If you just watch somebody else doing an experiment, it is a different experience completely.”

Johll said the event engages families across generations.

“Parents get to see their children’s excitement and the children see excitement in their parents,” he said.

Student organizers rotate experiments each year, retiring familiar ones and introducing new demonstrations. This year, they are expanding bubble science experiments and testing new bubble solutions ahead of the festival.

For college students leading the demonstrations, the event offers practical experience beyond the classroom. “It gives them a direct connection and they see science in action. By doing a demonstration to illustrate the topics they discussed in class, they learn how to interact and communicate with an audience of varying ages. That is a learned skill and a valuable opportunity they would not get otherwise,” Johll said.

Visitors set their own pace and can return to favorite stations to repeat experiments.