STEM
gregladen | January 5, 2013Following on discussion arising from this post, here is a revised discussion of throwing in human evolution.
The question of diversity in science, and more specifically, success for women, is often discussed in relation to bench or lab oriented fields. If you read the blogs that cover this sort of topic, they are very often written by bench scientists, for bench scientists, and about bench scientists. Which makes sense because most scientists probably are bench scientists.
Here I want to do two separate but related things. I want to discuss certain aspects of the nature of fieldwork in…
carlyo | May 1, 2012The 2012 USA Science and Engineering Festival was a huge success this past weekend! More than 150,000 attendees battled the rain, traffic and crowds to celebrate science at the Convention Center!
The Festival would not have been possible without the hard work of our amazing volunteers! Over 750 volunteers dedicated their valuable time and showed incredible patience and enthusiasm during their shifts at the Festival. We are so grateful to ALL of you! We received wonderful feedback about our exhibitors and the amazing hands-on activities. Exhibitors made each person feel welcome and…
carlyo | April 27, 2012
The excitement is filling the air at Sneak Peek Friday today as we are gearing up for an amazing weekend! The Festival takes place Saturday from 10-6 and Sunday from 10-4 at the Walter E Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Please visit our "Plan Your Day" section on our website for important information regarding attending this FREE event. Those attending the Festival will be in for quite a treat with over 3,000 hands-on science and engineering activities and over 150 stage shows!
We have had some incredible events leading up to this weekend including our AT&T Sponsored…
carlyo | April 26, 2012The 2nd USA Science & Engineering Festival has finally arrived! The Expo will take place this weekend at the Walter E Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. The hours are Saturday from 10-6 and Sunday from 10-4. Evening shows are also scheduled for the weekend including the Stargazing Party with Bill Nye and Featured Author Panel Discussion- Science Stories in Society & School: Using Narrative to Bridge the Gap.
The Festival will be packed with entertainment for the whole family with 3,000 amazing hands-on exhibits and over 150 incredible stage shows. This FREE event is…
carlyo | April 18, 2012
By Larry Bock
Founder and organizer, USA Science & Engineering Festival
Similar to what the legendary Woodstock Festival did in gathering and celebrating the best and the brightest in the world of rock, the 2nd USA Science & Engineering Festival hosted by Lockheed Martin, the nation's largest celebration of science and engineering, has assembled some of the country's top innovators, celebrities and innovations in the realm of science and engineering to wow visitors at the Festival's upcoming Expo celebration.
The Expo -- set for April 28-29 at the Walter E. Washington Convention…
carlyo | April 9, 2012
By Larry Bock
Founder and organizer, USA Science & Engineering Festival
In our world of high-tech bravado, I often wonder where we'd be without explorers -- those undaunted heroes and heroines of the past and of today whose achievements, like an unforgettable song or movie -- form a lasting impression in the brain over what the human spirit can accomplish with will and perseverance.
From the annals of history, their names roll off the tongue almost effortlessly: Vespucci, Columbus, Lindbergh, Earhart, Shackleton, Henson, Cousteau, Glenn and others -- people who, bolstered by a sense of…
carlyo | April 2, 2012
By Larry Bock
Founder and organizer, USA Science & Engineering Festival
The world runs on science and math, but let's face it, to get this across effectively to young students we sometimes have to get a little, well... messy.
No one knows this better than math and science author Sean Connolly who's gained a reputation with kids and teachers alike for breathing life into such potentially stuffy scientific tenets as Boyle's Law and Bernoulli's Principle through hands-on demonstrations and experiments that involve everything from potato guns and cola geysers to film-canister rockets and…
carlyo | March 26, 2012Attention Festival Fans! The Festival has been awarded spaces for 18 people to march in the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade. We have decided to give our fans the opportunity to win these spaces to march alongside legendary NASA astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the Festival's Mondo Spider and other personalities in the 100th Celebration of the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade, Saturday April 14, 2012 in Washington, DC!
To win a space in this unforgettable festive event, which this year features Buzz Aldrin as Parade Grand Marshall, Katie Couric as co-host and Alex Trebek as parade route…
carlyo | March 2, 2012Each week we like to acknowledge those that truly make our Festival the largest celebration of science: our fans. Without the support of our fans, we would not be able to able to achieve our mission which is to re-invigorate the interest of our nation's youth in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) by producing and presenting the most compelling, exciting, educational and entertaining science festival in the United States. Our fans travel from near and far to attend the Festival and along with our volunteers; they help us maintain the buzz of this celebration all year long.
This…
carlyo | February 29, 2012
The George Washington University School of Engineering and Applied Science has been an amazing and supportive sponsor to the USA Science and Engineering Festival. In addition to sponsoring the Festival, SEAS has been instrumental in spreading the word with a dedicated section of their website focused on the Festival including how to become involved, an alumni challenge and information on their sponsorship events.
As a proud sponsor of the USA Science and Engineering Festival, SEAS will host a number of pre-Festival events the week of April 23rd in addition to the Finale Expo at the Walter…
carlyo | February 22, 2012Our mission is to re-invigorate the interest of our nation's youth in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) by producing and presenting the most compelling, exciting, educational and entertaining science festival in the United States. In addition to the celebration, throughout the year we work to sustain the Science Festival's impact through year-round programming and curriculum development and a content-rich, interactive website. We strive to establish ourselves as a resource for everyone in the STEM community and especially our future STEM leaders.
One of the ways that we hope…
carlyo | February 17, 2012This week's "Featured Fan" is Felicia Reed! Felicia is a Festival Volunteer, she runs a great community outreach organization and is a proud mother to a future STEM leader! We thank Felicia for her Festival contributions and ongoing support!
Read all about our "Featured Fan" Felicia Reed below:
I am a HUGE fan of the USA Science and Engineering Festival! I work full time as a Quality Management Specialist. In my spare time, I operate Kids Getting Out (KGO) a community-based organization that sponsors activities, promotes process learning and performs community services. KGO also holds…
carlyo | February 8, 2012 By Sean Connolly
Festival Featured Author
What a difference a digit makes! There I was preoccupied with making my own eggnog, checking page proofs, and It's a Wonderful Life on television. Then along comes January 1, and with it that odometer switch from "1" to "2" at the end. Suddenly 2012 is this year.
And this year means a trip to DC in late April for the USA Science and Engineering Festival. A festival appearance gets us authors out of our garrets, blinking as we meet the real people out there. And it's those real people--particularly the young ones--who make it all so much fun.
I can…
carlyo | February 3, 2012Popular Science, one of the leading sources of news in technology, science, gadgets, space, green tech and more, is returning as a key Media Partner with the Festival!
In doing so, PopSci joins a growing list of other top science media leaders who will be serving as Festival sponsors, including Popular Mechanics, Scientific American, MIT's Technology Review, Chemical & Engineering News, School Tube.com, ENGINEERING.com, EE Times and PBS Kids.
PopSci has been a major source of science and technology news since its award-winning magazine Popular Science was founded back in 1872. Its online…
carlyo | January 30, 2012
By Larry Bock
Founder and organizer, USA Science & Engineering Festival
Tinkering -- that hands-on, garage-based tradition which sparked inventions ranging from the airplane and electric light bulb to the Apple computer -- is making a comeback among average Americans, promising to change our lives for the better on several fronts.
Known by such monikers as DIY (Do It Yourself) and the Maker Movement, its resurrection, fueled by the current economic downturn and the falling cost of high-tech tools and materials, stands not only to boost innovation and change how science is taught in the…
carlyo | January 27, 2012As many educators know, the elementary and middle school years are critical periods in which students' interest in science can "wither on the vine" if efforts are not made early to engage young learners in such subjects in exciting and creative ways.
This is why global biotech leader Life Technologies -- as it prepares to return as a major Sponsor of the USA Science & Engineering Festival next spring.-- will devote a major portion of its outreach exhibits at the finale Expo to wowing elementary and middle school students through a wide range of interactive science activities.
"We know…
carlyo | January 25, 2012The USA Science & Engineering Festival hosted by Lockheed Martin offers a special appeal for budding entrepreneurs, inventors, engineers and programmers who will find the ideas, tools and resources to help them make their dreams a reality.
"The Festival is a fantastic place for technical experts of all kinds to learn about the amazing advances that have been made in technology to help them make product prototypes from 3D printers, find designs online for parts and components, and meet an array of experts to help them bring their product ideas to life," said Larry Bock, serial…
milhayser | January 20, 2012
On the USA Science and Engineering Festival blog, founder Larry Bock addresses the "declining number of young Americans entering the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)." The Festival expo will take place April 28th and 29th, aiming to "inspire the next generation of science and technology innovators through exciting unforgettable ways." Bock says that waning student interest in STEM subjects is not "a problem for our schools to tackle alone. It will take all of us—from involved parents and teachers to employers, government entities, STEM professionals and…
carlyo | January 20, 2012
By Larry Bock
Founder and organizer, USA Science & Engineering Festival
Ahh celebrities. From music and acting to the world of supermodeling and sports -- they are respected, admired, even worshiped, for their talent and magnetism. But herein lies the danger when these stars publicly espouse or endorse viewpoints and products in health and medicine without first thoroughly exploring the scientific validity of such claims.
Why danger? For segments of the population -- especially kids who are easily influenced by star role models -- celebrity statements and viewpoints (however misguided…
sporte | January 6, 2012The C.R.E.A.T.E. strategy is an approach to making biology teaching a better model of biology, the science.
From the C.R.E.A.T.E website,
...C.R.E.A.T.E. teaching focuses on on authentic published work--peer reviewed journal articles--with students reading either series of papers produced sequentially from individual labs or series of papers from different labs focused on a single line of research.
This summer and next, the National Science Foundation is funding two identical workshops designed to help instructors learn how to use the C.R.E.A.T.E. strategy.
These will be held in June 2012 and…