Obama’s Science Fair

In October of 2010, President Obama held a science fair at the White House to celebrate the up-and-coming young scientists of the US and to encourage other children to begin to participate in the sciences. The fair was part of an initiative known as Educate to Innovate that President Obama has been promoting since the beginning of his term, an initiative that focuses on promoting children to study science, technology, engineering, and math (or STEM).

The fair invited the winners of STEM competitions across the country to display their projects at the White House itself, from steering wheels that detected texting while driving to new, improved wheelchairs for a disabled student in the group. The President then spent around an hour studying the projects, talking to their creators, and generally interacting with them, before moving onto a speech about the importance of the fair. As he pointed out, winners of NCAA championships are brought to the White House and showered with praise, but technological innovators are not afforded the same attention and respect. His aim is to change that through projects like the science fair and to get children to see just how amazing science can be. In his speeches he pointed out individual winners who had overcome hardship or who were still working hard to learn still more about the sciences and about technology. His message was clear: if encouraged, children are able to do great things, and President Obama will do everything he can to encourage them.

While there are currently no plans for a second White House science fair, President Obama has continued to make his stance clear. Funding for sciences in the schools has been increased, with rewards given for certain state achievements in science. In addition, President Obama himself has made surprise appearances at other science fairs like the New York Science Fair, providing the entrants with approval and appreciation. This wave of science education and support seems to be one of President Obama’s priorities, and it is clear it’s a major focus of his presidency.

With support from the President himself, science education for children is making leaps and bounds forward. Children are learning about the amazing things they are capable of and being encouraged to sharpen their talents in the sciences. While winning a large-scale science fair still does not bring the recognition brought for winning the NCAA, it is clear that things are changing and that children are becoming innovators and inventors.