Saturday, April 1st, the Madison Public Library will be hosting a March for Science sign making party from 12 to 2pm.

March for Science is an event that will be taking place in Huntsville on April 22nd, which also happens to be Earth Day.

The science community has taken a big hit with the recently proposed cuts to the EPA, The National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Department of Energy. A variety of March for Science events are happening all around the country, but having one in Huntsville is particularly special. In 2015, Forbes announced Huntsville as the number one best city for STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) related jobs. This is not a hard thing to believe once acknowledging the vast jobs the Redstone Arsenal, Marshall Space Flight Center, and Research Park offer to the community.

LeAnna Whitaker, a Youth Services Librarian at the Madison Public Library and Sponsor of the event, wants people to understand why the library is hosting this sign making party.

“Huntsville and Madison are both science and technology based cities. Our communities and school systems emphasize the importance of STEM careers because of the numerous employment opportunities available in this area. Huntsville is also home to the University of Alabama in Huntsville, one of the best STEM colleges in the country. We thought it was important to support our community by creating an opportunity for people to participate in an event advocating for those fields.”

This library event will be completely free and all the supplies (markers, posters, etc.) will be provided. An estimated one hundred people are interested or planning to come according to the Facebook event.

While people of all age groups are attending this event, one teen in particular, Meenu Bhooshanan, is extremely excited to take advantage of this opportunity.

“It makes sense that the library is hosting this event. After all, libraries are a hub of education. Promoting education and critical thinking is what science and libraries are all about. This is an excellent community event that will raise awareness for the importance of science and education in our community. When I march for science, I march for education, and thus, the advancement of humankind.”

After you make your sign at the library, you can use them in the actual march! More information can be found on the March for Science/Huntsville Facebook event page.