The excitement was palpable on the streets of New York, Brian Greene suggested you put some science in your life, in the editorial pages of the Times, and Time Out NY picked it as the one thing to do if you only do one thing….

The World Science Festival was a 5 day unmitigated success. There was so much to do, events were sold out, and New Yorkers lined up round the block to snag tickets to hear the likes of Harold Varmus and Paul Nurse discussing science and social issues. Discussions ranged from the science of rollercoasters to personal genomics. And, yes, on a sunny afternoon following a morning that had threatened to rain out outdoor events, New Yorkers donned their scienciest T-shirts (one of my favorites, “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the precipitate”) and headed out to hunt for science.

The associated science street fair, which was geared for people a couple of decades shy of me, saw kids enthralled, laughing and utterly entertained by the likes of Carmelo the Science Fellow (I think this is Carmelo), as he mixed liquids to make solids (a.k.a. “boogers”), and exploded ziploc bags of water laced with Alka Seltzer to illustrate a (say it after me!) chemical reaction.

It’s gonna blow up!

Adults and children alike were introduced to and entertained by cockroaches showing off their exoskeleton and powders that turned into bouncy balls. A lot of laughter, surreptitious learning and labcoated entertainers. I was wondering how many other cities have Science Festivals, Corie Lok has heard they’re much more common in Europe? If you want to get in early on 2009, there’s a mailing list on WSF’s homepage already…