ACCelerate Festival to showcase WFU exhibits at Smithsonian

More than two dozen Wake Forest faculty and students will take part in this year’s “ACCelerate: ACC Smithsonian Creativity and Innovation Festival,” April 8-10 at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

The ACCelerate Festival is a celebration of creative exploration and innovative research happening at the intersection of science, engineering, arts and design from across the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the Smithsonian. The ACCelerate festival provides the opportunity for ACC member institutions to go beyond athletics and showcase for the public a different facet of excellence – the creativity and innovation of their students and faculty. 

Wake Forest will present two interactive exhibitions:

Fake News, Fact-checking and Facebook – Teaching Misinformation and Disinformation in the Perfect Storm – Led by University librarians in collaboration with students, the booth will feature meme fact-checking quizzes, a ‘get to know your cognitive biases/logical fallacies’ wheel, examples of some online interactive games that demonstrate the concepts, as well as information about how algorithms impact what we see and how we feel.

Viral Outbreaks: Preparation and Prevention in a Connected World – Designed to educate the public about viral outbreaks, the exhibit explains the connections between humans, animals and the environment and how zoonotic viruses can spread into the human population. It features interactive, 3D-printed viruses, cell membranes and antibodies to help children and parents understand the value of vaccination against viral infections.

“For my students, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Wake Forest biology professor Pat Lord.

Twenty-five interactive installations will be presented by students and faculty of universities in the ACC. Here is a full list of ACCelerate Festival exhibits.

For additional details about ACCelerate, see the announcement from the Smithsonian. The ACCelerate Festival will take place in the National Museum of American History, which is located on Constitution Avenue N.W. between 12th and 14th streets. Public hours are Friday through Tuesday between 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Admission is free. For museum information, visit https://americanhistory.si.edu.