Test your science know-how at Discovery Day

You’re standing on the moon and you need to toss a simple rock into a basket, about 18 feet away. Same challenge, different venue — now it’s a park and a pinecone. Move into a classroom and try to chuck an eraser or a wad of paper, not at a classmate, but into the trash bin.

How much thrust do you need? What angle do you need to make your throw? What kind of factors do wind or the weight of the object present? These are simple physics challenges, and kids will get their chance to test their know-how when Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory returns to the eighth annual Discovery Day, part of the Bay Area Science Festival, Saturday, Nov. 3, 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Admission is free.

Each year Lawrence Livermore participates in the annual science fair, which features hundreds of exhibitors from the Bay Area’s premier science, business, cultural and educational establishments. The Laboratory’s popular Fun With Science, an interactive demonstration of scientific concepts, will return, as will the energy bikes, challenging children and adults to match pedals to their mettle as they try to power up simple household items.

This year the Lab debuts an interactive computer challenge — an introduction into the scientific method in which students are asked to predict the outcomes of a few physics questions, then test their results.

More than 30,000 participants are expected to attend. For more information see the Bay area Science Festival.