November 2, 2013 was a day of great
excitement! This year’s Bay Area Science
Festival at AT&T Park in San Francisco, sponsored by Chevron, was full of
interesting exhibits displaying unique approaches to learning about science,
technology, engineering, and math (STEM). There were lots of robot-based activities for kids to introduce
themselves to basic design and programming and other cool make & take
experiences. Throughout the day the sky
was filled with sunshine, a few clouds, and an 8-foot wide floating soccer ball
powered and steered using remotely controlled fan jets!Novel gadgets and battle bots set aside, the highlight for RAFT was being able to distribute 14,000 activity kits to eager children ready to learn science. We distributed RAFT’s infamous Hovercrafts, Simple Stethoscopes, Critter Capsules, and Fizzy Rockets. By far the largest crowd was in the Chevron tent, where thousands of people made the Hovercrafts and Critter Capsules at RAFT’s center tables!
Special thanks goes to Chevron, who made it possible to distribute our activity kits free of charge and who provided hundreds of volunteer staff to assist in making the event successful. We are looking forward to promoting STEM learning at next year’s event. See you there!
Eric Welker, RAFT Master Teacher and Activity Developer
I participated in this event as a RAFT Fellow. I have to say that this was one of the best events I have ever been a part of. It was so fun to share the excitement of science. Everyone, young and not-so-young, really enjoyed the Critter Capsules. It was really inspiring to see the spark of understanding as the science behind the Critter was explored/explained.I could have stayed all day, but I had another commitment that afternoon. I found myself wishing I could stay and as I left, I felt I was really missing out. I am already looking forward to participating again next year and I will make sure my family and students put it on their calendars too.
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