Polytechnic campus shows 'neighbors' university in their backyard at ASU Open Door
Event featured 40-plus exhibits showcasing all the Mesa campus has to offer
Three-year-old Artemis Adams and her mom, Rui, look at insects under a microscope during ASU Open Door at the Polytechnic campus in Mesa on Feb. 17. Photo by Samantha Chow/Arizona State University
More than 40 exhibits ranging from flight simulators to a stuffed animal hospital to a robotic arm delighted more than 1,500 visitors to Arizona State University's Polytechnic campus in Mesa on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
Darcy Nagy, a special events officer in ASU's Office of University Events and Protocol, said it's all about showing the public what's right in their own backyard.
“We’re opening the doors to spaces that are normally closed to the public so they can see the university is in their backyard. We’re neighbors,” Nagy said. “Come in, see what we’re doing and why we’re the most innovative university year after year.”
ASU Polytechnic is located on 600 acres, and the campus is home to a desert arboretum and more than 6,800 undergraduate and graduate students. The school boasts some of the most innovative engineering programs and advanced learning laboratories in the country.
This was the ninth straight year that Hope Larsen brought her children, 12-year-old Kaden and 4-year-old Beau, to Poly’s Open Door.
“We love this event. This is one of our favorite events,” Larsen said at the Feb. 17 event. “The kids get to interact and see things and try out things, hands-on. We just love ASU, so it’s a great way to have fun and get them interested. Every year, they look forward to this, and we’ve been bringing neighbors and friends, so they want to come to.”
One of the most popular exhibits Saturday was the Redbird Flight Simulator, a full-motion, immersive, cockpit-specific simulator for turbine aircraft. As more than 20 people stood in line, Roy and Monica Queen watched their children — 10-year-olds Aiden and Lincoln and Wyatt, 6 — take their turns on the simulator.
Monica Queen said their children will start attending ASU Prep Polytechnic in the fall.
“We got the email for this, and we figured let’s get them exposed to the campus and some of the things they’re going to look forward to learning about,” she said.
Near the Student Union at the center of campus, Noria Sanchez smiled as her sons, 14-year-old Kaden Platt and 9-year-old Kole Platt, put on ASU graduation robes and caps and flashed the Forks Up to a photographer.
Upcoming Open Door event
Saturday, Feb. 24: Tempe campus
All Open Door events run from 1 to 5 p.m. and are free and open to the public.
“I got my master’s and doctorate at ASU, so I’m hoping they become future Sun Devils,” Sanchez said.
Kaden said he wants to attend classes at the Polytechnic campus because Mom is a Sun Devil and because he likes the outdoor nature of the campus.
The science and biology exhibits inside Santan Hall were a big hit. Kids could blow up a balloon without using their mouth and look at insects under a microscope and, in the stuffed animal hospital, students in the pre-vet program helped children bandage an animal, inject a syringe into a sore paw and view X-rays of the animals.
At the Rise Lab — Robotics and Intelligent Systems Laboratory — a serious-looking Joey Trowbridge listened intently as a student demonstrated how he could move a robotic arm with a gentle fist bump.
“He is an engineering fan,” Joey’s mother, Amy Trowbridge, said. “He’s fascinated by all this. It’s just great for him.”
The Tempe campus will hold its Open Door — the final one of 2024 — on Saturday, Feb. 24, from 1–5 p.m. The event is free to the public.
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Larsen brothers Beau (front), 4, and Kaden, 12, look at a flight map during ASU Open Door at the Polytechnic campus in Mesa on Feb. 17.
Photo by Samantha Chow/Arizona State University
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Sydni Thomas looks through a microscope at the College of Health Solutions booth at the Polytechnic campus in Mesa on Feb. 17.
Photo by Samantha Chow/Arizona State University
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Eleven-year-old Malik Abdel-Haleem monitors a baby manikin’s heart rate during ASU Open Door at the Polytechnic campus on Feb. 17.
Photo by Samantha Chow/Arizona State University
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Eight-year-old Xavier Elefante picks out a lettuce plant at the "indoor farming" exhibit during ASU Open Door on Feb. 17.
Photo by Samantha Chow/Arizona State University
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