Harvest Festival: Science, Art, and Cyanobacteria!
At the Harvest Festival, the South Dakota Mines E-RISE team engaged kids and families through creative, hands-on activities that combined art and microbiology to highlight the environmental and sustainability roles of cyanobacteria.
On September 6, the ERISE Team brought science to life at the Harvest Festival with a booth full of color, creativity, and curiosity! Kids and families joined in a series of fun, hands-on activities that connected art and microbiology in unexpected ways.
One of the biggest hits was the “Build Your Own Cyanobacteria” station where children used googly eyes, antennae, and bright craft materials to design their own mini microbe models. Each decoration represented a fascinating microbial superpower from nitrogen fixation and carbon capture to pigment production; turning scientific concepts into playful art.
The crowd-favorite, however, was the “Cyano-bracelet Challenge” where participants created bracelets from colorful beads each color symbolizing a real-world impact of cyanobacteria such as ocean conservation, bioplastics and biofertilizers. Every bracelet told a story: how these tiny organisms help build a cleaner, greener planet.
By blending science with imagination, the ERISE Team transformed the Harvest Festival into a space where creativity met sustainability inspiring kids to see how even the smallest cells can shape the world in big, beautiful ways.