Newsletter Masthead

Volunteer Outreach Team Newsletter

 

Vol. 2, No. 4 - May 23, 2013

 

End of Year Party - Last Volunteer Meeting of the School Year!
Posters, Bookmarks & T-shirts!
Festival T-Shirt
We are looking forward to seeing you at the End of Year Party on June 2nd, 2013 from 2-4pm in DC!  This is your LAST Chance before the Summer to get our Exclusive Periodic Table Posters, Bookmarks and T-shirts.  

 

We have a limited number of posters and bookmarks so make sure to attend the June 2nd Party to get enough materials to share with schools and community organizations over the Summer.  X-STEM School Ambassador Teams are encouraged to attend and will be able share their X-STEM School successes at the meeting.

  

MEETING Time : 

June 2, 2013 2-4pm 

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

New Volunteers

CERVIS Registered Volunteer 

  

 

 Ideas for promoting the Festival over the summer are: 

  1. Wear your T-shirt everywhere
  2. Bring bookmarks to hand out at swim meets & summer camps
  3. Leave bookmarks at local libraries
  4. Ask summer camp leaders to hang poster up in community area & leave bookmarks
  5. Hang posters in dance schools, karate studios, community centers!

Periodic Table Poster

 


X-STEM Schools are so HOT the are on FIRE! 
X-STEM School LOGO
Look at what our X-STEM Schools have cooking! Fun in STEM programs is spreading like FIRE! Schools still have time to register and be certified before the end of the School Year. The X-STEM School program is designed to promote STEM student leaders in schools and communities.  Each student-led X-STEM Ambassador team will showcase their STEM programs on the Festival website once their certification is complete. 

 

Great Hills High School
Great Mills High School
X-STEM Ambassador Team
 
 
Look online to see mission statement and activities of our fabulous X-STEM Schools on our X-STEM School Page.  We have over 38 Certified X-STEM Schools (with webpage certification) and over 180 registered schools in the District of Columbia, Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia!

 

X-STEM Schools receive many benefits for participating in the X-STEM program:

  • Priority registration for Nifty Fifty Speakers
  • X-STEM Schools have their own Festival X-STEM School Page 
  • X-STEM Ambassador Teams are eligible for free tickets to the X-STEM Symposium
  • Festival partners offer programs exclusively to our X-STEM schools 
  • Festival exhibit spaces offered to CERTIFIED Schools for only $150
  • Additional benefits still being added
Registered X-STEM Ambassador Teams create a mission statement and take a picture of their team to be listed on the website. Please use the following form to begin the X-STEM process through registration.  Certification (mission statement plus pictures) should be completed within 30 days of registration.
 

Success Steps to becoming a certified X-STEM School

  1. REGISTER by completing the X-STEM Registration Form.

  2. Select a Student X-STEM Coordinator and 5 X-STEM Delegates to form the X-STEM Ambassador Team
  3. Hold a meeting and determine STEM mission statement for the team and take a picture
  4. Become CERTIFIED after submitting mission statement and picture through this X-STEM Certification Form. 

For more information about the program, click here or email [email protected]

EXPO Space for X-STEM Schools!
X-STEM School LOGO

Certified X-STEM Schools (listed on website) are eligible for EXPO exhibit spaces during the 2014 USA Science & Engineering Festival April 26-27, 2014.  Normal exhibitor rates are $1,000 for a 10'X10' booth (including 1 table & 2 chairs), but our Certified X-STEM School Ambassador Teams are able to participate at the EXPO for ONLY $150!  This reduced rate will allow maximum participation for our X-STEM Schools. To register your X-STEM School for an exhibit space , use this form and list X-STEM School in organization/company name and selecte X-STEM School for the reduced rate.  Schools must be certified X-STEM Schools to get the reduced rate. 

 

X-STEM Schools Get Priority Registration for 
Nifty Fifty Program! APPLY NOW!

Our certified X-STEM Schools will get priority registration for the our Nifty Fifty Speakers, the 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. 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. We are 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! 

Nifty Fifty We're tripling the number of participating Nifty Fifty speakers 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.

Schools in the greater Washington D.C. area with interest in having a Nifty Fifty speaker come to your school, please fill out this formPriority Nifty Fifty registration will be given to X-STEM Certified Schools. (see above for details)

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

Tyler DeWitt - This high school teacher and Ph.D. student in Microbiology at MIT is fast becoming known as a innovator in science education as he implements exciting new approaches to classroom instruction and curricula that foster critical thinking and problem solving.    

Sylvester James Gates, Ph.D. - Learn how the desire to pursue physics began at eight years old for this renowned scientist, leading him later to groundbreaking research in such cutting-edge areas as superstring theory, supersymmetry and supergravity.


Margaret Hamburg, M.D.
-  As the top official of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), this physician and neuroscience researcher is responsible for making and enforcing policies that protect the public health of us all -- from the food we eat to the medicines we use. Discover the challenges she faces in this high-profile position.

 

Diandra Leslie-Pelecky,Ph.D.- Buckle up as this noted physicist (who penned the book The Physics of NASCAR) takes you on full-throttle journey through the science of race car driving and other aspects of speed!   

 

Geoffrey Ling, M.D., Ph.D. - Discover how this renowned specialist in brain and spinal cord injury is leading a national effort to develop the first fully-functioning bionic arm and other highly functional prosthetic limbs for returning wounded soldiers and others through his work at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

 

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

Looking for STEM Exhibitors 
and Sponsors for Festival 
Sponsor Logo

Volunteers - do you know any organization interested in being part of the largest celebration of science in at our EXPO as an exhibitor or sponsor in April 2014? Please email us any potential sponsor leads.  Exhibitors can sign up on the Festival Webpage, or you can direct them to [email protected] for more information.  Sponsors can look here for more information. We need your help to make the 3rd USA Science & Engineering Festival HUGE! 

Students & Adults Who like to Make Things.... 
Mini Maker Faire in DC Area

Students & adults with a talent for making things are are encouraged to submit an application to exhibit at the inaugural Silver Spring Mini Maker Faire to be held on Sunday, September 29, 2013 - the first official "Maker" Faire" in the DC metropolitan area!

Maker Faire Picture  

A Maker Faire features innovative projects created by inventors, hackers, crafters, artists, and do-it-yourselfers of all kinds.  The project can be one that you have worked on yourself or have collaborated on with others in the fields of computers, robotics, electronics, metal, woodworking, fabric, paper arts, etc.  The goal is to demonstrate creative and unusual pursuits in order to inspire others to explore their own curiosity and to make something new and different. We are especially interested in exhibits that are interactive with the public or highlight the process of making things.

 

You can apply as a Maker, Commercial Maker (individual makers primarily selling their creations-$200 booth fee), Workshop leader, Presenter, or Performer.   Other than for commercial makers, a booth at the Silver Spring Mini Maker Faire is free, but interested presenters must submit an application, which will be juried. A select number of Young Makers will be accepted through a separate jurying process.

The due date for applications is June 30, 2013 and accepted applicants will be notified by July 24, 2013.  

 

To apply, please visit the Faire website: http://makerfairesilverspring.com/call-for-makers/. Applications in progress can be saved and continued until the due date.

 

 

Volunteer Opportunities ONLINE
CERVIS Technologies

We are making progress getting all of our volunteers listed on CERVIS.  Please register through CERVIS as soon as possible.  Volunteers will use this system to register for Volunteer Outreach Opportunities. 

  

FACEBOOK & Twitter  - "Like" and Tweet US

 Twitter bird

Volunteers --- Please  take a few minutes to "LIKE" us on Facebook

 https://www.facebook.com/pages/USA-Science-Engineering-Festival/133949023335104 

and Follow us on Twitter

@USAScienceFest 

 

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.