Tag - Make Science Cool

Weather and Science Day 2011 – Erupting Clouds, Giant Smoke Rings and Exploding Trash Cans Captivate Huge Audience

From the moment the gates opened at 9:30 AM, there was an air of excitement that ran through Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies. The event was billed as the largest hands-on science show ever presented in Colorado… or maybe the country for that matter. In 2009, the Colorado Rockies teamed up with 9News KUSA-TV and Steve Spangler Science to produce the first annual Weather and Science Day, which drew a crowd of 5,400 and earned the Spangler team their first Guinness World Record for the World’s Largest Physics Lesson.

Ticket sales to this year’s event were in excess of 10,000, making this a real challenge for the Steve Spangler Science team. “When we originally sat down and starting planning the event with Steve, he challenged us to help him create something more than a sit-and-watch show,” explained Carly Reed, special event coordinator at Steve Spangler Science. “Steve suggested pony rides in the parking lot, but we quickly refocused his creativity to something more doable.” The final decision was ambitious,
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President Obama… Please Let Me Help You Make Science Cool

President Barack Obama held a town hall meeting at Facebook headquarters on Wednesday… and his comment about making science cool caught my attention.

“I’m frustrated by stories about how we can’t find enough engineers and computer programmers. That means our education system is not working. That’s why we are emphasizing math and science,” Obama said, noting efforts to “make science cool” for minorities and women.

Here’s my open letter to President Obama…

Mr. President, the comment you made at yesterday’s town hall meeting about “making science cool” kept me awake last night because I realized that I actually have something to offer you in the way of a solution to achieve your goal. I was reminded of Don Herbert (the original Mr. Wizard) who made science come alive for millions of kids during the 1950s and 60s. That was exactly what our country needed during the time that followed Sputnik – inspirational people like Don Herbert who made science fun for kids.

Today, we’re faced with a different set of problems that require creative solutions targeted not at the
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