This Week's "Featured Fan" is Bill Boss!

Each 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 week's "Featured Fan" is founder of Hands-On Science Center in Tennessee (HOSC.org), Bill Boss. Hands-On Science Center began 21 years ago and they offer over 100 exhibits and science shows annually. Bill has received many accolades and awards for his achievements at HOSC.org including the Tullahoma, TN, Distinguished Citizen Award from the Chamber of Commerce in 2002; the Tennessee Titan Community Quarterback Award in 2007 and the Center for Non Profit Management Middle Tennessee Board Member of the Year Award in 2011.

Bill will be traveling to Washington D.C. to attend the Festival and is so excited to be a part of this celebration. With over 3000 different hands-on activities, experiments, and lots of scientists and engineers to talk to, he will want to visit our Plan Your Day section of our website to map out his weekend to make sure he is getting the most out of his first trip to the Festival. He is looking forward to receiving ideas for his own science exhibits and shows.

Bill learned early on what science can do to help build your self-confidence and how wonderful the Festival experience can be for a child, "I was a poor student in all subjects in elementary school until an older cousin pointed out many interesting things about science. I became a fan of science but lacked the confidence to pursue it as a career until I was much older. I am now motivated to reach out to kids (like I was) by demonstrating how cool science can be and try to give them give confidence and inspiration to be involved in this vitally important field."

The Festival reaches people on many different levels and interests; however our overall goal is for our attendees to have a good time and to try their hand at the many different activities. The Festival is a wonderful opportunity to come together as a community and to have the confidence to explore your inner scientist and expand your mind. We thank Bill Boss and all of our fans for supporting the Festival and we look forward to another great celebration of science this April!

If you would like to be considered as a "Featured Fan" then please send an email to festivaltwitter@gmail.com.