Newsletter Masthead

Festival Education Series 

 

Vol. 2, No. 1 - February 27, 2013

 

 Announcing X-STEM School Program 

  

We want every school to be an X-STEM School!  

We are excited to announce a new opportunity the Festival has created to get schools and students involved during the 2013/2014 school year called the X-STEM School Program. X-STEM Schools are partners of the USA Science & Engineering Festival's X-STEM Educational program and play a valuable role in promoting STEM within the community. X-STEM Schools have vibrant STEM Outreach Programs and encourage youth STEM leadership. Our X-STEM Schools will have five X-STEM Ambassadors and one Coordinator who will educate their school about USA Science & Engineering Festival School programs as well as support local STEM Outreach at their schools and in their community. To sign up in the program, a student or adult agrees to be the Coordinator and begins the registration process.  There are many benefits to signing up in the program.

  • Student Ambassadors get FREE tickets to the X-STEM Symposium in April 2014
  • Priority registration for Nifty Fifty Speakers, School Bus Grants and School Exhibits
  • Dedicated Festival X-STEM School Web page with school picture and STEM accomplishments
  • Recognized as an X-STEM School through Festival Newsletter and website 
  • X-STEM Schools receive educational resources from Festival partners
  • Listing of STEM programs on DC STEM Event Listing on Festival Satellite Events  
 It's EASY to become an X-STEM School!
  1. Student or adult leader registers the X-STEM School using this
  2. Coordinator recruits 5 delegates to spread the Outreach at the school
  3. X-STEM Ambassadors meet and create a STEM mission statement and take a Festival picture for the website
  4. Coordinator sends the information through this form and X-STEM School is officially registered.  
  5. Once registered, X-STEM School Ambassadors begin their STEM programs, attend Festival trainings, and receive educational resource opportunities.

That's all it takes to get started. Register NOW!  

Nifty Fifty Program is Back! See How Your School can Participate! 

They're back! Yes, the Nifty Fifty - that high-profile group of researchers and professionals in science and engineering who wowed students during the last year's Festival with their inspirational school visits and talks --are returning for the 2014 USA Science & Engineering Festival. 

Joining the impressive ranks in 2013/2014 are amazing speakers such as World-renowned tissue engineering researcher Anthony Atala, former NASA Astronaut and first African-American to walk in space Dr. Bernard Harris, plus many other rockstar speakers!

But, more good news: We're tripling the number of participating Nifty Fifty speakers Nifty Fifty Image to 150 so that more schools and classrooms can experience these fascinating renowned experts during the 2013-2014 school year! The "Nifty Fifty (times 3)", as these noted science and engineering professionals are called, will soon be preparing to fan out across the Washington, DC area to speak about their work and careers at various middle and high schools.

And, if you are a school in the greater Washington D.C. area with interest in having a Nifty Fifty speaker come to your school, please fill out this brief interest form so that we can notify you when we begin accepting applications for the program.
 

Featuring some of the most inspiring role models in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (or STEM), the Nifty Fifty is a signature program of the USA Science and Engineering Festival. It is dedicated to presenting students hands-on information on some of the most exciting fields and careers in STEM, including: green technology, robotics, human health and medicine, astronomy and space exploration, nanotechnology, computer science, and science related to business startups, law, public policy, and more! 

Here is just a "sneak peek" of Nifty Fifty Speakers that we have selected so far:

Anthony Atala, M.D.- Can we grow organs instead of transplanting them? Gain timely insight from this renowned surgeon and researcher who is at the forefront of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine to repair or replace diseased tissues and organs!

Linda Cureton- She's the Chief Information Officer at NASA. Learn how she keeps this space agency on the cutting edge of information technology - from cyber security to social media!

Bernard Harris, M.D.- As a NASA Astronaut, he became the first African American to walk in space. Now learn how he is using his prowess in medicine and to head his own venture capital firm in medical informatics!

Michael Shermer- Why do humans tend to believe myths, conspiracies and the like? This noted author and publisher of Skeptic Magazine talks about the human tendency to believe strange things -from alien abductions to dowsing rods.

Cynthia Warner- Discover from this leading CEO and chemical engineer in the field of Energy how her company is helping lead a world effort to produce crude oil from algae! 

Visit this link for more information on the Nifty Fifty Program and the biographies of this impressive list of speakers.

Festival Opportunities for Educators and Students!
TEDMED and USA Science & Engineering Festival Partner for a FREE Event! 
TEDMED Logo
The Festival has created a partnership with TEDMED that brings all the all talks from the Kennedy Center directly to you over the internet at no cost.  TEDMED engages the same core values of TED: innovation, imagination, inspiration but focused on health, medicine and science. TEDMED Chairman Jay Walker states: "TEDMED is an inspiring event where world-class doers and thinkers share their vision on innovation in health and medicine. People like E.O. Wilson, Katie Couric, Dean Kamen, Sanjay Gupta, Billie Jean King, and the directors of the FDA and CDC." 
 
Past presenters have included USA Science & Engineering Nifty Fifty and X-STEM speakers Dr. J. Craig Venter and NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins. 
 
Students and faculty of schools, universities and medical institutes can take advantage of this opportunity to experience these incredible talks and create their own TEDMED day! You can choose to create a one-day event, watch the talks on computers, and more.  You can complement TEDMED's program with your own speaker presentations tailored to your school, university, areas of expertise or organization. Record and send in your speaker's presentation for a chance to have him or her appear live at the 2014 TEDMED conference!

 

TEDMED gives you maximum flexibility.  Experience the sessions live or on demand until April 21st, at an auditorium or on individual laptops, all at no cost.
 
Don't delay!  For more information about the program including how to sign up click here. 

 

USA Science & Engineering Festival Mascot Contest!
Mascot Contest
The USA Science & Engineering Festival is looking for a fun and exciting Mascot to represent the Festival! How would you like to design the new face of the USA Science & Engineering Festival? The Festival Mascot has the potential to be seen by millions of people! Create a project with your students! Click here for details. 
 T-Shirts are HERE - Come to the next meeting! 

Festival T-Shirt Come to the next Volunteer Outreach Team meeting and get your newly redesigned Festival T-Shirts! We will be announcing the progress of the new X-STEM School program and share exciting news about the Festival plans. Volunteering is a wonderful opportunity for students and teachers alike. Bring a friend!

 

                             NEXT MEETING: 

March 10th, 2013 2-4PM

1601 K Street NW, Washington, DC (K&L Gates)

New Volunteers REGISTER HERE

CERVIS Registered Volunteer
 

REGISTER HERE

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and Follow us on Twitter

@USAScienceFest 

 

Volunteer in K-12 STEM Class

 An Opportunity to help K-12 STEM Teachers

AAAS Logo   

The American Association for the Advancement of Science needs scientists, engineers and physicians to assist K-12 science teachers in the metropolitan Washington DC area during the 2013-14 school year.  The hours are flexible, and volunteers attend a one-day training session, before being assigned to schools. For information on the program, please see the website www.seniorscientist.org.  The site includes video clips of teachers and volunteers describing their work together, and a video clip of a Voice of America interview of a volunteer in his elementary school classroom. If you have time to share your knowledge with students and teachers, please send a note to bcalinge@aaas.org with your home address, or call 202-326-6629.
Visit us online at

http://www.usasciencefestival.org/

  

Science Spark is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization responsible for creating the USA Science & Engineering Festival and several regional Festivals including the San Diego Science & Engineering Festival, Bay Area Science & Engineering Festival, Boston Science & Engineering Festival, Los Angeles Science & Engineering Festival, Chicago Science & Engineering Festival, Houston Science & Engineering Festival, Miami Science & Engineering Festival and the Philadelphia Science & Engineering Festival.