10 Days to the Woodstock of Science -- And You're Invited!

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 Center, Washington D.C. -- promises to be an unforgettable weekend that responds to a growing grassroots desire among the public for ways to better understand and interact in meaningful ways with the vast array of technology impacting our lives.

Join us at this exciting, free event designed to inform and fascinate the average person as well as inspire the next generation of innovators in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)!

Our impressive array of world-class presentations include more than 3,000 hands-on interactive exhibits and other activities, in addition to more than 150 live stage show performances by science celebrities, explorers, best-selling authors, innovative entrepreneurs, world-renowned experts, and well-known science comedians, musicians and magicians.

Among them:

Science Celebrities: Meet such luminaries as Bill Nye the Science Guy; real-life neuroscientist Mayim Bialik who stars in the hit TV comedy The Big Bang Theory; Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage of the MythBusters, and Jeff Lieberman, host of Discovery Channel's Time Warp, are just several of the well-known personalities that will be on hand to help science come alive!

Space Heroes and Heroines: Be inspired by John Mace Grunsfeld, Ph.D., a five-time NASA Space Shuttle astronaut and electrical engineer Anousheh Ansari, who in 2006 became the first female private space explorer.

Cutting-Edge Scientists and Engineers: Learn from leading scientists and engineers at the Expo's Career Pavilion. The Pavilion will also provide information on careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) as well on college fairs, scholarships, internships and after-school programs available.

Innovative Entrepreneurs: These are just some of the exciting entrepreneurs you'll meet who are changing the course of technology -- Elon Musk, creator of rocket manufacturer SpaceX and co-founder of Pay Pal (the world's largest internet payment system) and legendary computer video game innovator Richard Garriott who became the sixth private citizen to journey into Earth's orbit.

Award-Winning Authors: Hear these and other prominent science authors at the Expo's Book Fair and Book Signing: Homer Hickam, autobiographer of Rocket Boys (the book that formed the basis of the Hollywood movie October Sky); nationally-acclaimed children's science book writers Robin Cook, Seymour Simon and Joy Hakim.

Myriad Exhibits and Stage Performances: From hands-on exhibits showcasing the latest advances in robotics, aeronautics, medicine, chemistry, telecommunications, nanotechnology, energy and other frontiers, to exciting science stage performances in music, magic, illusion, comedy, Hollywood movies and comic book superheroes, you'll discover that science is truly all around us.

Tinkerers and Inventors: From demonstrations by MakerBot Industries, Fab Lab DC and others at the Expo (and at the partnering Robot Fest and DIY Pavilion), you'll see and experience the amazing technology that is spurring the DIY, or Do It Yourself, movement, which is making inventing easier and more cost effective for the average person.

For more information, visit http://www.usasciencefestival.org/

Join us April 28-29 when we rock Washington with the power of science and engineering!

Follow Larry Bock on Twitter: www.twitter.com/usasciencefest