Newsletter No. 8 - January 4, 2010  |
Festival Dates: Expo on the National Mall:
10/10/10 - 10/24/10 10/23 & 10/24
A New Year - A New Look
2010 will be the year of the first ever USA Science & Engineering Festival and we look forward to working with you to make it a huge success. We are celebrating the New Year with a New Logo and Look.
Attention all Festival Partners and Exhibitors:
Later this week you will receive an email from Ruth Kiefer or Larry Bock with LOTS OF IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Please keep an eye out for it, including in your spam filter!
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To all science & engineering
organizations in the greater Washington DC area: We are now accepting
proposals for Festival events to be held October 10-21, 2010
Now
that preparations for the Expo on the National Mall are well under way,
we are starting to plan the two weeks of Festival events leading up to
the Expo. Our goal is to offer a lively mix of events for adults,
teens, and younger children with 2-3 events per day.
 The
ideal Festival Event is fun and engaging with the science component
incorporated in a clever or unusual way. Be it a workshop, family
activity, scavenger hunt, open house, panel discussion, reading, movie
screening, or performance, Festival Events are a great opportunity to
show people of all ages and backgrounds how fascinating science and
engineering can be. So have fun with it! Create an event that will
attract people from all walks of life and give them a glimpse into the
amazing world of science. For some examples of events that worked best at the Inaugural San
Diego Science Festival, visit our website.
All
events must be free to the general public (except for nominal charges
to cover food and drinks) and host organizations will be responsible
for organizing all aspects of the event. We will include your event
information in the Festival newsletter and Online Event Calendar and
help you brand it as part of the inaugural USA Science &
Engineering Festival.
For more detailed information and to submit your proposal through our online form, click here.
The deadline to submit proposals is February 28, 2010.
We look forward to hearing from you!
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Calling All Students! Win a $250 Grant to Bring Your School's Exhibit to the USA Science & Engineering Festival Expo on the National Mall
(Know a Science Teacher? Please forward this to them...)
News Flash to Students! Student groups and clubs are invited to submit a proposal to exhibit as part of the two-day Expo on the National Mall. A limited number of $250 grants are available to student groups to help offset the cost of materials for developing their exhibit. To win a grant, each school must submit a brief proposal describing the planned exhibit and how funds will be used.
Elna Clevenger, Science Department Chair at Washington DC's National Cathedral School, an all girls' school, explains why her students have applied for an exhibit grant: "A large percentage of our students are very interested in science and pursue careers in the sciences. However, it is important for everyone to be scientifically literate, regardless of their chosen field of study and work. Our
exhibit will show how polymers are involved in all aspects of people's lives."
Lisa Davis, Community Developer at San Diego-based High Tech High Foundation, adds that participation in the Festival's student exhibits "helps our High Tech High Chula Vista students to enhance leadership capacity, reinforce learning in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, and give back to the community by encouraging others to experience interactive science!"
"Our TransTech Academy students have been exposed to the latest technology in science, technology, engineering, and math fields. It is important for our students to share the exciting and employable skills they have attained at the 2010 inaugural USA Science & Engineering Festival," says Andrea Young, Outreach and Recruitment Coordinator for TransTech Academy.
So, what constitutes a cool, winning exhibit for the Expo?
Festival organizers say student science and engineering groups should create an interactive, hands-on activity that will give Expo-goers the opportunity to explore a scientific or engineering concept. All activities should be both educational and fun and targeted at a 10th grade understanding of science or below.
 The girls from National Cathedral School, for example, invite Expo-goers to "Observe superabsorbent polymers in action. Make instant snow, see alligators and other beasts grow, and discover the many uses of these unique polymers in a variety of commercial products."
For examples of what other exhibitors are offering, visit the Festival website.
To submit your online proposal for a grant, click here. Proposals must be submitted no later than January 31, 2010. Applicants will be notified by February 15 as to whether they have been awarded a grant. For questions regarding the grants or submissions, contact Larry Bock at biobock@mac.com.
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Satellite Events springing up across the
United States - and beyond!
More and more people across the country are jumping on the Festival bandwagon by creating a Satellite Event in their community the same weekend that hundreds of thousands of people will celebrate science on the National Mall. Satellite Events are not only under way in Stamford (CT), Tucson (AZ), Vancouver (WA), DeKalb (IL), Santa Ana (CA), Columbus (OH), Berkeley (CA), Chapel Hill (NC), and Queens (NY), but also in Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Pondicherry (India)!
Three communities are going gung ho and forming their own regional Science Festivals as part of the USA Science & Engineering Festival. They include the Research Triangle Science Festival, being organized by Roger Harris, the Austin Science Festival being organized by Enrique Gomez and the New Jersey Science Festival, being organized by Michael Paitchell.
"The USA has a crisis brewing. We have to get more young people interested in science and technology, choosing technical careers, and becoming entrepreneurs if we are to continue to function and grow as a viable country and have jobs for our children as well as ourselves. I had been planning to host a local science and design fair, but after finding out about the USA Science and Engineering Festival and how it's mission closely matches my own beliefs, I decided that hosting a Satellite Event would be the perfect way to expose people of all ages to state of the art science and real world applications, show national unity, and start steering the country back on course," says New Jersey Festival Organizer Michael Paitchell.
Enrique Gomez, Executive Director of the Society of Mexican American Engineers and Scientists, who is spearheading the effort to create the first Austin Science Festival, adds: "The Society of Mexican American Engineers and Scientists has been committed to increase the number of Hispanic technical professionals in the US for the past 35 years and we are always exploring ideas to instill in the Latino youth the desire to pursue STEM degrees. [...] Events like this spark the inspiration that our youth needs. I think the Festival organizers have found the magic formula to ignite the imagination of kids by the thousands."
The USA Science & Engineering Festival is working with these regional Festivals by sharing best practices and marketing materials. If you would like information on these regional efforts, contact Larry Bock at biobock@mac.com.
Do you want to create a Satellite Event in your community? For more information and to let the Festival organizers know that you are interested in hosting a Satellite Event, click here or email Ruth Kiefer at rkiefer@mindspring.com
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Vertex Pharmaceuticals - You Can Do The Rubik's Cube
Sandia National Laboratories - Genentech
NuVasive - FEI - Case Western Reserve University
Silicon Valley Bank - Bechtel
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Create a Festival Jingle
Grand Prize: $500
(and knowing that your Jingle will be sung by thousands of science enthusiasts)
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Visit us online at www.usasciencefestival.org
New logo design by MORRIS
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Sponsorship Opportunities
Help us create the largest celebration of science and engineering in the World.
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Be part of the
National Celebration:
Host a Satellite Event
in Your Community Find out how |
Does your School or Choir
want to be part of the
Powers of Ten
performance on
10/10/10?
Contact us!
Create a Festival Jingle and win $500
Find out more!
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