Organizers of this weekend's March for Science say they plan to keep the momentum going even after the event, the New York Times reports.
"We have no intention of letting this stop after April 22," march co-chair Caroline Weinberg tells the Times. "I will have considered it pretty much a failure if after April 22 all of this movement and all of this passion dissipates."
The march is billing itself as a non-partisan celebration of science, though the impetus for it is Trump administration views on scientific issues like climate change and evolution and policies that appeared to limit federal agencies from communicating with the public. The event has garnered the support of dozens of scientific organizations and societies, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, National Center for Science Education, and the Union of Concerned Scientists.
The main March for Science is to take this Saturday in Washington, DC, but satellite marches are also planned for other cities.
Stan Veuger, a resident scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank tells the Times that protests like this can lead to political changes, but only if there are "big turnouts and constant follow through."
Lucky Tran, a member of the March for Science steering committee, adds that it won't be a " one-off event."
"I see the Science March as a coming-out party for scientists who have always been careful about getting involved in political advocacy and activism," he says.