RCOE to Host Science Fair Expo on 10/13/12

Riverside County Office of Education will be hosting a half-day seminar on Saturday, 13 October 2012, for teachers and students on how to create winning science fair projects, and how to run and get volunteers for a successful science fair.  The event will be held from 9:00am to 1:00pm at the RCOE Conference Center, located at 3958 Twelfth St., Riverside.  For more information, please contact Yamileth Shimojyo at (951) 600-5658. 

USA Science & Engineering Festival Hosts Thousands

The second annual USA Science & Engineering Fair was held for three days beginning 27 April 2012 in Washington, DC.  Approximately 13,000 students participated in a variety of events, displays, and competitions dubbed a "science fair on steroids."  Designed specifically to revive student interest in STEM careers, the event featured more than 3,000 hands-on activities and 150 demonstrations and performances, including, among others, co-host Bill Nye The  Science Guy, and The Science Cheerleaders, former NBA and NFL cheerleaders with science degrees who measured the amount of shaking of the floor during cheer routines.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/national-science-fair-aims-to-breathe-new-life-into-science-and-math-for-kids/2012/04/27/gIQA6RTbmT_story.html.  Events such as this are deemed pivotal to reviving the American economic future.  http://www.rollcall.com/news/Gordon-Bock-STEM-Education-Is-Key-to-a-Competitive-America-214160-1.html?pos=oopih

White House Council on Women and Girls Hosts Panel on Females in STEM

Last week, the White House Council on Women and Girls hosted a panel discussion event in the Eisenhower Office Building which was attended by Girl Scouts, college students, mentors, teachers and parents.  Panelists included EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, astronaut Dr. Cady Coleman, Facebook Director of Engineering Jocelyn Goldfein, Edmonds Community College President Jean Hernandez, and Howard University Chapter President of Engineers Without Borders Bianca Bailey.  The panelists encouraged the young ladies attending not only to cultivate mentors and extra-curricular activities such as internships to gain experience, but also to stick with math and science studies, consider post-secondary certificate programs if four-year colleges were not their first choice, and to be themselves.  Videos about girls who were successful in the White House Science Fair were released. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/innovations/post/more-than-cheers-girls-in-stem-fields-need-mentors-and-sponsors/2012/04/25/gIQAnvn0gT_blog.html

Scientific Research Class to Be Included in Thousand Oaks STEM Pathway

Thousand Oaks HS will feature its interdisciplinary college prep Scientific Research class as part of the new STEM Majors and Pathways program (also to be offered at other Conejo Valley Unified high schools).  AMGEN recently provided the class, currently taught by Dr. Nikki Malhotra, two $60,000 liquid chromatography machines to precisely identify chemical components of samples.  The students are preparing entries for the Ventura County Science Fair as part of their curriculum, ranging from chemistry and biology to music.  http://www.toacorn.com/news/2012-02-23/Schools/STEM_aims_to_show_students_how_science_applies_in_.html

White House Science Fair Honors Student Achievement

According to the Voice of America, President Obama hosted the second annual White House Science Fair on Tuesday, 7 February 2012.  Akin to inviting Super Bowl champions to the "People's House," the President wanted to honor top teen winners in science fairs, such as Joe Hudy, a fourteen year-old business owner who has a compressed-air marshmallow cannon, and Jessica D'Esposito and her classmates who designed a lightweight disaster shelter.  In addition to requesting additional funding for preparing STEM educators (see earlier post), the President also used the science fair as a platform to explain the need for 1 million additional STEM graduates over the next 10 years.   http://www.voanews.com/english/news/usa/Obama-Promotes-Investment-in-Math-Science-Education-138867404.html.