Crowd Long
Newsletter No. 25 - September 27th, 2010     Forward to a Friend
       Festival Dates:                              Expo Dates:
10/10/10 - 10/24/10          10/23 & 10/24

Celebrate Science: Don't miss the Expo on the National Mall
October 23 and 24, 2010, 10am-5:30pm - A free event for all ages
Over 1500 hands-on activities, more than 75 stage shows on four stages

Volunteers Needed for Expo Weekend!
Help our exhibitors move-in Saturday morning,
then explore the Expo the rest of the day! Find out more!

Save the Date for the Festival Opening Event on 10/10/10
Powers of Ten: A Journey in Song from Quark to Cosmos
10/10/10, 5-7pm, Find out more
facebook icon Check out our  NEW FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE and Invite ALL your Friends to the Festival! Now is the time to let us know you will be there!
All Hands On Deck:
Office of Naval Research Emphasizes Innovation and STEM Careers as Festival Sponsor


Naval STEM sailor photo 2

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) has become a key Sponsor of the USA Science and Engineering Festival, bolstering the Festival's efforts to expose students to cutting-edge innovation and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) careers.

As an added and generous boost to this inaugural national event, ONR is also supporting the Festival through a $100,000 STEM grant.

An abundance of fun, exciting and hands-on learning await visitors to ONR's booth exhibit during the Festival's Expo next month on the National Mall -- from exploring how to use math and science skills to designing, building and racing your own underwater robots and ships to finding out about the hottest Naval STEM careers of the future!

As a key research arm within the U.S. Department of Defense, ONR provides technical advice to the Chief of Naval Operations and the Secretary of the Navy on matters ranging from marine meteorology and ocean acoustics to underwater signal processing and marine mammals and biology.

The Naval STEM Coordination Office supports the Navy's commitment to STEM education and outreach across the entire U.S. Navy enterprise, including ONR, Naval Academy, air and sea systems commands, Naval Research Laboratory, and many others.

"The Festival is a great opportunity to show students how math, science and engineering are put to practical use every day in the real world," says Dr. Kam Ng, ONR deputy director of research, who is working closely with Dr. Michael Kassner, ONR director of research, in sponsoring ONR's participation in the Festival.

"For instance," says Ng, "visitors to ONR's exhibit can learn about SeaPerch, an underwater robotics project, which is designed to introduce pre-college students to the marvels of engineering, science and ship/submarine design." At the SeaPerch exhibit, he says, "students will have the chance drive the underwater ROV around the pool, dive it, and even race it with other student-built ROVs."

Through another exciting ONR exhibit called "Virtual Robo Glove," students will learn "first-hand" about how motion sensors work by manipulating an authentic robotic glove by using accelerometer sensors!

Motivating and preparing a greater number of students for science and technology related fields is a critical priority for the Navy today, helping its personnel to remain ever-ready to tackle the challenges of the future, says Carolyn Van Damme, director of the Naval STEM Coordination Office.

"The Navy has made a commitment to double its investment in STEM education and outreach over the next five years," she says. "We are currently investing nearly $60 million in STEM programs, and are looking for ways to increase our impact by leveraging our current portfolio and partnering with best practice programs that reach beyond our current scope.

In addition, she says, "the Festival is an excellent way to send a strong message in support of science, technology, engineering and mathematics education, especially highlighting its importance in cultivating a more competitive and diverse workforce for tomorrow."

At the ONR exhibit booth, representatives from ONR and the Naval STEM Coordination Office will be available with information about a wide variety of cutting-edge STEM career opportunities available in the Navy.

What's more, the Naval STEM Coordination Office along with ONR will provide details about the numerous STEM outreach programs they support to prepare students for such careers.

Throughout the year, in supporting STEM and other outreach efforts, ONR participates in and sponsors science fairs, college internships, graduate fellowships and curricular enrichment programs. Its outreach initiatives encourage, promote and coordinate naval science and technology both domestically and abroad.

These programs include such initiatives for K-12 students as: the Science and Engineering Apprentice Program, and the Naval High School Science Awards Program. And such initiatives in higher education as: the Naval Research Enterprise Intern Program, the Science, Mathematics & Research for Transformation Program, and the DoD National Defense Science & Engineering Graduate Fellowship Program.  For more information, http://www.onr.navy.mil/en/Education-Outreach.aspx.

In addition, the Naval STEM Coordination Office keeps the public abreast of all Navy and Marine Corps STEM programs through a valuable website portal and resource known as Stem2Stern http://www.stem2stern.org/index. The site also features inspirational success stories from students about how Navy STEM programs are enriching their academic and career development.

We thank ONR and the Naval STEM Coordination Office and our other valued Sponsors as they join us in our goal of inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers!


Get your Passport and Discover Engineering!

Have you evPassport to Engineeringer wondered what engineers do? Engineers shape the future. They design, build and make things that matter - all around us! During the USA Science & Engineering Festival Expo, visitors will enjoy a unique opportunity to learn more about engineering by making a journey through more than a dozen partnering Discover Engineering exhibits. Each exhibitor will issue a passport for your journey and help guide your experience. Your passport will take you to engineering exhibits where you can talk with engineers, explore engineering challenges, and find interesting information about alternative energy, entrepreneurial space, floatation and buoyancy, the world's Grand Challenges, materials science, nanotechnology, and more! Kids of all ages can even explore the visually-stunning cyber universe of Disney's movie release TRON: Legacy. Get your passport stamped at five or more activities and receive a prize at the National Engineers Week Foundation exhibit! Enjoy engineering? Don't stop here. Your passport will also reveal where you can find more fun engineering activities after the festival!

Discover-e participants:

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
American Society of Civil Engineers
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
IEEE-USA
JETS
Materials Research Society / NISE Network
MATHCOUNTS
Museum of Science, Boston
National Academy of Engineering
National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering
National Engineers Week Foundation
National Society of Professional Engineers
Society of Women Engineers
WGBH-TV/PBS (NOVA)
Partner Highlight:
Lights On Afterschool STEM!


Afterschool Allianace Logo


We are proud to welcome The Afterschool Alliance, which works to ensure that all children have access to quality, affordable afterschool programs, as a Festival Partner. In addition to their interactive booth at the Expo, the Afterschool Alliance is encouraging afterschool programs around the nation to participate in our Satellite Event initiative.

8.5 million children are in afterschool programs[1] in the U.S. for an average of 12 hours per week.  These programs offer a range of activities, including tutoring, academic enrichment, physical activity and arts. Increasingly, afterschool programs are turning their focus to STEM. 

The afterschool space is ideal for STEM learning and provides a wonderful complement to school day instruction.  The setting allows for hands-on exploration of science concepts, and long-term - often multi-year - engagement.  Afterschool programs allow children to do science without fear of academic failure and help them gain an appreciation for science's relevance to their daily lives.  Nationwide, afterschool programs are engaging children in STEM activities that make them excited about STEM career paths.[2]

The Afterschool Alliance,[3] has organized a booth at the USA Science and Engineering Festival that will feature STEM-focused afterschool programs. Instructors and children from the DC Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation, Higher Achievement Program, 4-H DC and The After School Lights On! LogoCorporation (TASC) from New York City will provide a glimpse into the world of STEM in afterschool.

Our participation in the Festival is part of Lights On Afterschool, the nation-wide rally for afterschool programs. Every October, thousands of afterschool programs across the country use Lights On to showcase their wonderful work and bring attention to the importance of afterschool programs. Visit the Lights On Afterschoolwebsite to learn more and find an event near you.

Contact the Afterschool Alliance to learn more about afterschool how afterschool programs are engaging the next generation of STEM professionals!

Afterschool Alliance, (202) 347-2030

Anita Krishnamurthi, Director of STEM Policy, [email protected]

 Rivka Burstein-Stern, Field Outreach Coordinator, Afterschool Alliance, [email protected] 


Lights On Group Shot



[1] The term afterschool program is used broadly nowadays and refers to the time before school begins, after it ends, and the summer months when school is out.

[2] http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/issue_19_career_development.cfm

[3] The Afterschool Alliance is a non-profit advocacy group that works to ensure high-quality afterschool programs are available to all.  We are committed to crafting a STEM policy agenda for afterschool to ensure all children and youth have access to the jobs and careers of tomorrow.


The amazing poster of the Amazing Nano Brothers!
Amazing Nano Brothers Poster
The Atomic World as You've Never Seen Before

"Joel, don't you know you can't shrink people down to the size of nanometers?" asks Joel's know-it-all brother, Dan, with acute embarrassment.  But the na�ve Joel's mistake becomes this madcap pair's excuse to make it up to the audience, who have, after all, have come from miles around to see The Amazing Nano Brothers in action.  So begins The Amazing Nano Brothers Juggling Show - a 45-minute comedic and mind-blowing romp through the insides of atoms and the quirkiest of nanoscale forces. 

On the way, you'll see some truly mysterious virtuoso juggling, rivaling The Flying Karamazov Brothers; scenes like Dan and Joel passing brightly strobing "electrons" in complete darkness, from farther and farther away, while a brave young volunteer holds a small glowing "nucleus" mid-stage.  Then there's the unforgettable scene where Dan and Joel (on a 7 ' unicycle) recreate Don Eigler's famous discovery that a scanning probe microscope can pick up and move individual atoms, a seminal event that some say kicked off the nanotechnology revolution.  And audiences love the finale, with all sorts of nano-enhanced sporting goods flying from one juggler to another as they ride their unicyles up and down the stage.  "Don't try this at home," Dan cautions the K-to-gray audience. "Yeah, do it at your friend's house," Joel suggests in a loud whisper.

"Learning science doesn't get any better than this," said one visitor to the Museum of Science, Boston, where the show has entertained more than 40,000 people since opening in 2008, "they're so talented; they're so funny; we learned so much!"

The Amazing Nano Brothers Juggling Show was written and directed by Carol Lynn Alpert, a former public television producer who heads up the strategic projects group at the Museum of Science, in collaboration with the real Dan Foley and Joel Harris (not brothers, but friends -they met long ago during a snowball juggling contest inside a laundromat in their hometown of Spencerport, NY.) Development of the show was supported by the NSF Center for High-rate Nanomanufacturing, headquartered at Northeastern University and UMass Lowell, and by the Harvard NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center.  Catch the show at the Baird Auditorium at the National Museum of Natural History, Saturday, October 23rd at 12:30 and 4:00, and Sunday, October 24th, at 12:30.  (DVDs available at talkingnano.net)


Powers of Ten Logo final
po10It's Show Time: Festival's Powers of Ten Opening Event to be Broadcast Live!

As anticipation mounts for the opening date of the USA Science & Engineering Festival on 10/10/10, get ready for another jolt of excitement that day:  Powers of Ten - the opening kickoff event for the Festival - will be broadcast LIVE on cable television in major areas of Maryland, and also streamed live online and fed down to Washington, DC for online viewing there.

The broadcast and streaming, made possible through the University of Maryland (a key Festival Partner), will not only give the opening day of the Festival heightened visibility but also greatly expand the local and regional viewership of Powers of Ten --  a majestic and magical celebration of science through music and song led by noted English composer David Haines.

The musical production, featuring more than 250 children and adult singers from the Washington, DC area, will be held Sunday, October 10 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center on the University of Maryland, College Park campus.

UMTV - the University of Maryland's cable TV station - will carry the Powers Ten event live in both Prince George's and Montgomery Counties, the university reports.  (In these areas, Comcast Cable customers can watch the broadcast on Channel 73 in Prince George's County and on Channel 2 in Montgomery. The event will be on Channel 40 in both counties.)

In addition, the event will be streamed live by the university and fed online by fiber optics to Washington, DC to Verizon's AVOC switch.  The Festival also plans to post a recorded version of the event on its website later in October and to save it in its archives.

As the countdown begins for the Festival, the buzz in the community about David Haines' music and the Powers of Ten event has also started. "The common theme I keep hearing from the participating choirs is that they love David's music and can't wait to perform it," says Nancy Huddleston, Communications Director for the Earth & Life Sciences Division of the National Academy of Sciences.  Nancy, a musician who also directs the Academy's choir, is assisting the Festival by serving as volunteer coordinator for the Powers of Ten.

The event promises to be one to remember. David and his vocalists - through a savory combination of musical styles, including a touch of classical, a soupcon of jazz, a dash of pop and a sprinkle of rap --  will take you on an amazing journey through science.  During this experience, be prepared to be dazzled by the wonders and mystery of quarks, atoms, bacteria, the string theory, amoebae, tectonic plates, Earth, Moon, black holes and other marvels of science.
 
David HainesSaid David recently about his work: "I write science songs the way other people write love songs -- out of passion for the subject matter... I don't generally aim to teach science through song, but to celebrate it and to arouse the curiosity of those who perform and hear it."

David has long worked as a composer in the sleepy rural county of Devon in South West England.   He is currently songwriter-in-residence with the world famous Royal Botanic Gardens and Millennium Seed bank in England.  For more information on David, visit www.davidhaines.co.uk and www.singtastic.com

Participating Schools and Choral Groups include
Suitland High School (Prince George's County)
Thomas Jefferson High School (Fairfax County)
Loudon Country Day School (Loudon County)
Ft. Belvoir Elementary School (Fairfax County)

Collegium Musicum
The Refrains (National Academy of Sciences chorus)
Little River UCC Contempos
North Cambridge Family Opera

Powers of Ten will be held Sunday, October 10, 2010, 5-7pm, a the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center on the University of Maryland, College Park campus

Tickets are free of charge, but seating is limited and you must reserve a ticket by calling 301.405.ARTS [2787] - Donations to offset the cost for creating this event will be appreciated at the door.

For more information visit http://www.usasciencefestival.org/powersoften

We wish to sincerely thank the University of Maryland, College Park for hosting the Powers of Ten event, and for serving in other key roles as a Festival Dream Partner.
Microphones w border

Festival to be Officially Launched September 29 With Press Conference and
'Sneak Preview' of Event


A high-profile press conference September 29 in Washington, DC will officially announce the launching of  the USA Science & Engineering Festival to the nation.
If your communications department would like to attend, please email Aimee Stern at [email protected]
 
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.

Sponsors                     THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS
Lockheed Martin Logo

Life Technologies Foundation Logo


DiscoveryScienceChannelLogo


K&L Gates Logo
CTSI Logo         PopularScienceLogo    
Larry and Diane Bock Logo
New Scientist Logo_small     Scientific American Logo  Small    EE Times Logo


      Popular Mechanics Logo Science Blogs Logo  ONR Sponsor Logo

    
Farrell Family Foundation  ResMed_LogoAlexandria_LogoNorthropGrumman_Logo

TechReviewMITLogo    EpochTimesLogo

motorola foundation logo          earth sky logo           Aerospace Industries Association Logo

Agilent_Logo    Amgen_logo

Celgene Logo   Dow_Logo      NIH Logo      

Forbes_Wolfe_Logo                         Illumina Logo



Kavli_Logo_compactIntel Logo             BEAwards_Logo    
CENLogo

WAMU_Logo

engineering_com_logo





octo logo
physics today  logo  PBS Kids Logo OfficialABC 7 logo
VertexLogo     RubiksLogo_small       Sandia_Logo


Genentech_Logo       MedImmune_Logo

New Project Lead the Way Logo - July 14th                           Family Magazine_Logo

     Baxter Logo
Sigma_Xi_Logo                                American Scientist_Logo

Celestron Logo
NVTC LogoCisco Logo
ce logo

Scripps Foundation       University of Maryland College Park Logo   
Purdue University

Raytheon     

NuVasive - FEI Company
Case Western Reserve University
- LifeStraw
Biogen Idec Foundation
Microsoft - Draper Laboratory
Colella Photography
Dassault Syst�mes SolidWorks Corp
Destination DC

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

Visit us online at www.usasciencefestival.org

New logo design by MORRIS

New Logo_small
 
Festival Host:

Lockheed Martin Logo
 
In This Issue
Get Your Expo Updates on Twitter
All Hands on Deck: Office of Naval Research Emphasizes Innovation and STEM Careers!
Get your Passport and Discover Engineering!
Partner Highlight: Lights On Afterschool STEM!
The Amazing Nano Brothers!
Don't miss the Festival Opening Event on 10/10/10
 


Buy a Festival T-shirt

Buy 10 or more
and get 15% off

Go to store

Future T-shirt





Register your team for our

You Can Do the Rubik's
Cube Tournament
Click here for more info

In partnership with

RubiksLogo





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

Engineering.com



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

Fan_Logo

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


boy with beeker

Be part of the
National Celebration
:
Check out the Satellite Events Map to see celebrations around the county.

Take a look!

 

wind farm
 


Follow us

Science Blogs Logo_small


Facebook

LinkedIn

Twitter