A record crowd of 91,000 attended the 7th annual Rutgers Day at campuses across the state, where visitors had the opportunity to learn about the research, service and education taking place at New Jersey’s only Big Ten research university.
The popular spring event – which also coincided for the first time with Alumni Weekend – kicked off in the morning with the Rutgers Day and Alumni Parade. Alumni hailing from the Class of 1945 through the present marched from College Avenue to Voorhees Mall to the joyful beat of the Rutgers Marching Band. The Rutgers Scarlet Knight mascot led a trio of costumed characters key to Rutgers’ history – Paul Robeson, Mabel Smith Douglass and Colonel Henry Rutgers – enlivened by the Rutgers dance team and cheerleaders.
With nearly 500 programs, Rutgers Day has become a spring tradition and a show-and-tell for New Jersey residents of all ages. This year, those who attended the daylong event had a bevy of activities — science, sports, crafts and animals to history, English, theology, theater arts and politics – from which to choose, a Rutgers press release said.
At the School of Arts and Sciences Tent of Big Ideas on College Avenue, festival goers learned how to conquer stress, why antibiotics shouldn’t be overused, how pollsters know what you think before you open your mouth, and why New Jersey’s favorite son, Bruce Springsteen, is so beloved. At the Rutgers University-Camden booth, visitors created their own Rutgers shields using stamps, markers and crayons for decorations while kids got to watch and participate in Lego demonstrations conducted by a team from Rutgers University-Newark.
Healthy food demonstrations at the Cook/Douglass Campus and the art of making liquid nitrogen ice cream at a science demonstration on the Busch Campus were popular with the crowds. Inside the observatory on Busch, others lined up for a look through a telescope with a Mylar filter for a glimpse at sun spots. In the mechanical and aerospace engineering tent, members of the Rutgers chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics told kids and adults how they built several planes and flying machines on display. The Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station used Rutgers Day to unveil the Rutgers Scarlet Strawberry, which went on sale to the public for the first time at the master gardener plant sale Saturday morning. The Scarlet Strawberry, in development for the last 10 years, is bred to thrive in the New Jersey climate.
The 41st annual New Jersey Folk Festival was a big hit with festival goers who helped celebrate maritime folk culture with performances offered throughout the day featuring musicians, dance and vocal workshops and circus arts. There was a pie-eating contest for kids and basket weaving, surf board and boat-building demonstrations for adults.
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