The Jacobs School of Engineering’s undergraduate students will display the hardware they use to launch balloons into near-space (20 miles up).

Interactive Displays, Cutting-Edge Research To Take Center Stage at Triton Day Experience April 7

The sights, sounds and endless discoveries of UC San Diego will be on display April 7 for the Triton Day Experience, a combination of Admit Day and Open House. Featuring education, entertainment and fun for the whole family, this free event open to the campus and San Diego community is expected to have more than 15,000 guests.

Interactive displays and cutting-edge research are at the heart of the Triton Day Experience. UC San Diego’s many academic departments will be demonstrating their groundbreaking work and world-changing projects.

Sarah Burnett, a biology Ph.D. candidate in the lab of Suresh Subramani, executive vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and professor of biology, is excited to highlight fun facts and interesting research to new and prospective students on Saturday. “Undergraduates make important contributions to science and are a big help in any lab,” Burnett said. “I was an undergraduate researcher and it gave me the foundation to pursue a Ph.D. here at UC San Diego. It is a great idea to showcase how important undergraduates are to research here at UC San Diego.”

Triton Day Experience events will be held between 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and include:

Scripps Institution of Oceanography and UC San Diego’s Health Sciences will have interactive displays at the Triton Day Experience.

• Meet the Minds Academic Fair––Leading UC San Diego academic departments will demonstrate cutting-edge research. Students in the Division of Biological Sciences will demonstrate how genes attached to green fluorescent proteins can be viewed under an ultraviolet light using a dark box with viewing holes. Physics students meanwhile will demonstrate the many uses of liquid nitrogen in cooling materials. The Jacobs School of Engineering’s undergraduate students will display the hardware they use to launch balloons into near-space (20 miles up). Lyman Avenue and Rupertus Way.

• Scripps Oceanography Showcase--Scripps Institution of Oceanography, which has been a part of the University of California for 100 years, will showcase the ocean and earth science of tomorrow. See a lean, green motorcycle powered by biofuel from algae. Attendees also will be able to journey from coastal shores to the bottom of the sea through an interactive display by Scripps scientists, featuring mysterious sea creatures from local tide pools and the world’s deepest ocean trenches. Visitors can discover preserved sea stars, urchins, worms, corals and zooplankton. Birch Aquarium at Scripps will offer the opportunity to experience the undersea world of giant kelp—through touch, sight and smell. Guests can also observe a live solar cooking demonstration and learn how to do-it-yourself. UC San Diego Faculty Club parking lot.
• Green Car Show and Sustainability Showcase––See the latest in green vehicles including General Motor’s hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, a Chevy Volt and a compressed natural gas (CNG) powered van.  In addition, students from the Biofuels Action and Awareness Network (BAAN) will have a collection of biodiesels made by BAAN from all sorts of differing feedstock, such as butter and bacon. UC San Diego Faculty Club parking lot.
• Health Fair––Learn about UC San Diego Health Sciences. The Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center will be doing free glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol screenings, as well as handing out information on heart health. UC San Diego Sports Medicine/Physical Therapy will be performing sports injury screenings and providing advice and demonstrations on physical fitness and injury prevention. In addition, the Moores Cancer Center will provide information on cancer center clinical trials. Library Walk north.
• Triton Experience Entertainment Stages––Enjoy live music, dancing, singing and a “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” fashion show featuring all the apparel a UC San Diego student needs from freshman year to graduation. UC San Diego students will entertain with everything from cultural dance performances to DJ “Space Town Savior” spinning music on Nintendo video games. Sun God Lawn and Price Center Plaza.
• Student-Guided Campus Tours––(Every 30 minutes; last tour departs at 3 p.m.) Learn more about UC San Diego’s incredible campus. Depart from Rupertus Way, across from Center Hall.
• Charting the Course College Planning and Information Session—Taking place11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., students and families will find out how to plan for, get into and pay for college. Seating is limited. Please call (858) 534-6862 or email ccr@ucsd.edu to RSVP. In addition, there will be a college planning booth available throughout the day. Sun God lawn.

Also on campus:

• Thurgood Marshall College’s 34th Annual Cultural Celebration, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.–– Experience the cultural diversity of UC San Diego at Thurgood Marshall College. The festival will feature music, dance, games and a children’s village with face painting, cotton candy, a henna workshop, scavenger hunt and world-art trivia. Thurgood Marshall College.
• Visual Arts Open Studios, 1 to 7 p.m.––Visitors will be able to step inside approximately 50 artist studios. Visual Arts Facility, Russell Lane.
• Welcome to the Family! 2 to 4 p.m.–– The campus life festival hosted by Greek Life will feature a DJ, food and fun. Sun God Lawn.
• Family Game Night, 4 to 8 p.m.––Porter’s Pub welcomes visiting admitted students, families and current students for a game night. All ages welcome. Porter’s Pub.

What makes you a Triton? Send a tweet to @UCSanDiego with #ImATriton.

Ample free parking will be available for the Triton Day Experience. In addition, the Metro Trolley Station (MTS) 150 bus from Old Town will provide complimentary transportation for up to four guests with the flyer that is available on the “Directions & Parking” tab on the Triton Day Experience website: http://tritonday.ucsd.edu/directions/. For more information about the day and how to get involved, visit tritonday.ucsd.edu/experience.