Get Ex-Sci-ted and Tune In to the Largest-Ever White House Science Fair!

This afternoon, President Obama will host the sixth and final White House Science Fair of his Administration and welcome student competitors and winners from a broad range of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) competitions. President Obama established the tradition of the Science Fair in 2010 to help honor and inspire students in STEM. This year's event will be the largest White House Science Fair to date, with more than 130 students from more than 30 states, as well as student alumni from each of the prior five White House Science Fairs.

You can tune in to watch the Science Fair live from 1:00 – 3:00 PM ET at obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/live, and we encourage you to participate on social media using the hashtag #WHScienceFair. For more ideas and examples on how you can get involved and celebrate science in your own community, click here.

The Science Fair is part of the Administration’s celebration of a #WeekOfScience from April 11-17, which includes not only the White House Science Fair, but also representation from more than 70 Federal agencies at the USA Science and Engineering Festival—which will bring more than 350,000 students and adults to Washington, D.C.—and President Obama’s participation as a guest presenter on the Science Channel’s science news segment every weekday night. Click here to learn more.

Approximately 40 student teams will have the opportunity to exhibit their projects at the White House during the Science Fair. Exhibitors include:

• Gabriel Mesa, of Canton, CT, whose patent-pending “Carbon Battery” offers an environmentally safe and compostable alternative to conventional, chemical-based batteries.
• Devon and Trevor Langley, of Terre Haute, IN, representing a team that developed an innovative app based on the colors of the rainbow to help children with dyslexia or other learning challenges better understand math concepts.
• Augusta Uwamanzu-Nna, of Elmont, NY, who discovered that adding a nanoclay ingredient called attapulgite to cement slurries can improve the undersea cement seals that keep offshore oil wells from leaking.
• Maya Varma, of San Jose, CA, who used 3D printing to develop a cost-effective device to analyze lung health and accurately diagnose lung disease.

Click here to learn more about the students participating in this year’s Science Fair.

At the Science Fair, the President will also highlight the growing community of education, business, and nonprofit leaders who have responded to his State of the Union call to give every child the opportunity to learn computer science (CS), as well as his overall “Educate to Innovate” campaign to ensure all students have the tools to be innovators and problem-solvers. Today’s announcements include:

• New Department of Education guidance to states, school districts, and other education organizations on the many ways they can use existing Federal funds to advance Pre-K–12 STEM and CS learning.
• A $200 million investment by Oracle to support CS education for an additional 125,000 students in the United States.
• More than 500 K-12 schools committing to expand access to CS, with support from Code.org.
• Commitments to expand STEM learning for more than 2 million of our youngest learners, from family engagement to innovative use of media.
• A new online matching platform, supported by US2020, to help more STEM professionals who want to volunteer and mentor.

Today’s STEM announcements also mark progress on the President’s My Brother’s Keeper Initiative and the efforts of the Council on Women and Girls to build ladders of opportunity for all young people, including populations underrepresented in STEM; incorporate STEM into the Administration’s push to expand high-quality early-childhood education; and advance the Climate Education and Literacy Initiative to help connect all American students and citizens with the best-available, science-based information about climate change. Full details on all of today’s announcements can be found here.