It also had graphic representations of gamma-ray bursts and stars going super-nova. Anna Clayton, a fifth grader from Gray's Woods Elementary School, said that she especially liked these images of dying stars.

"We liked seeing the exploded stars," she said.

Eric Feigelson, professor of astronomy and astrophysics and a Space Day presenter, said visitors came from all over central Pennsylvania.

"This gives [children] a sense of how vital science and engineering can be. It's meant to excite them, and all their parents," he said.

Meredith Redding (junior-biology), a volunteer for the RIDGE 2000 exhibit, taught children at Space Day about the deep-sea tubeworms the program studies.

She said she adored working with the children and would definitely volunteer again next year. "If you outreach to them, they will outreach to you," Redding said.

Sally McAneny, a retired high school science teacher from Maryland and current State College resident, said she was visiting because there was nothing else to do on a rainy Saturday.

"I'm delighted to see what's going on," she said. "This almost makes me want to go back" to teaching.

Exhibits at BioDays included a large-scale model of a cell with a 5-foot-wide nucleus, a virtual lab where participants could learn about different viruses and bacteria, and a presentation including live animals from Shaver's Creek Environmental Center, she said.

"It is important to have an opportunity for the general public to meet with researchers and vice versa," said Alexandra Surcel (graduate-integrative biosciences), an organizer for BioDays.

Morgan Davensizer, a seventh-grade student from Bellwood-Antis School District near Altoona, said she enjoyed seeing a great horned owl from Shaver's Creek. Her mother, Lisa Davensizer, said she thought the presentation was interesting for young students.

"It's hard to keep kids this age interested in anything," she said.

Many of the student volunteers were there as part of a course project. Kate Cavanaugh (senior-elementary education) said she participated as a requirement for Science Education 458 (Teaching Science in the Elementary School).

She said she wanted to work with children for the experience. "I thought it would be a lot of fun," she said. "I would love to be a science teacher."

BioDays was funded by the Huck Institute for the Life Sciences, the biology department and the department of biochemistry and molecular biology. Space Day was primarily funded by the Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium.