5/17/17: TouchTomorrow STEM Event at WPI

Taking the family out for the day can get expensive so when I find a free fun event I jump at the chance to go.  I have an awesome STEM event for the whole family at Worcester Polytechnic Institute called TouchTomorrow!  It is totally free and is happening on June 10th from 10-4 on the WPI Campus.  I have gone in the past and we had so much fun!  Plus it was great for my husband and I to go back to our Alma mater.

Here is some more information about the event from past years, stay tuned to their webpage for the schedule for this year.  You can count on them having a family-friendly festival with hands-on experiments, virtual reality experiences, robotics presentation, research lab activities and more.
As an aerospace engineer I appreciated all of the Space and Robots exhibits by NASA!

Lauren got run over by the Roll-Over-Rover.  She was giggling the whole time.

Get a jump on the fun now by downloading this cool coloring page.  You can also Mad Libs type silly story.
WGBH Education/PBS Learning Media has been there!
There are always a lot of hands-on and family-oriented fun.  In the past you could make a pinwheel and explore wind with this Curious George activity.  Explore water flow and direction with this PEEP and the Big Wide World activity.  A “surprise” Design Squad activity.  Curious George was there in the past.

Innovators at Work - Faculty and current students open up their research labs around campus and share their innovations and discoveries with you. 
Come see what it’s like to be a student at WPI. 
Labs will open up in: Biology and Biotechnology Biomedical Engineering Chemistry and Biochemistry Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering Electrical and Computer Engineering Interactive Media and Game Development Learning Sciences and Technologies Mechanical Engineering Physics Robotics Engineering.

In the past ther was a station to find out more about non-Newtonian fluids by mixing up some slime.  My daughter would love this, she makes slime all the time!  Here the kids are with Gompei the Goat who is our school's mascot!

There will also be lots of speakers.  When we went we saw Astronaut Cady Coleman.  She spoke about her experiences and showed some really cool pictures from her missions.  You can see the schedule here. 

We saw some awesome robots.

This event drew more than 10,000 people!  

The whole family had so much fun and it got the kids exited about science and engineering.

There was so much to do and see so prioritize what you want to see.  I recommend looking at the schedule online and decide what you really want to go to.  There were many food options, ample parking and by using the campus map you were able to figure out where you wanted to go. 

For more information on the 6th annual TouchTomorrow visit them online:
www.touchtomorrow.wpi.edu
@touchtomorrowpi #touchtomorrow
https://www.facebook.com/TouchTomorrowWPI
https://instagram.com/wpi_touchtomorrow/

The event goes on rain or shine.  Register now!
So much fun for the whole family!

Disclosure:  I was provided compensation for this post.  As always all opinions are my own.

5/19/16: TouchTomorrow at WPI FREE STEM Event

Family fun is pretty expensive these days so when I see a free event I jump at the chance.  TouchTomorrow at Worcester Polytechnic Institute is totally free and a great STEM event for kids!  It is happening on June 11th from 10-4 on the WPI Campus.  I went last year and the whole family loved it plus it was nice for my husband and I to go back to our Alma mater.

Here is some more information about this years event:
This is TouchTomorrow's fifth year at WPI.  The family can explore Space and Robots with NASA educators.  There will be NASA exhibits including the famous MARCBot IV Rover and the Mark III Suit.  Try on a wearable NASA Space suit! 

Check out two new Virtual Reality chairs with monitors and Oculus glasses that will take you on a planetary tour!  Watch what happens to Peeps inside a real vacuum chamber.  Get run over by the Roll-Over-Rover like Lauren did last year.  This lightweight rover has 8 wheels and rolls right over kids and makes them giggle the whole time.

Little kids will also have a blast with “Quack” from Peep and the Big Wide World and Curious George. 

Plus there are faculty and students sharing their work with you and your family.  Last year we got to see the lab I spent a lot of time in with a Wind Tunnel.

There will also be lots of speakers including NASA Astronauts.  When we went last year we saw Astronaut Cady Coleman.  She spoke about her experiences and showed some really cool pictures from her missions.  She will be back again this year to speak.  You can see the schedule here. 

There is even an event app this year that you can download from the app store by searching for “WPI TouchTomorrow”.  The event will also feature the NASA Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge.  The NASA Sample Return Robot Challenge program has three objectives: 1 - Discover innovative new technologies to advance robot navigation and sample collection without human control. 




2 - Demonstrate robotic transportation over varied terrain without the aid of GPS or other Earth-based systems. 


3 - Empower educators and people of all ages, by introducing robotics and how they work, where they work, and real-world applications of how robots will be used the future. 







This event drew more than 10,000 people!  

The whole family had so much fun and it got the kids exited about science and engineering.  Here they are with Gompei the Goat who is our school's mascot!

There was so much to do and see.  I recommend looking at the schedule online and decide what you really want to go to.  There were many food options, ample parking and by using the campus map you were able to figure out where you wanted to go. 

For more information on TouchTomorrow visit them online:
www.touchtomorrow.wpi.edu
@touchtomorrowpi #touchtomorrow
https://www.facebook.com/TouchTomorrowWPI
https://instagram.com/wpi_touchtomorrow/

So much fun for the whole family!

Disclosure:  I was provided compensation for this post.  As always all opinions are my own.

6/16/15: TouchTomorrow Technology Festival at Worcester Polytechnic Institute

I love encouraging children to explore math and science.  I always loved math and science and graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) with an Aerospace Degree.  When I heard they were having an event for kids called TouchTomorrow I was excited to take the kids.  We went this past weekend and it was amazing and free!

This event drew more than 10,000 people!  We had so much fun, plus we got to see Gompei the Goat who is our school's mascot!

There was so much going on for families to experience.  We started on the Quad.  When I was at WPI I did my Major Qualifying Project (Senior Project) in Aerospace engineering at NASA.  It was so cool to get to pose in as a NASA astronaut.

Both of the kids posed for me.

There was so much fun and excitement every where.

 iRobot was there with one of their military robots.

 There were also robots there from the Centennial Challenges which is a NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Challenge.

The NASA Sample Return Robot Challenge program has three objectives: 1 - Discover innovative new technologies to advance robot navigation and sample collection without human control. 

2 - Demonstrate robotic transportation over varied terrain without the aid of GPS or other Earth-based systems. 

3 - Empower educators and people of all ages, by introducing robotics and how they work, where they work, and real-world applications of how robots will be used the future. 

Lauren also got “rolled over” by the Roll-Over-Rover.

We also went to a presentation by Astronaut Cady Coleman who has logged more than 4,330 hours in Space and is from MA!

 She filled the room.

We even went to my old stomping ground in Higgins Laboratories and saw a presentation on Aerospace Engineering at WPI.

 They did a short demo of the Wind Tunnel.

I remember doing wind tunnel tests back when I was at WPI.

 NASA had some really cool exhibits.

The kids found my brick.  When I graduated my parents bought a brick that has my name and graduation year on it.  It is on the Quad.

 I love this new statue of Gompei.

There were so many interactive activities for families that we could not possibly see it all.  My recommendation is to look at the schedule online and decide what you really want to go to.  There were many food options, ample parking and by using the campus map you were able to figure out where you wanted to go.  The other nice thing was that outside each building there was a sign telling you what was inside.

For more information on TouchTomorrow visit them online:
www.touchtomorrow.wpi.edu
@touchtomorrowpi #touchtomorrow
https://www.facebook.com/TouchTomorrowWPI
https://instagram.com/wpi_touchtomorrow/

We can't wait for it to come back next year!

Disclosure:  I was provided compensation for this post.  As always all opinions are my own.