What is the San Diego Festival of Science and Engineering?
The San Diego Festival of Science and Engineering is a ten-day educational experience including interactive demonstrations, hands-on activities and dynamic speakers to engage kids and families in all that encompasses STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). The week kicks off with its largest event EXPO Day (March 5th) at PETCO Park. EXPO Day is free and open to the public. Hundreds of community businesses and organizations will participate in EXPO Day in addition to over 60 programs and events that will follow throughout the week all throughout the county of San Diego. More than 75,000 kids, parents, teachers, industry leaders and community members are anticipated to attend during Festival Week.
Mission Statement
The Festival's mission is to engage and encourage kids in science and engineering and work with parents and teachers to inspire today’s students to become tomorrow’s science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) innovators.
Vision Statement
The San Diego Festival of Science and Engineering will be a locally-cherished, nationally-recognized event that catalyzes excitement and curiosity in young minds about the wonder and possibilities of science and engineering.
Values
We are passionate to explain to young people that science and technology is in everything we do, every day.
We advocate for investing in STEM education as one of – if not the – most effective way to build a secure socio-economic environment for everyone regardless of race, creed, gender or personal beliefs.
We feel that it is everyone’s job – not just teachers – to spark that sustained level of excitement for science and engineering into the minds of young people, and are willing to do something about it.
We subscribe to the principles of selflessly giving back to San Diego as a way to ensure our community’s growth potential and quality of life.
We lead by example in developing partnerships and initiatives that will advance this cause.
Goals
San Diego Festival of Science & Engineering is produced by the BIOCOM Institute in partnership with UC San Diego and the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center.
In addition, the Festival partners with numerous corporate sponsors, individual donors and community collaborators to:
- Raise awareness of the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (S.T.E.M.) education and to inspire San Diego’s youth to pursue education and careers in these rewarding fields;
- Showcase the remarkable science and engineering community of our region, and to give students an opportunity to talk with real scientists and engineers; and
- Be a key resource for primary/secondary science and engineering teachers.
History
San Diego County has earned a reputation as a thriving center of activity in science, biotech, engineering and medicine. However, research has shown that there is a shortage of students entering Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (S.T.E.M.) fields. The San Diego Festival of Science and Engineering was created to get kids excited about STEM fields and demonstrate why science and engineering are important in their lives.
