Damn right Im in this march, said Eddy Fischer, 97, professor emeritus of biochemistry at the University of Washington and Nobel Prize co-winner in 1992 for physiology or medicine. He was among thousands gathered at Cal Anderson Park on Capitol Hill.

A crowd of several thousand gathered Saturday at Cal Anderson Park on Seattles Capitol Hill for the March for Science to Seattle Center. It is part of similar marches being held around the world, with scientists, students and research advocates and ordinary citizens conveying an Earth Day global message of scientific freedom without political interference.

Participants holding signs such as Make America smart again and Climate change is real began arriving around 9 a.m.

Anticipation of Seattles march attracted a social-media following second only to the main event in Washington, D.C. Another dozen marches were planned around the state, from Kennewick to Coupeville.

In Seattle, the promised rain began arriving at about 10:45 a.m. , but with temperatures in the low 60s it was relatively nice spring weather for this city.

The event began with a guitarist playing the Star Spangled Banner in Jimi Hendrix style. People cheered.

Among those attending was Julie Smith, of Mountlake Terrace, who had taken the bus to the march with her husband.

She was holding a sign that said, Survived cancer? Thank science!

Smith said, I have a lot of friends who survived cancer. They wouldnt be here if scientists werent investigating cancer.

She perceives an anti-science movement among some politicians. I dont know why, Smith said. I guess they play to their base, fundamentalist Christians.

Also in the crowd: Eddy Fischer, 97, professor emeritus of biochemistry at the University of Washington and Nobel Prize co-winner in 1992 for physiology or medicine.

He was a there using a wheelchair.

Damn right Im in this march, he said.

Of the Trump administration, Fischer said, I know very little about politics. Im appalled by some of the statements coming out of them.

President Donald Trumps proposed budget, if enacted by Congress, would cut nearly 20 percent of funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Those cuts would be devastating to Seattles medical research community, and the pipeline for critical advances, scientists say. For example, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center receives 85 percent of its budget from the NIH, or nearly $250 million annually more NIH grants than any other cancer-research center in the nation.

From Germanys Brandenburg Gate to the Washington Monument on Saturday, crowds around the world urged spending what is necessary to make breakthroughs possible.

We didnt choose to be in this battle, but it has come to the point where we have to fight because the stakes are too great, said climate scientist Michael Mann, who regularly clashes with politicians.

Standing on the National Mall in D.C. with thousands soaked by rain Saturday, Mann said that like other scientists, he would rather be in his lab, the field or teaching students. But driving his advocacy are officials who deny his research that shows rising global temperatures.

President Donald Trump, in an Earth Day statement hours after the marches kicked off, said that rigorous science depends not on ideology, but on a spirit of honest inquiry and robust debate. The president also said his administration was committed to advancing scientific research that leads to a better understanding of our environment and of environmental risks.

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Seattle's March for Science draws thousands on Earth Day including a Nobel Prize winner - Seattle Times