Sounds of laughter and awe filled the hallways of the High School as students and adults gathered for a day of hands-on learning. On September 27, 2025, the Rhinebeck Science Foundation put on their tenth Biennial Discovery Festival. It was a smashing success.
Rather than trying to capture the day’s success in words, the numbers help to paint a clearer picture. Over 450 children and families from Rhinebeck and the surrounding areas attended, and with almost thirty different stations, there was plenty to explore.
This year for the first time, Mid Hudson Discovery Museum’s traveling planetarium brought an infinite number of stars, almost 50,000 donated Legos were used in magnificent buildings, and a bushel of apples were turned into volcanoes with the help of Bard’s Center for Civic Engagement.
Among the returning favorites, like the gumdrop challenge, students engineered 8,500 toothpicks and 7,200 gumdrops into structures strong enough to support books. Ten dozen eggs were dropped in the eggstreme challenge, 100 hamburger cupcakes were decorated, and a book’s worth of handmade paper was created with ENTA.
The “medical suite” in Mr. Rocco’s room had eight medical professionals from varying fields. Under their guidance, visitors were able to remove over a dozen gummy candies endoscopically, care for seven bins of stuffed animals in the teddy bear clinic, and students and adults learning to use an AED machine administered thousands of cardiac compressions. Across the hall, there were three hearts on display for cardiac dissections, and two dedicated high school students who volunteered to be given ultrasounds for hours.
Two high school clubs successfully ran their stations independently. The Science Club provided a supply of oobleck and slime, and the Robotics Club set up their own demo featuring their competition robot, Baby.
The event was heavily supported by approximately 100 student and adult volunteers. They not only helped the day run smoothly, but handed out 425 free T-shirts and twenty two pounds of Lego candies gifted by Samuel’s Sweet Shop, and sold almost $1,000 in raffle tickets.
All in all, the 2025 RSF Discovery Festival was a success by any measure! The festival brought together our vibrant community, inspiring creativity and collaboration. The next one is sure to be a hit too!
