Ultimately, what the march didn't give its participants was a clear sense of what should happen next. When the massive crowd finally parked on a broad expanse of grass overlooking Capitol Hill for a photo op and a few, final moments chanting "We! Made! History!", the march's organizers proclaimed that this was only the beginning. They didn't lay out more detailed plans on-site (the March for Science website has vague details for a subsequent "week of action"), but the people in attendance had their own ideas about how to keep the movement going strong.

More than anything, the people I spoke to believed the most important step would be to open up new -- and more elegant -- lines of communication about what science means for commerce, quality of life and more. I caught up with Seitz, the astronomy graduate, at the end of the march, and he already knew what he and others like him should do when they get back home.

"We definitely need to keep the momentum going," he said. "I think it's really great for people to see others like them who believe the same things, and take that energy back with them into their cities and their towns and start talking to local legislators. I know I've started talking to my local congresspeople all the time about these important issues that matter to me."

Naturally, talking to lawmakers is only one part of the puzzle. Some here also argue that in order for the government to fully realize the importance of the scientific method, scientists need to do a better job of explaining to everyone what they're actually doing.