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College of Arts & Letters Faculty and Students Present Interactive Events at 2026 MSU Science Festival

Collage of animals, plants, and stars surrounds text: "Michigan State University Science Festival, April 1-30, 2026," against a starry night sky background.

The 2026 Michigan State University Science Festival, celebrating and exploring science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics, takes place throughout the month of April, offering free events for all to enjoy. Two of those events will be presented by MSU College of Arts & Letters faculty:

MI Diaries: Tell Your Story for Linguistics Analysis

Since April 2020, MI Diaries has been collecting weekly “audio diaries” from Michiganders through a mobile app. The project launched by Assistant Professor Betsy Sneller and Associate Professor Suzanne Wagner, both Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures faculty members, during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic as a way of studying the impact made by the pandemic on language and the way we communicate.

The MI Diaries project has since evolved into a multi-year study documenting changes in the lives and language of Michigan residents. Using a mobile app, people of all ages can record their own voices as part of an ongoing record reflecting the daily lives of Michiganders.

A woman in a green MI Diaries shirt laughs with delight alongside a young child who reaches enthusiastically toward a display board at a Science Festival booth. A green-clothed table with activity materials is visible in the background.
A smiling woman in a green shirt and Science Festival Presenter badge engages with two children and an adult at a festival booth. Behind her, a large handmade chart titled "Do you call it Pop or Soda?" displays colored dots arranged along a timeline from the 1940s through the 2020s.
Six people pose together in front of the "Do you call it Pop or Soda?" chart and a banner reading "Share your story at: mi-diaries.org." Most wear matching green MI Diaries shirts and Science Festival Presenter badges; one person in the center wears a blue blazer.
The MI Diaries team at last year’s MSU Science Festival where they met with hundreds of people that they invited to participate in two dialect games and to consider the ways sociolinguistics connects to their lives.

As part of the MSU Science Festival’s STEAM Expo Days, MI Diaries team members will demonstrate how they collect stories; how they share the funniest, most reflective, or most interesting stories with the public; and how they do language science analysis of the recordings. Visitors will learn about word choice and pronunciation differences and will have the opportunity to contribute a story of their own to the project.

This event, which is recommended for all ages, will take place on Saturday, April 11, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the STEM Teaching and Learning Facility Second Floor, West Wing.

This is the fifth year MI Diaries has been part of the MSU Science Festival. During last year’s festival, the MI Diaries team met with hundreds of people that they invited to participate in two dialect games and to consider the ways sociolinguistics connects to their lives. It was a long day for the team, but “the amount of people that enjoyed hearing about linguistics was more than worth it,” said Lin Cabada, an MI Diaries team member and MSU student who is double majoring in Linguistics and Political Science and Government.

Black Futures Matter: Afrofuturist Storytelling and the Science of Survival

This interactive event showcases the final project of the Communities in Action (AAAS 300) class taught by Suban Nur Cooley, Assistant Professor in MSU’s Department of African American and African Studies (AAAS), for which the class partnered with All of the Above Hip Hop Academy in Lansing, Michigan.

Students sit in chairs arranged in a semicircle inside a small recording studio with acoustic foam-paneled walls, listening to an instructor standing near audio production equipment and a computer monitor.
Students wearing headphones sit around a table equipped with podcast microphones inside a recording studio, while an instructor assists them. A turntable with a purple record is visible in the foreground, and additional students observe from the sides.
A group of students gathers in a casual community space with exposed brick walls and large street-facing windows. Some sit on couches and stools while others stand, with printed materials spread on a low shelf nearby. Partial text reading "Hip Hop Education Community Above" is visible through the window.
The Communities in Action (AAAS 300) class taught by Assistant Professor Suban Nur Cooley at the All of the Above Hip Hop Academy, preparing for the Black Futures Matter Afrofuturist Storytelling and the Science of Survival event.

“Our AAAS students have been hard at work curating an experience that celebrates creativity and considers Black futures and community-building. It’s been an honor to partner with a community organization like All of the Above Hip Hop Academy,” Nur Cooley said. “I’m excited for people to engage with all the beautiful things they’ve created and produced this semester!”

This lively evening of poetry, music, and conversation about creativity, culture, and the future blends science and art through live performance, sound, and storytelling. Audiences will explore how Black imagination and innovation inspire sustainability, resilience, and joy.

Featuring poets, DJs, and community voices, the night invites everyone to imagine brighter futures together — one story, one sound, and one toast at a time.

This event is recommended for ages 18 years and older.

By Kim Popiolek

Categories: News / Student