On Friday, April 17, 2026, the Skyline MESA program and the Skyline STEM Center co-hosted a STEM Carnival, bringing students together for a fun afternoon of hands-on and edible science. Carnival-style booths covered everything from microscopy to molecular biology, with food, games, prizes, and plenty of community spirit.
Before the carnival floor opened, MESA student Ariana Cerna led a laser cutting workshop in the Fab Lab. She guided participants through the machines and design software, helping students create their own custom laser-cut keychains to take home.
During the carnival, students could move freely among a variety of carnival-style booths, each focused on a different STEM area. At the ‘Microscopic Mysteries’ booth, students peered through microscopes at mystery samples and tried to identify what they were looking at.
The ‘Ice Cream in a Bag’ booth combined a hands-on, tasty activity with a chemistry lesson. While students shook their bags, they learned about the science happening in real time – a process called freezing-point depression – and then finished off their creations with marshmallow fluff and rainbow sprinkles.
The ‘Word Search’ booth offered puzzles themed around math, chemistry, biology, and computer science, and the ‘Button-Making’ booth let students design their own buttons using STEM-themed stickers and markers. In the back room, a pump track had been set up for remote-controlled cars, a popular activity and opportunity to laugh and destress.
The carnival also featured a popcorn machine and a cotton candy machine. Students could make their own cotton candy and learn how the process works – the machine forces melted sugar through tiny holes at high speed, and as the strands hit the air, they cool and solidify almost instantly into the thin, wispy threads we know so well.
The second hour shifted toward friendly competition. The ‘Candy DNA Building Competition’ challenged students to construct the longest possible DNA double helix using color-coded candies to represent the four bases — adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C), and guanine (G) — with correct base pairings required. Tables filled up quickly as teams worked to outbuild one another. Finally, the ‘Math Olympiads’ competition closed out the day, giving students a chance to put their problem-solving skills to work in a friendly and festive environment.
The STEM Carnival gave students a chance to engage with science, math, and technology outside the classroom in a tasty celebration of curiosity and innovation. Thanks to everyone who organized and volunteered, and to the students who came out and participated.
MESA – Math, Engineering, Science Achievement – is an academic enrichment program that helps educationally underrepresented students excel in math and science and graduate from college with degrees in calculus-based fields. Founded in 1970, the MESA program serves pre-college, community college, and university students at over 100 sites throughout California. Skyline College’s MESA Program is part of the MESA California Community College Programs (MCCP).
Interested in future MESA and STEM Center events and opportunities? Stop by the MESA Center in 7-309 or the STEM Center in 7-303, visit www.skylinecollege.edu/mesa or email skymesa@smccd.edu.
