Although I didn't attend the show, I like the idea of this show and others like it. Too often, smart kids have to suffer through the nerd image -- as if they are in some way abnormal for being interested in science and engineering. Shows like this one give me hope that someone understands how important it is for bright kids to have a venue for their interests outside the classroom.
The show was definately fun. It was a huge venue (I went with my daughter and her friend) and was absolutely packed with people. We were only able to see a small portion of what was there. Gave me some hope for the future seeing the attendance so high ...
Kf2qd, some of the science techniques can harm kids also, like burning oxygen using H2SO4 for burning cloths, lens to concentrate heat etc. In my college days, I had a similar bad experience with Sulfuric acid and burned my skin.
George, kids are the next generation scientists and engineers. Science exhibitions and expos can fuel their ideas and innovations. More over such activities can ignite or spark them to think in different ways.
It's worth mentioning that "October Sky" has inspired thousands of high school physics students to partake in projects outside of class. I've heard of physics classes watching the movie together. The movie (and/or book) has also inspired an annual Coalwood Festival and, incredibly, an October Sky trivia website.
At the K-12 level, it has to be fun to keep their interest and foster more curiousity. And, that leads to the more substantive work you're discussing. Making it too serious, or like school, at this stage could be a turn-off for many kids.
Seen a lot of what they call STEM and a lot of it looks more like entertainment to me. The problem with real technology is that there is a chance of injury, but there is also much more opportunity to learn.
What is really learned by the dollar bill dipped in Hydrogen?
Too many of the STEM related projects I have seen are way too contrained and yield very similar results and many of the programs don't really allow the time for the postmortem to figure out why it failed. Success is great, but we tend to learn more from our mistakes, and we have a culture where we don't want our kids to ever have to learn from failure.
How about some STEM where they learn to use basic tools, maybe even some basic machine tols, some welding and then let them create something subtantial. More like the college level car building projects.
What an amazing event! It would really be cool if they could do multiple locations across the country - not just D.C.
One thing I really miss that was along those lines was the NASA open house that used to be held at the Johnson Space Center. It was very family oriented and was a wonderful experience. My son was only two at the time we went - he got to shake the hand of Rick Husband that day. We are going back around twelve years or so - and I was hoping to make it a family event that would really get him excited about science as he grew up. It was packed when we went, but for some reason NASA discontinued them. What a shame because it would have really been a great way to continue to inspire kids to get involved in science and space.
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