The USA Science & Engineering Festival
carlyo | February 4, 2015 Image Via NASA
In our recent STEM in the News blog, X-STEM Festival Speaker and Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Dr. Anthony Fauci discusses the importance of childhood vaccinations and his frustration with the recent Disneyland measles outbreak, Festival Nifty Fifty Speaker and Material Scientist Dr. Ainissa Ramirez breaks down the science of "Deflategate", NASA holds the first ever "State of NASA" event, find out what causes the smell of rain and learn about exciting STEM scholarships and fellowships. Click here to read more.
carlyo | April 25, 2014Guest Blog by Lindsey Shephard
Rainmaker and Resident Mom at GoldiBlox
At GoldieBlox, we truly believe there are millions of girls out there who are engineers, but they just don’t know it yet. We’re thrilled to join this year’s USA Science & Engineering Festival, where we’ll be able to interact with girls and their families, showing them how fun engineering and science can be!
Like many other festival goers, we feel as though the toy industry could use some STEM love, especially among girls’ toys. If you take a stroll down the “pink” aisle at the toy store, you’ll come across…
carlyo | April 25, 2014Guest Blog By Jerry Baker
Executive Director of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society
Imagine a world where every child, who dreams of becoming a scientist or engineer, is provided with the opportunity to fulfill that dream. Think of the possibilities and the discoveries that can help humanity or global sustainability. Think of the new solutions that all those minds might discover.
I look forward to meeting some of those young people during the USA Science & Engineering Festival in Washington, D.C. on April 24-27, 2014. It is the largest celebration of science, engineering, technology…
carlyo | April 25, 2014Guest Blog by Paul Anastas
Assistant Administrator for the U.S. EPA for Research and Development and the Agency Science Advisor
For too long sustainability and environmental protection have been defined by those saying that we need to do less, have less, expect less. For too long, we have been told that we need to consume less energy, use less materials, travel less, give up the vast array of modern conveniences. I couldn't disagree more and thank goodness the leading inventors and designers of our time agree with me.
I believe the problem of sustainability largely isn't that we use too…
carlyo | April 25, 2014Guest Blog By Andrea Beaty
New York Times bestselling author of Rosie Revere, Engineer and Iggy Peck, Architect along with children’s novels, Dorko the Magnificent and Attack of the Fluffy Bunnies
Kids are their own worst critics. Perfectionism can reduce even very young children to hysterics over toppled towers, drawing disasters and other creative catastrophes. It breaks our parenting hearts to watch and we rush in with hugs and kind words to soften the blow. I confess that when my kids were young, I sometimes resorted to less dignified tactics to calm them. “Look! . . . It’s Barney! . . .…
carlyo | April 25, 2014
Guest Blog By David Bolinsky
Founder and Creative Director of e*mersion Studio
In 1962, when I was ten, my family and I had the rare privilege of exploring the ancient caves of Lascaux in southern France to see 17,000 year-old Paleolithic paintings close up. Though sadly no longer open for public viewing, these iconic works changed me forever. In his film ‘Cave of Forgotten Dreams’, Werner Herzog documented limestone galleries of astonishing thirty-thousand-year-old artwork in the French Chauvet Pont d’Arc.
Having practiced the visualization of science for nearly forty years, I resonate with…
carlyo | April 16, 2014Guest Blog By Festival X-STEM Speaker and Expo Performer Dr. Joe Schwarcz
“Hey, aren’t you somebody?” the teenager queried as I got into the elevator. While I was pondering an appropriate answer to this deeply philosophical question, his crony spilled the beans: "Yeah, he's that guy who talks about chemistry on TV." This was just the ammunition the philosopher needed. "Oh no, we're locked in an elevator with a scientist" he mocked, before volunteering the information that he got about 2% in chemistry in high school, and "that was with cheating."
Sadly, I've heard such comments before. After…
carlyo | April 11, 2014The National Science Foundation returns to sponsor the USA Science & Engineering Festival and will showcase an incredible group of exhibits at the NSF and Friends Pavilion! Visit the National Science Foundation's exhibit area to explore tsunami waves, mind control, robots, spiders, cranberry acids, crazy physics experiments and more! Stage performances, a wearable tech fashion show and interactive activities will entertain and engage visitors of all ages.
Listed below is a sampling of the fun and excitement you can expect at the NSF & Friends Pavilion:
Wild Lives in Your Own Back…
carlyo | March 13, 2014
By Larry Bock
Co-Founder of USA Science Science & Engineering Festival
No doubt, the influences that move individuals into their chosen field of science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) are often as different as night and day, but one thing seems constant: most STEM professionals, in remembering how they made their selection, can trace that ¨A-ha!¨ moment back to a pivotal experience in their lives that connected them on an emotional level for the first time with their chosen line of work.
That moment for scientist James E. West, inventor of the foil electret microphone,…
carlyo | March 3, 2014STEMconnector®, "the one-stop shop for who's doing what in science, technology, engineering and math", has joined the Festival's growing cadre of Sponsors, bringing to the event a proven ability to keep professionals, students and the public abreast of STEM news and updates across a broad spectrum.
"STEMconnector® is proud to be a partner for the USA Science Festival as we support and endorse the largest gathering in the world celebrating science and engineering," says Edie Fraser, CEO of STEMconnector. "We couldn't be happier than to see young people interested in STEM and believe in the…
carlyo | February 27, 2014By Shawn Flaherty
What is the universe made of? What does science have to do with extreme sports? And how would you survive a zombie invasion? The answers to these questions and more are at the 3rd USA Science & Engineering Festival Expo and Book Fair, hosted by founding and presenting sponsor Lockheed Martin. Designed to inspire the next generation of innovators, the Festival Expo is a free, family-friendly expo that allows kids and adults to participate in more than 3,000 hands-on activities and see more than 100 live stage performances.
“Science is amazing…that’s our message to kids…
carlyo | February 14, 2014USA Science & Engineering Festival X-STEM Speaker renowned aviator Barrington Irving sums up his current mission as a role model this way: "Kids want to be challenged, but today too many are bored and uninspired. I want to use aviation to excite and empower a new generation to become scientists, engineers, and explorers."
He has a lot to inspire kids about. Born in Jamaica and raised in Miami Florida's inner city, surrounded by crime, poverty, and failing schools, he beat the odds in 2007 when, at the age of 23, he became the youngest person ever (and only African American) to pilot a…
carlyo | January 12, 2014Are you wowed and awed by the mysteries of the Universe, the courage of astronauts, innovative space technologies, and stunning images from other worlds? Want to learn how you can become a space explorer?
Well, get ready to find "Your Place in Space" with The Planetary Society – the largest and most influential space interest organization on Earth – as the Society returns once more as a major Festival sponsor and presenter this April in Washington, D.C.!
Just as it did in the first two Expos, the Society will ignite enthusiasm for space science. Founded in 1980 by Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray,…