BLACKSBURG, Va. (WAVY) – The Virginia Tech Science Festival is set to return November 11 with fun activities like playing catch with robots, extracting DNA from strawberries, assembling DNA from candy and exploring the bottom of streams.

There are more than 50 exhibits available to see during the Virginia Tech Science Festival in Blacksburg on Nov. 11, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The events will be held at the Moss Arts Center, Caron M. Newman Library and Torgersen Hall. All events are free and open to the public.

This will be the 10th year for the science festival. Organizers say more than 4,000 people typically attend each year. Participants get to enjoy hands-on activities, demonstrations and one-on-one conversations with the researchers.

Many of the events from the previous years will make a come back. Some of the new events include a number of community presenters, robotic clubs, two student groups from Montgomery County Public Schools and science-oriented nonprofit organizations.

“I am excited that this has grown and extended to become part of the fabric of Virginia Tech,” Phyllis Newbill, associate director of educational networks and the Center for Educational Networks and Impacts said. “There are children who started going to the Virginia Tech Science Festival as children, and now they are grown up, on staff and behind the table participating in the logistics of the festival.”

The festival started in 2014 with the intention of inspiring the audience by seeing what happens at Virginia Tech and then connecting that with what is typically taught in K-12 schools.

“The wonderful thing about working with children is that you have a new audience each year,” said Newbill. “I see the festival will keep growing, and I hope more researchers, corporate and community members will use it as an outreach channel. We have and audience – you just bring the science.”

The science festival is a collaborative effort between Virginia Tech’s research institutes as well as many community members. It is supported by the Center for Educational Networks and Impacts, the Institute for Creativity, Arts and Technology, College Access Collaborative and Virginia Cooperative Extension.

Parking for the event will be available at Virginia Tech’s North End Garage and at other campus locations.

To find out more about the Virginia Tech Science Festival, click here.

Keep up to date with the latest news on WAVY.com.