The first USA Science & Engineering Festival was held on the National Mall and at other locations in Washington, D.C., on October 23 and 24, 2010. The free expo featured more than 1,500 interactive exhibits and 50 stages, and it attracted more than 500,000 people of all ages. The event provided opportunities to try out a wide variety of hands-on activities and celebrate “science and engineering the same way we celebrate rock stars and sports heroes,” according to one of the organizers. At exhibits featuring NSF-supported researchers from more than 14 institutions, visitors: climbed inside a Doppler-on-Wheels mobile radar truck used to gather up-close data on tornadoes; tested building designs created to stand up to earthquakes; controlled the motion of robotic fish; explored biophotonics and mechatronics; and much more. The full list of NSF-supported exhibitors is here.

Credit: Pat Olmert, National Science Foundation