NHGRI invites you to the 'Woodstock of Science' April 28-29

NHGRI invites you to the 'Woodstock of Science' April 28-29

By Omar McCrimmon
Assistant Public Affairs Specialist

Join National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) staff at the USA Science & Engineering Festival, April 28-29 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington D.C. This free event, dubbed the 'Woodstock of Science', will inform and fascinate, and inspire the next generation of innovators in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Visit the NHGRI booth (2622-3) to learn how to isolate strawberry DNA and create DNA bracelets using color beads that correspond to segments of DNA sequence from a domestic cat, platypus or a wooly mammoth. On Sunday, April 29, Carol Greider, winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, will conduct hands-on activities.

The second festival features more than 3,000 interactive exhibits and activities, in addition to more than 150 live stage show performances by science celebrities, explorers, best-selling authors, innovative entrepreneurs, world-renowned experts and well-known science comedians, musicians and magicians.

The festival features a book fair where some of the leading authors and experts in the DIY world will speak, including William Gurstelle, author of The Practical Pyromaniac, a professional engineer and has been researching and building model catapults, ballistic devices and flamethrowers for more than 30 years.

On Friday, April 27, the festival is hosting a night of comedy with Brian Malow, Norman Goldblatt, Pete Ludovice and Tim Lee each bringing their unique style of science humor to Georgetown University. With hilarious acts performed by these four comics such as: "Statistics: Feel the Power of the Dork Side"; "The Attack of the Monster Molecules"; "Science Comedy: It's Infectious"; and "Hey, I'm Smarter Than a Sixth Grader", audiences are sure to be in for a treat! The night of comedy takes place from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Georgetown University's Lohrfink Auditorium at 3700 O St., N.W.

The USA Science & Engineering Festival is the country's only national science festival, and was developed to increase public awareness of the importance of science and to encourage youth to pursue careers in science and engineering by celebrating science. The USA Science & Engineering Festival is a grassroots collaboration of more than 500 of the United States leading science and engineering organizations. For more information on the USA Science & Engineering Festival, please visit the festival website at www.usasciencefestival.org

Posted: April 23, 2012