Background

The USA Science & Engineering Festival (USASEF) is the nation’s largest biennial celebration of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The mission of the festival is to stimulate and sustain the interest of our nation’s youth in STEM by producing and presenting the most compelling, exciting, and educational festival in the world. NIH has participated in the DC based event since its inception in 2010.

“Society gets what it celebrates,” said Larry Bock, the Founder of the Festival. “As a culture, we celebrate actors, pop stars, and athletes, and we generate a lot of them... but we do not celebrate science and engineering.” The Festival is a wonderful opportunity and venue to celebrate the world of science with thousands of visitors.

Each year at the Festival, over 1,000 leading STEM organizations, including the NIH, and numerous other Federal agencies, present hands-on science and engineering activities for people of all ages. 

As the Nation’s leading medical research agency, NIH’s participation supports the goals of its mission by supporting STEM knowledge and skills, providing educational and inspirational programming to the general public, and exposing the largest possible audience to the importance of STEM in our lives and our futures. The NIH seeks to educate the Nation’s next generation by helping to stimulate and sustain their interest in science and medicine.

NIH at the 2020 USASEF

In 2020, the NIH will host a large Pavilion where children and families can engage in hands-on health and science activities led by staff from the NIH institutes, centers and offices. In addition, the NIH will host a special show, starring institute and center directors among others, on one of the main USASEF stages. Please visit this site often for continuous updates leading up to the April 2020 festival!