What do a suitcase full of stuffed animals, a seashell, and a nine-year-old superhero have to do with electricity? Families can discover the answer to this puzzle and many more at "The Amazing Adventures of Zap Girl , The Planet's Fastest Superhero." The funny, fast-paced, theatrical performance about the mysteries of electricity takes place Sunday, Sept. 26 from 2-4pm at the MIT Museum.
This "performance science" event -- the first of the season's Family Adventures in Science and Technology or F.A.S.T. Sundays -- will give families the opportunity to investigate electrical safety, atoms, electrons, circuits and conductors through hands-on activities. Students from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) will be on hand to talk about developments in the department's Digital Project Lab.
At next month's F.A.S.T., which falls on Halloween, families will explore another facet of EECS with a program about wearable science.
F.A.S.T. Sundays, which debuted last spring with popular programs in aeronautics, materials science and robotics, take place on the last Sunday of each month from 2-4pm. The program is free and open to the public with admission to the MIT Museum, which is $5 for adults, $2 for seniors and students, $1 for children under 18, and free with an MIT ID. For more information, call the hotline at x3-4444 or see the museum's web site.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on September 22, 1999.