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Jonathan Berman, the national co-chair of the , said his hopes for the day of the march were that it wouldn’t rain and that lots of people would show up. He got one of those wishes.

When we turned up to the National Mall in Washington, DC on Earth Day, we joined thousands of people gathering for a rally, a teach-in, and a march. The crowds streamed in through the gates for hours, standing in lines several city blocks long by midday.

The morning was devoted to talks from a lineup of speakers, which included scientists, science communicators – including Bill Nye and Michael Mann – and young students aspiring to become an astronaut, an engineer, and a clean energy researcher.

In the crowd, the feeling was jubilant and reverent. Cheers went up at the images of famous scientific pioneers and at every mention of a field of science from the podium. During a video showing images of the earth from space, rally-goers silently lifted their signs like lighters at a rock concert.

In fact, if it weren’t for the protest signs, you might think you were at a music festival. Jon Batiste, the bandleader for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, gave people something to dance to with funk, soul, and jazz music between speakers.

, the leader of The Roots, acted as emcee for part of the rally and spoke of his own support of science: “We need to make sure science belongs to the people. It should be out in the open.”

He wasn’t the only representative of the arts. As part of a teach-in co-hosted by the Earth Day Network, the Wick Poetry Center at Kent State University had a tent where people could make blackout poetry from scientific texts.

First-time protesters

The crowd was full of people who work in the sciences, and those who don’t but came out to support the cause. We spoke to people who travelled from all over the country, ages 8 to 67, many of whom were attending their first rally.

One of those first-timers was Lauren Claeys, a high school senior from Mechanicsville, NY, drove to the march with her little sister, her mom, and her aunt.

“I hope it reminds people we vote for that science is important to us. This isn’t just a field we go into because we’re nerds. It’s important for everyone’s lives,” she said.

Carol Hopper Brill, a marine education specialists at the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences (VIMS), says, “Scientists have been so careful not to speak out in the past. Scientists must be objective in the lab, but we need to break out of that when it comes to policy. We’re human beings, too.”

Her husband, Richard, a fishery biologist at VIMS and NOAA, chimes in. “The public needs to know that scientists need support. Not just science, but the people doing it.”

Soggy signs

For all the vocal concerns about diversity within the planning for the March for Science, the speakers and the messages they delivered included support for the LBGT community, people with disabilities, Native Americans, and people of all genders, races, and ages in the sciences.

As the morning wore on and the rain poured down, the four-hour rally felt over-programmed with its 55 speakers. By 2:00 p.m., the march from the Washington Monument to the US Capitol building was made up of soggy poncho-clad scientists carrying disintegrating signs. The umbrellas came out, and a few tentative chants began.

As we made our way down Constitution avenue, shoes entirely soaked, we heard the call and response: “Show me what a scientist looks like!” “This is what a scientist looks like!”