Science lovers of all ages will descend on the UO science complex Oct. 9 to join in the ninth annual UO Science Open House.

Kids, families and teachers can choose from more than 20 hands-on activities presented by science outreach groups from on and off campus. Activities include the amazing egg drop, skulls and bones, rock detectives, and the science pentathlon. Pentathletes who participate in five or more activities can collect a prize — while supplies last.

The free open house will be from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the atrium of Willamette Hall. Past open houses have attracted more than 400 people.

The event is coordinated by the Science Program to Inspire Creativity and Excellence, known as SPICE, which is the host. The Science Open House is the official kickoff for science outreach during the school year and is the brainchild of SPICE director Brandy Todd.

Event tables are presented and staffed entirely by volunteers, many of whom are UO science students.

The SPICE program formed in 2008 as an educational outreach of the Oregon Center for Optics and primarily targets girls, who are underrepresented in the sciences, but many of its programs such as the Open House and the Science Fair, are open to all.

"Our goal is to bring kids to campus to give them a sense of ownership that communicates to them that they can go to college," Todd said.