Blog Post

The Science of “Doing” Gender: Exploring Femininity and Masculinity in our Society

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By Riley Henry, C2ST Intern, Loyola University

How often do you think about your gender? Do you think about it when you choose what to wear in the morning or what to watch at the movie theater? What about big life decisions, like choosing your college major? Your gender is a part of your daily routine in ways that you might not even realize. Let’s explore what science has to say about how gender surrounds us in ways that we may not always recognize!
Blog Post

Fork in the Road: Exploring the Impacts of Plant-Based and Animal-Based Diets

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By Allis Emmet, C2ST Intern, DePaul University

In the past decade or so, plant-based diets have shifted from niche to mainstream. Oat milk, cauliflower wings, Green Goddess salads, Beyond Beef— and the list goes on. But what is motivating this trend? In the U.S., our food production takes up a massive amount of our natural resources—50% of our land, 80% of our fresh water, and 17% of our fossil energy. While this includes all forms of agriculture, the meat and dairy industries use the most resources by far. The majority of cropland in the U.S. is used to grow food for livestock, not people. Any clue how many livestock are bred in the U.S. each year? The yearly livestock population is around 9 billion, which weighs 5 times as much as the U.S. human population! In effect, animal agriculture requires an abundance of energy yet yields less in comparison to plants.

Continue reading “Fork in the Road: Exploring the Impacts of Plant-Based and Animal-Based Diets”

Event

The Network for the Public Communication of Science and Technology Conference 2025

C2ST’s proposal to showcase our Dana Foundation Funded Brain Health Project at the PCST conference in Aberdeen, Scotland, has been accepted! We will be presenting with our partners, Worldview Studios, all about the amazing research-based events we have been doing this past year. We are also presenting a poster about what we have learned co-creating programs. Check out our poster here!

Event

Kick-off to Summer Picnic 2025

Kick off the summer season and celebrate the end of another school year! Grab a blanket and some sunscreen and meet us on the front lawn of the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry for this free event featuring music at the family stage, games and hands-on activities from incredible community partners. C2ST is bring stomp rockets, and there will be dozens of community organizations on site with games, swag, food, and so much more. If your summer calendar isn’t full already, it will be by the time you leave!

This outdoor event is free and open to the public. Admission to the Museum requires a ticket purchase. Ticketed Museum guests on this date can exit to access the picnic and re-enter to continue exploring.