Newsletter No. 24 - September 13th, 2010  |
Festival Dates: Expo Dates:
10/10/10
- 10/24/10 10/23 & 10/24Celebrate Science:
Don't miss the Expo on the National MallOctober 23 and 24, 2010, 10am-5:30pm
Over 1500 hands-on science and engineering activities More than 75 stage shows on four stages A free event for all ages Volunteers Needed for Expo Weekend!
Be an Emcee, Assistant Stage Manager or help out at an Info Booth. Half-day shifts available so you can explore the Expo the rest of the day. Find out more!Have you voted for your favorite video?
Vote now for the Kavli Science Video Awards! |
 Check out the NEW Festival Website! Same address, new exciting features!
View all exhibits and stage shows, print your Expo map... Teachers, check out our Teacher Resources page!
Pre-Expo events are now posted on our Online Calendar
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Festival Showcases
Lockheed Martin's Commitment to Promoting Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Math 
Lockheed
Martin's 70,000 engineers and scientists work on space systems, aircraft, clean
energy solutions - and top-secret national security technology that we
certainly won't reveal here. What the company is talking about is why it's so committed to promoting the study of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
As the
host sponsor of the inaugural USA Science & Engineering Festival, Lockheed
Martin has set the admirable goal of reaching close to 3 million students with
a standards-based curriculum in STEM this
year alone. This year's festival should get them a long way toward their goal.
Dr. Ray O. Johnson, Lockheed Martin Senior Vice President and CTO
 | "Attracting
students into the STEM field is an
invaluable investment for Lockheed Martin - and for our country," said Dr. Ray
O Johnson, Lockheed Martin Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer.
"Engineers of the future will create new technologies to make our lives better
and our country stronger - and many of them will join Lockheed Martin. We are
dedicated to promoting these critical subjects, and we are proud to be the host
sponsor of the USA Science and Engineering Festival."
Lockheed Ma rtin is
bringing out some amazing exhibits and hands-on demonstrations for kids and
parents based on the company's technology. The exhibits include a
"virtu-sphere" where attendees can experience the latest virtual reality
technology; flight simulators for helicopters and the new F-35 Joint Strike
Fighter; a walk-through nanotechnology "tube" that will teach about concepts
such as bioluminescence - similar to the fictional "connections" characters
made in Avatar; and a simulation of what it's like to be on Mars.
Festival-goers
should also be sure to check out these other Lockheed Martin exhibits:
Energy
Efficiency = A Brighter Future: Find out how much energy everyday home
appliances are using, and learn how you can do your part to save energy.
Desert
Hawk: Learn about how this unmanned plane is being used to gather intelligence
and surveillance data.
Have
You Seen This App? I didn't know my phone could do that: See how your everyday
electronics can be used to help protect our nation.
At
the Edge of the Earth: Watch high-resolution images of the Earth's surface on
this kiosk.
F-35
Defies Gravity: Not all aircraft need to land on a runway. See how our F-35
Lightning II defies gravity to land vertically...any place...any time.
You
Solve the Case! Next Generation Intelligence Analysis: You be the detective!
See how Lockheed Martin takes investigative intelligence technology to the next
level with a simple touch and slide of a finger.
DNA
Fingerprinting: Rapid Human Identification: Check out the Rapid DNA Identification kiosk and learn how to quickly create a
"DNA fingerprint."
Thundercloud
Cloud Computing? What is that?: Learn about the future of on-demand computing
and how it can be used in real world events.
Sprockit
the Interactive Robot: Chat with this interactive robot and see just how much
he loves science.
Autonomous
Exploration of the Deep Ocean: See how Lockheed Martin uses Unmanned Autonomous
Vehicles to explore the depths of our oceans. |
What is the greatest thing about being a scientist or engineer?
Your answer will appear in our newest Wordle!
It's that time again! Tell us what the greatest thing about being a scientist or engineer is and we will turn your answers into a beautiful Word
Cloud!
Submit your answers and see the results in the next newsletter!
Our last Wordle which asked what scientific discovery or invention, past or present, would you like to make?
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Forward this question and link to your friends or post it on Facebook. Collect your students' answers and enter them into the form.
To find out more about Wordles and to create your own clouds go to www.wordle.net
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From the Big Bang to Butterflies:
Explore The American Museum of Natural
History at the Expo
From the day the American Museum of Natural History was founded in 1869,
education has been central to its mission. The Museum has grown to become
one of the largest natural museums in the world. It has 25 interconnected
buildings on 18 acres housing more than 32 million cultural artifacts and
scientific specimens.
Taking the excitement and wonder of science beyond the walls of the Museum,
the Museum is offering five exhibits at the USA Science and Engineering
festival.
Structures and Cultures Moveable Museum from the American Museumof
Natural History
Climb aboard this interactive traveling exhibit, to become an anthropologist
and visit the traditional homes of three nomadic peoples - the Gabra of
Kenya, the Mongols of Mongolia, and Blackfeet of North America. Students
conduct the work of anthropologists to discover how architecture and
everyday objects help us understand the way these people live.
Dinosaurs: Ancient Fossils, New Discoveries Moveable
Museum fromthe
American Museum of Natural History 
Climb aboard this interactive traveling exhibit, to understand the evolution
of dinosaurs and possible causes of the mass extinction 65 million years ago. Students examine dinosaur nests and trackways to interpret social
behavior and investigate feathered dinosaur fossils from Liaoning, China
that reveal the connection between dinosaurs and modern birds.
Explore the Digital Universe from the American Museum of Natural History
The Museum's Hayden Planetarium in the Rose Center for Earth and Space, with
ongoing support from NASA, has assembled the world's largest cosmic atlas,
extending from Earth to the greatest distances yet charted by astronomers.
Take a virtual tour through the known Universe in this full-dome,
interactive experience.
Hands-on science from the American Museum
of Natural History
Touchable fossils from the collections of the American Museum of Natural History help bring science alive to learners of all ages. Staff
from the Museum will support hands-on activity centers that use these
engaging objects as teaching and learning tools about science and the
scientific process.
Biodiversity Conservation from the American Museum of Natural
History
With a focus on the rich diversity of life on Earth and how to
sustain it, rich information, specimens, and activities will bring awareness
about biodiversity-related issues that help foster solutions and
sustainability.
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What makes the Festival special?  Why is it important to inspire this generation in science? These answers and more when you listen to Dr. Ray Johnson's interview about the Festival! Listen to this great interview by EarthSky with Dr. Ray O. Johnson, senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at the Lockheed Martin Corporation. Here's just a snapshot of Johnson's wonderful interview: " Engineering allows you to make things, it allows
you to make a difference. I think the best analogy is a sports analogy.
You may remember Wide World of Sports had a story on 'the thrill of
victory and the agony of defeat.' I think today's young people, when
exposed to engineering, but especially the science and math that
underpins it, can actually experience that same kind of thrill of
victory through solving difficult problems and making a difference to
the world." CLICK HERE to listen and find out more. Dr. Ray O. Johnson is the senior vice president and chief technology officer of the Lockheed Martin Corporation. Dr. Johnson guides the company's technology vision and provides corporate leadership in the strategic areas of technology and engineering, which include more than 65,000 people working on more than 4,000 programs. Dr. Johnson also leads the corporation's Advanced Concepts Organization and the Center for Innovation, a world-class laboratory for collaborative experimentation and analysis involving Lockheed Martin, its customers, and industry partners. Dr. Johnson holds a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Oklahoma State University and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology. |
Project Lead The Way is looking
for a few good Teachers and Students
Actually, we're looking for the best of the best. A few great teachers and students from middle and high schools across the country doing great things in the area of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). We want to honor them for developing the most imaginative student projects and the most innovative instructional programs related to STEM with some outstanding scholarships and cash prizes.
It's all part of the PLTW Innova Awards, which will be presented at The First Annual PLTW National Innovation Summit on October 20th in the nation's capital.
The Innova Award For Learning - For Teachers.
If you, or you and a group of colleagues, can demonstrate an "innovative approach" to teaching and learning STEM to help ignite imagination and innovation in students, then we encourage you to enter to win the PLTW Innova Award For Learning and receive a $5,000 cash prize. It's a great opportunity to be recognized for the great things you do for STEM education. > find out more
The Innova Award For Imagination - For Students.
Know any students who have done some thinking outside the box lately? Students who have created a brilliant STEM-related project that demonstrates a high degree of critical thinking and imaginative problem solving? If so, then you should tell them about the PLTW Innova Award For Imagination and help them sign up for the chance to win a $10,000 scholarship. It would be a great thing to do for some deserving students. > find out more
Hurry, The Deadline For Entries Is September 15th.
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 Festival to be Officially Launched
September 29 With Press Conference and
'Sneak
Preview' of Event
If your communications department would like to attend, please email Aimee Stern at aimee@sterncommdc.com
The conference, to be held at the Koshland
Museum, will provide news media
and guests with an intriguing "sneak preview," or microcosm, of what will be occurring at the Festival, including the event's Nifty Fifty, and Lunch with a Laureate sessions, as well as a look some of the
Festival's key interactive Expo
exhibit demonstrations.
With Jim Dinegar, president and CEO of the Greater Washington (DC) Board of Trade,
serving as emcee of the press conference, speakers at the gathering will
include: Charles Vest, President, National Academy of Engineering; Jennifer Byrne, Vice
President of Technology Strategy, Lockheed Martin; Francis Eberle,
Executive Director, National Science Teachers Association (NSTA); Wallace
Loh, President-Designate,
University of Maryland College Park, and John P. Holdren, Assistant to the
President for Science and Technology, and Director of the White House Office of
Science and Technology Policy.
Sneak previews of Expo presentations -- ranging from demonstrating the
excitement of physics and the marvel of Science Channel's "Meteorite Men" to
learning from the "Father of Green Chemistry" and the mystery of the Rubik's Cube - will give participants
a good idea of the breadth of activities to expect October 23-24 at the Expo on
the National Mall in Washington, DC.
Hosting exhibits at the press
conference for their respective institutions are: Holly
Riehl, Senior Vice President, You CAN DO the Rubik's Cube Program; Jennifer
Byrne, Vice President of Technology Strategy, Lockheed Martin; Bob Hirshon, Senior Project Director, AAAS;
Paul Miller, CEO, EE Times Group; Adam Bly, Founder & CEO, Seed; Karen Nelson, Director,
Rockville Campus of J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI); and Lisa McDonald, Director,
the JCVI Education Group; Debbie
Myers, General Manager of Science
Channel and Executive VP of Programming for Discovery Emerging Networks; Eric Green, Director,
National Human Genome Research Institute; Matthew Bobrowsky, Director,
Lecture-Demonstration Facility, Department of Physics, University of Maryland; Steven
Koonin, Under Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy; Paul Anastas,
Director, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, and Mariette DiChristina,
Editor-in-Chief, Scientific American.
Also participating in the press
conference proceedings will be up to 75 students from Washington, DC's Martin
Luther King Elementary School.
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Festival Garners Allies in Halls of
U.S. Senate and Congress!
More than 90 U.S. Senators and Congressional Representatives have announced their support of the USA Science & Engineering Festival and its efforts to improve science, technology, engineering and mathematics education (STEM) in America.
The joint, bipartisan backing from more than 20 senators and 60 members of Congress gives further impetus to the Festival's mission and it high-powered activities taking place October 10-24 across America and which culminate October 23-24 in a massive Expo celebration at the National Mall in Washington, DC.
As testament to their support, the senators and House members, representing more than 30 states and the U.S. territory of American Samoa, have joined the Festival's Honorary Host Committee to assist the Festival in its mission to motivate and recruit the next generation of young innovators.
Honorary Congressional Host Committee members include:
Senators -- Daniel Kahikina Akaka (HI); Max Baucus (MT); Richard Burr (NC); Roland Burris (IL); Susan M. Collins (ME); Dianne Feinstein (CA); Al Franken (MN); Charles Grassley (IA); Kay R. Hagan (NC); Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX); Dan Inouye (HI); Johnny Isakson (GA); Tim Johnson (SD); Ted Kaufman (DE); Amy Klobuchar (MN); Robert Menendez (NJ); Jeff Merkley (OR); Patty Murray (WA); Harry Reid (NE); Jeanne Shaheen (NH); Mark Warner (VA), and Jim Webb (VA).
Congressional Representatives - Jason Altmire (PA); Roscoe G. Bartlett (MD); Brian Bilbray (CA); Judy Biggert (IL); Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (TX); Anh "Joseph" Cao (LA); Yvette D. Clarke (NY); William Lacy Clay (MO); Howard Coble of (NC); Gerald E. Connolly (VA); Joseph Crowley (NY); Henry Cuellar of (TX); John Culberson (TX); Geoff Davis (KY); Susan Davis (CA); John Dingell (MI); Mike Doyle (PA); Vernon J. Ehlers (MI); Anna G. Eshoo (CA); Eni F.H. Faleomavaega (American Samoa); Bob Filner (CA); Martha Fudge (OH); Bill Foster (IL); Virginia Foxx (NC); John Garamendi (CA); Gabrielle Giffords (AZ); Charles A. Gonzalez (TX;) Bart Gordon (TN); Kay Granger (TN); Rubén Hinojosa (TX); Rush Holt (NJ); Mike Honda (CA); Bob Inglis (SC); Jesse Jackson, Jr. (IL); Dale Kildee (MI); Barbara Lee (CA); Dan Lungren (CA); Carolyn Maloney (NY); Doris Matsui (CA); Congressman Michael McCaul (TX); Jim McDermott (WA); Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (WA); Dennis Moore (KS); Sue Myrick (NC); Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC); Pete Olson (TX); Bill Pascrell Jr. (NJ); Ed Pastor (AZ); Thomas Petri (WN); Adam H. Putnam (FL); Hal Rogers (KY);Peter Roskam (IL); C. A. Dutch Ruppersberge (MD); Linda T. Sánchez (CA); Loretta Sanchez (CA); Aaron Schock (CA); Allyson Y. Schwartz (PA); Jackie Speier (CA); Mike Thompson (CA);Congressman Chris Van Hollen (MD); Maxine Waters (CA); Henry A. Waxman (CA); Frank Wolf (VA), and Lynn Woolsey (CA).
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Seeking MCs for Expo Stages!
Are you a budding Ryan Seacrest? Here is your big opportunity!
We are stilling seeking a few more MCs for our Expo stages on October 23-24th.
Interested? Contact Larry Bock at biobock@mac.com
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 THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS
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Silicon Valley Bank - Bechtel National Radio Astronomy Observatory Space X - Research In Motion SciVee - SchoolTube Thirty Meter Telescope Project Astronomy Outreach Foundation Virginia Commonwealth University School
of Engineering National Math and Science Initiative Rochester Institute of Technology SpringBoard, a Program of the Juneau
Economic Development Council
The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science
The USDA Food Safety Discovery Zone
Air Force Research Laboratory
DeVry University, DC Metro
The Aerospace Corporation
Periodic Quest Inc.
ExxonMobil
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Visit us online at www.usasciencefestival.org
New logo design by MORRIS
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Festival Host:
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Science is Cool and
The Kavli Foundation
is challenging K-12 students
to explain why.
The videos are in!
Now it's time to vote for your favorite!
The Kavli Video Contest People's Choice
Awards!
Just check out all the great science videos online, and then you rate them! And be sure to give your favorite a 5 stars rating.
Click here to vote!
In partnership with
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Buy a Festival T-shirt
Buy 10 or more
and get 15% off
Go to store
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Register your team for our
You Can Do the Rubik's
Cube Tournament
Click here for more info
In partnership with
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Engineering.com is partnering with The USA Science Festival to bring you "The Great Science Teacher Video Contest"
Are you a great science teacher? Prove it!
Submit your video now
for a chance to win
cash and electronics prizes!
Click here for more info
In partnership with
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Are you a Fan of the Festival?
Tell others by posting our
"I am a Fan" Logo
on your Facebook page, website, blog or wherever else you share information.
The logo is available for download on our
"Resources" page
In return, we will gladly post
a link to your site. Provide us with your basic info and your Fan "ShoutOut" about the Festival, and we will add you to our website...
Click here to fill out a brief form
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Be part of the
National Celebration:
Check out the Satellite Events Map to see celebrations around the county.Take a look! |
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