Professor Polar Bear Goes to Washington

On October 23-24, ARM participated in our sponsor’s, the U.S. Department of Energy, exhibit at the USA Science and Engineering Festival on the National Mall in Washington D.C. Our new Climate Kid cutout was a big hit, with children and adults alike stopping to take pictures with it, as well as Professor Polar Bear. ARM Education bookmarks, activity booklets, and lesson plans were handed out. A computer showed data from one year ago at ARM’s permanent and mobile sites, with explanations of what measurements each data plot showed. Instruments were also available to show kids examples of the types of measurements taken at ARM sites. A light meter and lamp simulated what happens when clouds pass between the Earth and the sun, affecting the amount of solar energy that reaches the ground, and a wind meter tracked the wind speed and plotted it on a chart.

The two-day event was the culmination of a two-week festival, including events in Washington D.C. and across the country. More than 350 organizations participated in the Festival, including academic institutions, research institutes, government agencies, technology companies, museums, and community organizations. As many as 1 million visitors has been reported as attending. On October 18, President Obama hosted the first White House Science Fair and encouraged everyone to attend these events in support of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education.