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NASA’S MARS ROVER on the red planet. More than 130 STEM partners from around Southern California, including museums, universities and STEM businesses, will come together to provide live and recorded content with demonstrations and compelling update from scientists and engineers.
BY TAMMYE MCDUFF
Officially recognized by the City of Los Angeles and deemed the most ambitious science initiative by the Science Festival Alliance, the Downey Columbia Memorial Space Center [CMSC] City of STEM will hold their annual STEM Festival October 10th, 2020.
Usually held each April, CMSC was unable to host their sixth year for the festival due to the pandemic. Holding true to being socially conscious the greater Los Angeles science community along with over one hundred science, culture, and education partners will be going online all day Saturday, October 10th. Despite the challenges of CoVID-19 restrictions, dozens of STEM partners have jumped into action to continue to provide exciting experiences to kids and adults in Southern California.
Over 21 hours of STEM content, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, from science rock bands to guest engineers, will be streaming from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm on three channels accessible at cityofstem.org.
More than 130 STEM partners from around Southern California, including museums, universities and STEM businesses, will come together to provide live and recorded content with demonstrations and compelling update from scientists and engineers. The amazing Jason Latimer from the recently released YouTube series ‘Impossible Science’ and Ali Ward, host of the popular podcast Ologies and City of STEM’s 2020 STEM Icon award winner will be bringing their special brand of online entertainment to this year’s event as well.
“STEM education enables the next generation of innovators by fostering ingenuity and creativity among our youth,” said Downey Mayor Blanca Pacheco, “We are beyond excited to offer this year’s City of STEM to the virtual realm, bringing the world of science, technology, engineering and math to the homes of thousands of people across the L.A. region.”
Get updates on the new space race with real rocket scientists, interact with the NASA Mars Rover team, find out the latest on the science being leveraged to combat COVID and even encounter live animals, all online. “This year’s City of STEM event promises to continue engaging audiences of all ages,” said Downey Mayor pro tem Claudia Frometa, “The various activities and events planned will only help further our mission of creating tomorrow’s problem solvers, thinkers, doers, innovators, and inventors.”
Last year, the live kick-off welcomed over 10,000 people and Bill Nye the Science Guy. The 2020 online festival will feature STEM music personalities The Amoeba People and Music Notes; encounters from the Natural History Museum and the California Science Center; panel discussions covering topics such as diversity and learning science through toys from LA based Mattel Company.
The festival will highlight a discussion that connects science to society by Latino Health Today about the impact of COVID-19 on populations in Southern California, and a new addition to the event this year the virtual “STEM Career Lounge” powered by DeVry University, where STEM professionals provided by DeVry will discuss jobs and career paths.
“City of STEM is a platform to unite the diversity of Greater Los Angeles, rallying the public around science and drawing attention to the region’s continued national importance in research, education and industry, from aerospace to biotech,” said Ben Dickow, City of STEM organizer, and President of the Columbia Memorial Space Center. “We will bring STEM activities to a variety of audiences, opening access to STEM throughout the region.”
Find out more festival kickoff event information at cityofstem.org.
