kcollins | August 4, 2010
Volunteers will be an essential part in making the USA Science & Engineering Festival Expo on the National Mall and surrounding areas a success.
Please sign up now if you would like to help. Assignments vary, and are designed to work with your schedule: sign up for one shift on one day, or for multiple shifts throughout both days.
Please note: You must attend a volunteer training session in the afternoon of Sunday, October 17. The training session will be held on the National Mall from 2-3:30pm for those of you who will be assigned to working on the National Mall. For those of you who…
kcollins | August 3, 2010We need your help to get the word out about the USA Science and Engineering Festival. Social Media cannot be done in a vacuum so we continue to ask those of you who are listening to help us get the word out through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and blogging. I think this is just another great example of how to help us get the word out. This blog was posted on Forbes Wolfe blog, Josh Wolfe is one of the Festival's Nifty Fifty Speakers as well as Francis Collins. Dr. Collins then gives insight into the role the USA Science and Engineering Festival will play in inspiring the future of science in…
kcollins | July 30, 2010
The NC Science Festival will bring together more than 100 science-related events Sept. 11-26. Through science talks, hands-on activities, tours, performances and exhibits, North Carolina's science community will be on display to engage and inspire a new generation of scientists.
How will we engage our state in science? By showing citizens of our state science that is...
Diverse. Life is your lab...from age two to 122! Events on our festival schedule reflect the interests of all ages. Kids will get hands-on learning experiences, and adults will dive deep into current science topics with…
kcollins | July 28, 2010The DC Weatherams eventFest Coalition is a partnership of government, scientific societies, private enterprise, and institutions in education which focuses on serving as an important resource for information on weather, water, and climate, and how these impact our lives.
Recognized as a "Perfect Festival Partner" for its noted efforts in the event, the Coalition is especially cited by the Festival for assembling an impressive array of exhibits -- including those by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the American Meteorological Society -- all under the common theme, or…
kcollins | July 26, 2010Register now for the YCDTRC contest and attend a free teacher/coach workshop on August 14th from 1pm - 3:30 pm at The National Electronics Museum. Student names are not due until October 1st!
The Rubik's Cube Tournament will place K-12 teams in competition for the fastest time to collectively solve 25 Rubik's Cubes. The top six finalists will compete for the championship at the USA Science & Engineering Festival Expo on the National Mall on 10/23. Prizes range from $100 to $1,000 and will be awarded by Dr. Erno Rubik, inventor of the Rubik's Cube
To learn more about the tournament click…
lbock | July 23, 2010 As a founder and organizer of the upcoming inaugural USA Science & Engineering Festival, I'm in frequent contact with a wide range of teachers, students, innovators, community leaders, entrepreneurs and decision makers in science and technology across the country.
One thing that I continue to learn from these experiences: There is a growing need out there, even a grassroots desire, among average Americans to understand and connect in meaningful ways with the vast array of science and technology impacting their lives today -- provided that this information is presented to them through…
kcollins | July 22, 2010 Trauma surgery...emergency medicine...forensic anthropology. We know them today as invaluable fields in medicine and science - fields that save lives or provide important insight into the circumstances behind a traumatic death. What you may not know is that these professions, in many ways, were literally born under fire on the battlefields of war - from the Civil War to the conflict in Vietnam - where physicians and other medical professionals, working under dire conditions, often had to make quick decisions in diagnosing and treating severely wounded soldiers.
Take a look at this intriguing…
kcollins | July 21, 2010
On Wednesday, October 6, 2010, the third annual 4-H National Youth Science Day, will bring together hundreds of thousands of youth around the nation to complete a single science experiment. This year, the National Science Experiment, 4-H2O, focuses on water quality and climate change - two critical issues facing our global community today.
In anticipation of 4-H National Youth Science Day, you can now pre-order a 4-H2O experiment kit with all the necessary materials to complete the first two tiers of the experiment! Kit includes enough materials for 15 youth and one facilitator to…
kcollins | July 19, 2010Join Illumina in its quest to discover "What makes you... you?" And to discern why even though people are genetically 99.9 % similar, we look and act so incredibly different!
IlStudents and adults are encouragedto participate in Illumina's interactive Expo exhibit at the USA Science & Engineering Festival to answer for themselves these tricky but intriguing questions in genetics, using tools of gene-based science and technology, including series of tests involving eye color, taste and more!
Discover how genetic researchers use genetic markers to study disease and to help improve the human…
kcollins | July 16, 2010
Providing Students and Teachers With a Wealth of Resources in the Physical Sciences
Students, does this sound familiar?
You need information about the environment, physics, chemistry, or the earth and don't know where to go. And your teacher says that the information you reference must be authoritative. Plus, you need the information fast.
No problem!
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) - a Dream Festival Partner - is an excellent resource. DOE will sponsor 11 highly informative, interactive exhibits in the Festival's Expo this October at the National Mall in Washington, DC, in addition to…
kcollins | July 15, 2010
Amgen, a leader in biotechnology, and the Amgen Foundation are committed to supporting science education programs and are proud to be a sponsor of the USA Science & Engineering Festival to further encourage bright young minds to explore a future in science and strengthen science literacy.
Jean L. Lim, President, Amgen Foundation
"Amgen applauds the Festival for bringing together leaders in science education to create an exciting educational event for students and the community," said Jean J. Lim, president of the Amgen Foundation. "The Festival can leverage the passion and expertise…
kcollins | July 12, 2010
Bill Nye the Science Guy
"We have lingered long enough on the shores of the cosmic ocean. We are ready at last to set sail for the stars." --Carl Sagan
Carl Sagan's dream that one day spacecraft would "sail" in space, powered only by light from the sun, is reaching fruition at The Planetary Society, the world-renowned organization he co-founded.
No longer the stuff of science fiction, solar-sailing and the technology to make it happen in the U.S. is being developed by The Planetary Society, a major Festival Partner.
The Society hopes to launch its first solar sail craft, dubbed LightSail…
kcollins | July 9, 2010Answering:
Who is Your Favorite Scientist or Engineer of All Time?
A Wordle created from participants answers to "Who is your favorite scientist or engineer of all time?
We asked for your input on our woordle a little while back and here is the result. Here is the wonderfully imaginative Wordle image created by our participant responses. Make sure to look out for our next Wordle question in a future blog post.
To find our more about Wordles and to create your own word clouds, go to www.wordle.net
kcollins | July 8, 2010Shout out to Montgomery College online for the article on Nifty Fifty Speaker Susan Bontems. Thanks for helping get the word out about the USA Science and Engineering Festival.
The USA Science and Engineering Festival selected Montgomery College Professor Susan Bontems and 49 other scientists to visit Washington, D.C.-area middle and high schools, October 10-24, 2010, to ignite a passion for science and engineering in students. Professor Bontems was named the 2009 Maryland Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for the Advancement and…
kcollins | July 6, 2010Shout out to Digital Capital Week for getting the word out about the USA Science and Engineering Festival.
From Digital Capital Week
This year is becoming a year of firsts for technology, media and science in the Nation's Capital. Much like DCWeek's inaugural convention for techies & creatives, for the first time this October, over 400 of the nation's leading science, engineering and academic organizations will descend on the National Mall to present the First Annual USA Science & Engineering Festival.
Amongst the numerous hands-on science exhibits, workshops, and performances The…
lbock | July 5, 2010It's funny what inspires one toward a career in science or engineering.
Kary Mullins who earned the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1993, says it was the experience of growing up in the rolling foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina that did it for him. There, in a more simple and idyllic time than today, he had the freedom to build and launch his own rockets, and to dream while exploring the biodiversity in the woods, the swamp and the orchards near his home.
Inspiration and the chance to discover are important for all of us. Like with Kary Mullins, these experiences plant…
kcollins | July 2, 2010Participating significantly at virtually every level of the USA Science & Engineering Festival - from start to finish - the University of Maryland, College Park is recognized as a "Dream Festival Partner."
In addition to serving as a valued Festival Sponsor, the university will host the Festival's opening and closing ceremonies, and will also participate in Nifty Fifty speaking sessions at schools, Lunch with a Laureate brown bag meetings, and in the Festival's exciting Expo exhibits and stage performances at the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
UM President C.D. Mote, Jr.
University of…
kcollins | June 30, 2010Agilent is excited to host an exhibit featuring a "mystery solving" theme. This is your chance to don a lab coat, examine evidence and use hands-on testing techniques to solve a mystery. Support for events that engage and inspire students in science is one of the ways that we at Agilent invest in everyone's future.
Darlene Soloman
"Excellence in science education is crucial to worldwide progress and continual improvement in quality of life," said Darlene Solomon, Ph.D., Agilent chief technology officer. "By highlighting what's cool about science and engineering, the USA Science &…
kcollins | June 28, 2010Enter the Great Science Teacher Video Contest
Great teachers inspire students to pursue a higher education in science and engineering. They communicate difficult concepts with ease. And they make science fun. Are you a great teacher?
Can you explain the photoelectric effect so that students really get it? Or have you got the perfect experiment to demonstrate Newton's 3rd Law? Wouldn't it be great to share those lessons with the entire nation? Well, here is your chance.
Simply shoot a video of your lesson and submit it to the USA Science & Engineering Festival. Winners will receive…
lbock | June 25, 2010
Let's face it, we as a society have a limited, even poor, image of scientists and engineers. For instance, just ask the average fifth-grader to draw his or her perception of a scientist and you'll most likely be given a depiction of a white male with wild Einstein-like hair, eccentric habits and attired in a lab coat, coke-bottle spectacles while working in an ivory tower laboratory...some might even describe him as "mad."
Science's poor public image goes even deeper. In a survey conducted in 2007 by the Museum of Science and Industry in which 1,304 American adults were asked if they…