USA Science & Engineering Festival
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 princesses…
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 AnastasAssistant 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 BeatyNew 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 Lek KadeliActing Assistant Administrator in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Research and Development (ORD)
Each spring around the same time that so much of the country is swept up in the “madness” of amateur basketball tournaments, a dedicated team of employees at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are finishing up preparations to host student teams for another hard-fought college challenge: EPA’s P3 student design competition for sustainability.
While participants may not grab national headlines, the long-term benefits of their efforts have the…
carlyo | April 25, 2014
Guest Blog By David BolinskyFounder 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 25, 2014
Guest Blog By Stacy JannisScience Media Producer and the Manager of the USA Science & Engineering Festival’s Kavli science video contest
Can science fiction influence science? Many theoretical physicists and astronomers seem to think so, and quite a few scientists say they were inspired to go into science by reading Jules Verne, or watching TV episodes of Flash Gordon and Star Trek. Do you think it’s just a coincidence that NASA’s first space shuttle was christened the Enterprise? At NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, a formal partnership with science fiction writers was announced three…
carlyo | April 25, 2014Sponsored by Northrop Grumman Foundation and MedImmune, our X-STEM Symposium featured multiple presentation sessions covering a wide array of subject areas including space exploration, storm chasing, oceanography, the science of social networks, the physics of superheroes, mathematical puzzles and much, much more!
As a special treat, the Senior Science Advisor to President Obama, Dr. John Holdren delivered the opening address. Thank you speakers! And thank you students for attending!! View all of the photos from the event here.
carlyo | April 24, 2014Discover the STEM Power of Lockheed Martin at the USA Science & Engineering Festival Expo in April
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to pilot the F-35 or a flying robot? Or how cold it is in Antarctica (a region known as the most frigid place on Earth)? In addition to what the next big thing in batteries is, and can medicine really be personalized for every individual? At Festival Expo 2014 you'll experience the answer to these and other questions in unforgettable ways with founding and presenting sponsor of the Festival, Lockheed Martin through exciting interactive,…
carlyo | April 23, 2014
Guest Blog by Adora SvitakUSA Science & Engineering Festival Youth Advisory Board Member
Note: See Adora as part of the Teen Inventors Panel at the Festival on the Lockheed Martin Stage!
When I was little, I hated a lot of things. I refused to practice piano or violin. I didn't eat my leafy vegetables. But most of all I hated math. By extension, I disliked anything that stank of equations: physics, chemistry, technology, engineering. After falling in love with Corinthian columns and the University of Washington's collegiate-Gothic buildings, I wanted to be an architect... until I…
carlyo | April 22, 2014Guest blog by Dr. John SotosGetting the Science Right in Hollywood Panel Member and Book Fair Author at the USA Science & Engineering Festival
I love medicine. But maybe not for the reasons you think.
Most people go into the field desiring to help others. Not me, at least not at first.
Many people go into medicine to make scientific discoveries. Not me.
And, alas, some people go into medicine to gratify their ego, pad their wallet, or satisfy parental expectations. Not me, thank goodness. I went into medicine because, well . . . I don't really know why. And that's the point.
One of…
carlyo | April 21, 2014Under the theme of "Start Your Journey," Caterpillar, as a major Festival sponsor and leader in STEM and skilled trades, is set to wow audiences at the Expo this month with a dynamic array of interactive exhibits and presentations designed to demonstrate the breadth of opportunities that exist at Caterpillar and Cat Dealerships around the country in STEM-related frontiers and career paths.
Says Gwenne Henricks, Caterpillar's Vice President of Product Development & Global Technology & Chief Technology Officer: "We want attendees to leave with the impression that Caterpillar is an…
carlyo | April 20, 2014Guest Blog by Dr. Catherine MohrSenior Director of Medical Research, Intuitive SurgicalUSA Science & Engineering Festival X-STEM Speaker
I work on surgical robots - at the intersection of cool, high tech, and helping people get well. One of the things I like most is that my job changes every day as I look for new technologies that might help us improve patient outcomes. For example, one day we may play with new kinds of lasers for cutting bone, the next we are looking for new less invasive ways of accessing the body to do more effective surgeries, and the next we are looking out 10 to 15…
carlyo | April 19, 2014Guest Blog By Bart Gordon
Our nation has a long and proud history as a global leader in the development of technological breakthroughs and the development of revolutionary products that change and save lives around the world. In recent years, however, fewer young Americans are entering fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and as a result, our global competitiveness is in jeopardy. For the past six years, the majority of patents issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office have been awarded to international owners, and fewer American students are pursuing advanced…
carlyo | April 18, 2014
Many people know Walmart as the largest corporate retailer in the world, but did you also realize it is a leading innovator and employer in STEM? At Festival Expo 2014, you'll discover in unforgettable ways this other side of Walmart, which this year is serving as an Americum-level Sponsor of the Festival!
Walmart's imprint on STEM is significant worldwide, and is especially noted for: developing ways to make its foods more healthful by reducing sodium, sugar and fat; designing high-tech fleet trucks; working with farmers to produce better crop yields; creating energy-efficient retail…
carlyo | April 17, 2014You could call them child or teen prodigies – wunderkinds, who at remarkable young ages have already begun making their mark upon science and technology as innovators and visionaries. The USA Science & Engineering Festival not only applauds such young achievers, but is recruiting some of the best of them to serve on its new Youth Advisory Board.
The achievements of these recently-appointed board members will not only help us further excite, inspire and reach out to more students during the Festival next week, but will also call attention to the impressive cadre of young talent that is on…
carlyo | April 15, 2014True to its mission of helping to advance STEM education in dynamic ways, the Northrop Grumman Foundation, a major sponsor of the USA Science & Engineering Festival, will take visitors up close and personal this April with one of the most ambitious projects today in space science: NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.
At Festival Expo 2014, get ready for fascinating updates on this endeavor from two Northrop Grumman leaders who are ushering in the Webb Telescope — the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. The Webb Telescope is a joint project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the…
carlyo | April 14, 2014Guest Blog by Alan LadwigUSA Science & Engineering Festival Emcee and Panel Host
I am really looking forward to having fun at my third USA Science and Engineering Festival. With its carnival-like atmosphere the Festival is the perfect place to bring your kids for an up close look at the wonders of science and technology. They’ll be able to engage with hundreds of scientists and engineers who are working on solutions to challenges that matter to the economy and to our daily lives.
The Festival fare features demonstrations by science professionals, television personalities, authors,…
carlyo | April 10, 2014By Shawn Flaherty
Michio Kaku, theoretical physicist and author of New York Times’ list topping “The Future of the Mind,” is one of 31 best-selling science-related and children’s book authors (and characters) who will be signing books during the USA Science & Engineering Festival’s Book Fair, hosted by Anderson’s Bookshops.
The Book Fair is part of the 3rd USA Science & Engineering Festival Expo, hosted by founding and presenting sponsor Lockheed Martin, taking place April 26 and 27 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in D.C. from 9am to 6pm daily. Designed to inspire…
carlyo | April 9, 2014
You've heard the saying: Science is truly all around us. Get ready to discover how accurate this maxim really is as Science Buddies, an award-winning, non-profit resource in STEM for students, joins the USA Science & Engineering Festival as a major sponsor. Moreover, don't miss Science Buddies' exciting, hands-on exhibits for kids at the Festival Expo, which include delving into the physics of catapult launching and how to build your own robot "bugs" that follow light!
It's a natural fit for us at Science Buddies to join with the Festival in sharing projects that encourage kids to keep…