Update: Marine Corps Marathon &  

Volunteer Outreach Meeting - Take Metro

We strongly advise Volunteers to take the Metro - Because the Marine Corps Marathon is scheduled for October 30, 2011, volunteers should plan to take the Metro. 

Meeting Location: K&L Gates, 1601 K Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20006 

 Closest Metro stops are Farragut North or Farragut West.

Street Closures: If you would like to drive, here is a list of road closures so that you can plan your trip to DC. Marine Corps Marathon Street Closures are listed here:

Volunteer Outreach Team Meeting Scheduled 

Sunday, October 30th!  SIGN UP Now!

New and returning Volunteers - Remember to SIGN UP for the next Volunteer Outreach Team meeting October 30th, 2011.  We will reveal a new Festival postcard and poster - and you will learn more of existing Festival details. We will give you a Festival t-shirt and materials to share - and you can meet your School District Volunteer Outreach Team Coordinators!   

We look forward to seeing you on 

Sunday, October 30th, 2011

2:00-4:00PM

at

K&L Gates, 1601 K Street Northwest, 

Washington, DC 20006

New Volunteers register here: http://www.usasciencefestival.org/2012festival/volunteer/volunteer-outreach-team

Returning Volunteers register here: http://www.usasciencefestival.org/2012festival/volunteer/volunteer-outreach-team-meetings

School District Volunteer Outreach Coordinators  - Volunteer for Missing District 

Please come to the Volunteer Outreach Team meeting on October 30th, 2011 and meet some of our FABULOUS Volunteer Outreach Team Coordinators.  If you see a missing district and want to volunteer - contact Laura at bluebonnetpath@gmail.com.

Coordinator NEEDED for BALTIMORE CITY/COUNTY 

DC    DCPS    Beatrice Thompson
DC    Private Schools    Verda Peterkin
MD    Anne Arundel County Public Schools    Jack Andraka
MD    Howard County Public Schools    Kevin Baker
MD    Howard County Public Schools    Leslie Sands
MD    Montgomery County Public Schools    Kathryn Spivey
MD    Montgomery County Public Schools    Rosanna Thomas
MD    Prince George's County Public Schools    Felicia Reed
MD    Prince George's County Public Schools    Velarie Harvell
MD    Prince George's County Public Schools    Laura Carriere
MD    St. Mary's County Public Schools    Corey Redmond
MD    Catholic Schools    Tom Brett
VA    Arlington County    Teresa Liao 

VA    Arlington County    Louisa Marinaccio
VA    Fairfax County    Patrick Truver
VA    Loudoun County    Veronica Breza
VA    Prince William County    Carol Matheny
VA    King George County    Elody Shojinaga

Contests, Contests...and More Contests! 

Tell the Schools to Get Involved Today!

The 2nd Festival is currently underway with several nationwide contests including a science song contest, science and engineering video contest, Who Wants To Be a Mathematician Contest and many others. All of these contests are accessible on our website here: http://www.usasciencefestival.org/. There is thousands of dollars in prize money. Read on to find out how your students can get involved NOW!

Festival Songwriting Contest 

Write a song about science that gets kids moving, and excited about science and engineering careers! Winners receive cash prizes! 

http://www.usasciencefestival.org/2012festival/contests/song-contest 

Deadline Nov. 30, 2011  

"Save the World Through Science & Engineering" 2012 Kavli Foundation Science Video Contest 

Make a video that dazzles and wows us with the POWER of science! Show us how science and engineering can help save our planet and improve our lives. Winners will be honored in a special festival Awards Show hosted by Bill Nye the Science Guy! http://www.usasciencefestival.org/2012festival/contests/kavli-video-contest 

Contest opens Oct 1, 2011 and closes Mar. 1, 2012     

You Can Do the Rubik's Cube Contest 

DC, MD and VA K-12 teams will be competing for the fastest time to collectively solve 25 Rubik's Cubes. There is a K-8 and 9-12 competition. Team sign-ups will be announced Fall 2011, and will compete in a semi-finals contest. The top six finalists will then compete for the championship at the USA Science & Engineering Festival during the Expo weekend 4/28/2012. Free workshop for teachers and cash prizes will be awarded to winning schools.

The Grand Challenges 60 Second Pitch Contest (Sponsored by Engineering.com)

Tell us in 100 words or less how you would solve one of these challenges: economically harness solar power, provide access to clean water, or restore the urban infrastructure. The top submissions will be invited to record their pitch at the USA Science & Engineering Festival Expo in April 2012, and will be eligible for cash prizes!

http://www.usasciencefestival.org/2012festival/contests/grand-challenges-contest

Contest opens Sept. 20, 2011 and closes Mar 30, 2012

Who Wants to Be a Mathematician? (Sponsored by AMS American Mathematical Society) 

Are you a DC area high school math whiz? Test your smarts by competing at the festival in a student math game competition, and be eligible to win cash prizes!

http://www.usasciencefestival.org/2012festival/contests/who-wants-to-be-a-mathematician

Teachers must administer pre-qualifying tests in advance of the Expo, which are due at AMS Public Awareness office by Mar 28, 2012 

"World's Biggest Cheer for Science" (Sponsored by Science Cheerleader, Science for Citizens, and Discover Magazine) 

Send us a video of your best science cheer and be eligible to win cash prizes! Thousands of people will join in the BIG CHEER FOR SCIENCE on April 27, 2012 at the festival in Washington, D.C.

http://www.usasciencefestival.org/2012festival/contests/worlds-biggest-cheer-for-science

Your middle and high school students will surely want to be at the Festival next April when we host one of the largest public math experiments ever performed: examining and testing the elliptical properties of the Ellipse -- the famous national landmark located between the National Mall and the White House in Washington, DC!

Sign up your middle and high school students and members of your school's science, math and engineering clubs today by visiting: http://www.usasciencefestival.org/2012festival/schoolprograms/attend-ellipse-day

In mathematics, an ellipse (which resembles a circle that has been squashed into an oval) is a curved line forming a closed loop, where the sum of the distances from two points (called foci) is constant to every point. The shape and properties of ellipses have long fascinated math experts.

Now, on Thursday, April 26, you and your students will have the chance to join in a massive experiment called "Ellipse Day" to help figure out the elliptical configurations of the well-known DC landmark, just as they were laid out in the late 1800s by Lieutenant Col. Thomas Casey of the Army Corps of Engineering when he designed the Ellipse.

In a three-phase experiment requiring more than 500 participants ( who will sometimes be working individually, in teams or in human chains), Ellipse Day will be done on a huge scale, says Glen Whitney, Executive Director, Museum of Mathematics. "This will make it fun and physically challenging as volunteers working with Museum of Math-designated coordinators attempt to answer such questions as: Is the Ellipse truly a mathematical ellipse? If so, where are its foci? And, what is that constant total distance for the Ellipse?" says Glen, who with colleagues founded the Museum of Math several years ago when the smaller Goudreau Museum of mathematics on Long Island, NY closed.

Are your students up for the challenge, and its cash prize awards? For a photo and layout of the Ellipse in Washington, go to: 

http://www.visitingdc.com/neighbor/washington-dc-ellipse.htm 

And for more details on Ellipse Day, and how to participate, visit:  

http://www.usasciencefestival.org/2012festival/schoolprograms/attend-ellipse-day