ST. LOUIS, Mo. (Nov. 2, 2011) – Innovative educators, administrators, and industry leaders are coming together from across the nation at the inaugural 2011 STEM Summit to discuss how hands-on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education can bring success to students and shape the next generation of creative problem solvers. This one-day premier event is being co-hosted by LEGO® Education North America and National Instruments on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011, in St. Louis, Missouri.
“With the several challenges and issues our education system faces today, the need to advance STEM education is greater than ever before,” said Stephan Turnipseed, president of LEGO Education North America. “We are proud to be co-hosting this event with National Instruments and are looking forward to a variety of lively conversations from a diverse group of speakers who will share their knowledge, experiences, and ideas on ways to get students excited about learning STEM concepts.”
Leland Melvin, NASA Associate Administrator for Education, will be the keynote speaker, building upon the Summit’s theme with his presentation on what NASA is doing to drive STEM education in today’s classroom.
The STEM Summit will feature a series of interactive panel discussions in which attendees will be able to submit questions for panelists to answer and share their insights on different segments. It will also provide open-discussion opportunities and a chance for attendees to expand their network with other like-minded education professionals.
“This event is a great example of the type of collaboration that must happen between industry and educators if we are to engage students’ interest in technological innovation,” said Ray Almgren, vice president, core platforms, National Instruments. “By fusing academic and industry standards with hands-on, real-world learning experiences, we can start building the skills our future engineers will need to solve society’s biggest engineering challenges.”
Session topics will include:
- Preparing Today’s Student for Tomorrow’s Career
- Using Robotics as a STEM Instructional Tool
- Educator to Entrepreneur: Providing the Tools for Teacher and Student Success
- Getting Kids Excited about STEM
- Creating Creative Problem Solvers
Speakers will include:
- Ray Almgren, Vice President, Product Marketing for Core Platforms, National Instruments
- Dr. Harvey Dean, CEO, Pitsco, Inc.
- Robin Shoop, Founder and Director, Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy
- Stephan Turnipseed, President, LEGO Education North America
- Dave Vernier, Co-Founder of Vernier and Former Physics Teacher
Winners of the 2011 LEGO Smart Creativity Contest, an opportunity for classrooms and homeschools across the country to showcase their innovation and collective creativity skills, will be announced at the Summit. Segment winners will also participate in a panel discussion about their entry and the use of LEGO Education materials in their classroom. Prizes will consist of LEGO Education gift certificates valued at $2,500 for segment winners and $5,000 for the grand prize winner.
View the full list of speakers, session overviews, and additional information.
What: 2011 STEM Summit
When: Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011 from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Where: America’s Center, 701 Convention Plaza, St. Louis, Missouri 63101
The 2011 STEM Summit is a free event. Registration is available to the public until Friday, Nov. 4, 2011; space is limited, so early registration is encouraged. Register for the Summit. Members of the media are requested to contact Megan Friedman at (305) 761-3250 or via e-mail to register as press.
About LEGO Education: LEGO Education offers unique solutions for preK-12 educators who want to incorporate innovation, creativity and hands-on learning in their classroom. With the LEGO System for Learning, teachers can create enriching learning experiences that engage young minds and prepare today's student for the realities of tomorrow. LEGO Education solutions and teaching methods provide students with the tools to learn by experience, to collaborate with their classmates, and to think creatively to develop unique solutions. That's LEGO Smart™. For more information, visit our Web site. You may also follow us on Facebook and Twitter. LEGO, the LEGO logo, DUPLO, WEDO, MINDSTORMS, and the MINDSTORMS logo are trademarks of the LEGO Group. ©2011 The LEGO Group.
About National Instruments: National Instruments (www.ni.com) is transforming the way engineers and scientists design, prototype and deploy systems for measurement, automation and embedded applications. NI empowers customers with off-the-shelf software such as NI LabVIEW and modular cost-effective hardware, and sells to a broad base of more than 30,000 different companies worldwide, with its largest customer representing approximately 4 percent of revenue in 2010 and no one industry representing more than 15 percent of revenue. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, NI has approximately 6,100 employees and direct operations in more than 40 countries. For the past 12 years, FORTUNE magazine has named NI one of the 100 best companies to work for in America. LabVIEW, National Instruments, NI and ni.com are trademarks of National Instruments. Other product and company names are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.