Building Connections: USF ST. PETERSBURG INVITES THE COMMUNITY TO CAMPUS FOR FUN AND EDUCATIONAL EVENTS

The USF St. Petersburg campus hosted several successful events in 2023 that engaged the community through the exploration of history, science and the arts.

Sarah Sell

EXPERIENCING ‘SCIENCE IN THE SUN’

In February, the St. Petersburg Science Festival made an impressive return with awe-inspiring demonstrations and near-record crowds. The festival is held in conjunction with MarineQuest, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) annual open house. The joint event returned to an in-person experience this year for the first time since 2018.

More than 12,000 people gathered along the campus waterfront and outside the FWC’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. The festival connects scientists, environmental organizations and cultural institutions with the public via immersive exhibits and hands-on demonstrations in science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM).

Around 1,650 schoolchildren were also treated to a sneak peek of the St. Petersburg Science Festival and MarineQuest during organized school trips the day before the big event. During the preview, students learned about getting involved in STEAM fields and different career paths.

Discovering History In The Community

In September, the USF St. Petersburg department of History held its first-ever History Harvest, a one-day event for community members to bring and share letters, photographs, records, objects and stories, and participate in a conversation with students majoring in History about the significance and meaning of their materials.

More than a dozen artifacts were selected for the event, ranging from Tuskegee Airmen nurse uniform pins to a “Don’t Kiss Me” necklace worn by babies during the tuberculosis outbreak of the 1900s. The owners of the objects, as well as members of the public, gathered at Nelson Poynter Memorial Library to learn more and to interact with the students from Professor Erin Stewart Mauldin’s Historical Methods and Materials class.

“It teaches them that there are different ways to look at the past and tell a story,” said Mauldin, the John Hope Franklin Professor of Southern History at USF St. Petersburg. “Sometimes, the most interesting stories aren’t in archives, and it teaches students to look for history in unusual places.”

Ghosts And Goblins

Last year, USF St. Petersburg held its first-ever Trunk or Treat, a community-focused event that gave local children a safe and welcoming place to celebrate Halloween.

This year, the event grew exponentially, attracting more than 650 participants and involving the entire campus community. Rebranded as “Halloween Fest,” the event featured trick-or-treating, face painting, crafts, a DJ, a costume contest and a scavenger hunt. A special highlight was the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library, where the faculty and staff worked together to transform the building’s first floor into a “not-soscary” haunted house.

The event is a partnership between USF St. Petersburg, the city of St. Petersburg and Bayfront Health. It was coordinated by Caryn Nesmith, USF St. Petersburg director of community relations, who was thrilled by the positive response.

“I’m so grateful to the more than 100 volunteers who came together to make Halloween Fest a success,” she said. “It was so inspiring to see so many people working together to create a fun and fulfilling experience for local children.”