One focus of the Linguistics Department’s outreach is festivals, where we host exhibits with a variety of interactive activities. Our activities are meant to spark visitor’s interest in linguistics and science in general.

The Festivals

We participate in festivals of all types (e.g. science, cultural, book). These include both local and national events. Our volunteers include faculty, graduate students, undergraduate students, and community members.

Examples of Local Events

The Tucson Festival of Books is an annual two-day literacy-themed festival that attracts over 100,000 visitors a year. Our department has participated in the festival since 2013.

Tucson Meet Yourself is an annual cultural festival in downtown Tucson. Our department has participated in the festival since 2013.

Examples of National Events

USA Science and Engineering Festival is the largest national science festival. It reaches over 650,000 people. Our department participated in the 2014 festival in Washington D.C.. Graduate student volunteers included linguists from the University of Maryland and Georgetown.

AAAS Family Science Days  presents interactive science exhibits to K-12 children and their families as a part of a global science gathering. Our department participated in the 2015 festival in San Jose, California. Graduate student volunteers included linguists from Stanford.