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JACKSONVILLE, FL – On Earth Day, April 22, 2017, hundreds of advocates for science including scientists, educators and citizens will gather to March for Science, a public demonstration in support of science.

The Jacksonville March for Science will begin at 10 a.m. at The Jacksonville Landing where speakers from diverse disciplines in science and education will take the stage for approximately 45 minutes. Speakers include Dr. Radha Pyati, Dr. Scott Sowell, Dr. Spring Behrouz and Adam Hoyles.

After the speakers, participants will collectively march across the Acosta Bridge, ending at the Museum of Science & History (MOSH) where additional Earth Day programming will take place including robotics, Science through the Decades demonstrations and a special program in the Bryan-Gooding Planetarium. The St. Johns River Taxi & Tours will be in service to provide transportation between The Landing and MOSH.

The non-partisan march is predicated on the belief that science plays a vital role in our lives and in our democracy. Its purpose is ultimately to communicate to the public that science serves the common good. By fostering an open and honest dialogue through public outreach, organizers of the march hope to demonstrate that evidence-based policy and cutting-edge science education are critical to build a better understanding of our world and that federal de-funding of science agencies and initiatives could have adverse effects.

“Science and democracy benefit each other and both benefit from transparency, logic and civic engagement. Science is necessary to create policy that is good for the people, especially in today’s increasingly complex world,” says Lucinda Sonnenberg, director of the Millar Wilson Laboratory for Chemical Research and a professor of chemistry at Jacksonville University. “It is the responsibility of scientists to show that good science is an inextricable thread in the fabric of good governance. That is why I am marching.”

ABOUT MARCH FOR SCIENCE

The March for Science champions robustly funded and publicly communicated science as a pillar of human freedom and prosperity. We unite as a diverse, nonpartisan group to call for science that upholds the common good and for political leaders and policymakers to enact evidence based policies in the public interest.