What Do Woodstock And Schrödinger's Cat Have In Common?

Dec. 12, 2012
My friend Alan, an engineer, was prepping his son, Alex, for an upcoming science fair and had this conversation: "I was trying to explain quantum entanglement to Alex (he's 6). And that led to the discussion about Schrödinger's cat. And as I was about done with the setup for the cat experiment, Alex looks at me and says, "We're never getting a cat.""
My friend Alan, an engineer, was prepping his son, Alex, for an upcoming science fair and had this conversation: "I was trying to explain quantum entanglement to Alex (he's 6). And that led to the discussion about Schrödinger's cat. And as I was about done with the setup for the cat experiment, Alex looks at me and says, "We're never getting a cat.""I suspect Alex is well on his way to becoming an engineer/scientist/ailurophobic. And I bet he and Alan would love to take part in what is being billed as the Woodstock of science – the 3rd USA Science & Engineering Festival.The aim of the festival is to get kids interested in science, technology, engineering and math so they will pursue those fields as careers.“This nation suffers from a severe shortage of up-and-coming scientists and engineers,” says Ray O. Johnson, senior vice president and chief technology officer at Lockheed Martin, and Festival co-founder. “We need to spark a new generation of innovators by providing students with hands-on experiences that give them that thrill of understanding and a sense of accomplishment in solving difficult problems."Throughout 2013 there will be several events including: Lunch with a Laureate program that will connect students with Nobel Prize winning scientists; Nifty Fifty (times 3) speaker program offering more than 150 leading scientists and engineers to speak in schools, with sessions videotaped for use in classrooms worldwide; and hundreds of satellite and affiliate events across the country all to generate excitement for the big USA Science & Engineering Festival in Washington, D.C., April 26-27, 2014.Yes, the Woodstock of science festival is more than a year-and-a-half away. But by that time Alex will be 8 and well versed in quantum entanglement. Who knows, he may even have a cat to keep his dog, Jarvis Doo, company.To learn more, visit www.usasciencefestival.com. And if you have some time to kill, check out the Facebook page. I spent about 35 minutes scrolling through all the funny posters and sayings. Don't be surprised when you see a few of these shared on the Chemical Processing Facebook page.Traci Purdum
Senior Digital Editor and a fan of Woodstock musicians and science fairs.
For more on the social media front, be sure to check out my page.

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