- Presenters: Wendy Taylor (Arizona State, EarthScope), Megan Berg (UNAVCO), Matt Fouch (Carnegie Institution of Washington), Steve Whitmeyer, Bethany Meier, and Gina Capiello (James Madison University)
- Dates: April 27-29, 2012
- Location: Washington, D.C.
Written by Megan Berg
Overview
The second USA Science and Engineering Festival took place in Washington, D.C. April 27-29, 2012. Over 150,000 people participated during the 3 day event, with over 3,000 interactive exhibits, more than 100 stage shows and 33 author presentations to explore.
EarthScope Booth
UNAVCO and EarthScope teamed up to host a booth highlighting how scientists measure small movements of the Earth that add up to big clues to puzzles like Earthquakes and volcanoes. Hands-on activities included using flubber to model glacial isostatic rebound, a tectonic plate puzzle, and a floury volcano that demonstrated how craters form over time.
The Expo
The event was free and open to all ages. Renewable energy, agriculture, clean water, medicine, neuroscience, cyberspace, virtual reality, evolution, geology, math, biology, ecology, physics, and many more were all highlights of the expo. This year's event also featured a book fair with 36 authors discussing their books covering a full range of science, math, engineering and technology topics for students grades K-12.
Major science celebrities included Bill Nye the Science Guy, Mayim Bialik from The Big Bang Theory, and Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman from the hit TV series MythBusters.
Links to activities at the EarthScope booth
- Inquiry-based hands-on model: Isostatic Rebound with Flubber
- Flour box volcano deformation model [PDF]
Expo in the News
- U.S. Science and Engineering Festival ready for D.C. USA Today
- Festival Promotes Science as Fun Frontier. Voice of America
Last modified: Sunday, 11-May-2014 17:59:43 UTC
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