Pen Macias, or maybe you know her as The Desert Pen, has been a muralist in the Tucson community since 2020. Pen’s murals bring vibrancy and local meaning to Tucson, and now to SARSEF!
Each year, we ask a local artist to design a t-shirt for our annual Regional Science and Engineering Fair. This year, Pen created the “Science is Magic in Real Life” design, which will be available on t-shirts, stickers, and posters for fair participants to purchase at the Awards Ceremony and Community STEM Expo on March 7th, 2026.
Pen has been an artist her whole life, and describes her style as “colorful, whimsical, and local.” When asked about what inspired her for this year’s fair design, Pen responded that through her kids, she has become interested in science, and sees science as real-life magic.
“I began to view science as a form of magic. In the Harry Potter series, the students go to a whole school dedicated to magic. Here, science is the magic that we get to study,” Pen Macias says.
Pen and her family have been involved with SARSEF for several years. Wyatt, Pen’s son, did a project when he was seven years old on how food breaks down in compost vs. a landfill setting. Pen recalled that, at the time, Wyatt did not enjoy school but was always curious and loved to explore. She mentioned that a teacher of Wyatt’s at the time recommended that he participate in the SARSEF Fair.
“SARSEF allowed Wyatt to be curious, creative, and engaged. The adults cared about what Wyatt cared about,” said Pen.
Wyatt is now on the robotics team at his school and wants to be an engineer. When he was seven, he did a video for Arizona Illustrated about science and his project with SARSEF. It’s a step back in time to what the Regional Science and Engineering Fair was like before covid.
SARSEF is incredibly grateful to Pen and her family for being involved with us for several years, and we are excited to share Pen’s design with you! To see more of Pen’s work, visit her website or giver her a follow on Instragram.