June 2023

Milestone Moments in STEM Like many families around the region, we are celebrating milestone moments this spring with many high school and college graduates among our volunteers, interns, and staff. This group of graduates is especially meaningful as we also celebrate our 8th anniversary of opening the Children’s Science Center Lab. Our high schoolers were in elementary school when we opened. They remember their first family visit, summer camp, or school field trip to the Lab. They tell us how those early experiences set them on a journey in STEM. We have watched them grow up to become our most dedicated volunteers; we are witnesses to their dreams for the future and the impact they seek to have on the world.  In our earliest days, we dreamed of children in our community growing up with a science center. We aspired to help launch them into their best future. This June we have many reminders of dreams coming true. Here’s to the amazing Class of 2023!

Sincerely, Nene Spivy Executive Director

Eight is Great Birthday Celebration! Saturday, June 17 • 10 AM & 2 PM The Lab is turning 8 this Saturday and you're invited to celebrate! Join us during a timed entry to enjoy special activities and giveaways throughout the Lab! Purchase tickets and join the fun! Fun Fact: The Lab took over Uno Pizzeria & Grill to become the space it is today! Purchase tickets!

Monthly Mission Moments

STEM Kit packing with Verizon! May 10 The Science Center along with volunteers from Verizon packed 200 STEM Kits filled with fun, hands-on activities in the Verizon Ashburn Office. These kits were donated to children served by Northern Virginia Family Service. These STEM Kits will inspire young scientists in our community to become innovators of tomorrow!

Last 2022-23 Field Trip at the Lab! May 31  That's a wrap on the 2022-23 School Year Field Trips! This year, the Lab served 82 schools and just over 7000 children! While we continue to prepare for the next school year, visit childsci.org/educators for more information on summer programs and happenings at the Lab!

Summer Camps start next week! Check out our feature on WUSA9 News to learn more! Make this a summer your child won’t forget! Sign up for a week-long summer camp today! The Lab's camps offer young scientists an opportunity to explore STEM concepts in an interactive way. Camp themes include... ★ Mission: Space ★ Motion Commotion ★ Earth Explorer ★ Ready, Set, Game! Single Day Summer Camps are offered the week of July 4th! Note: Registration for week-long camps closes Friday at 8 AM before the first Monday of camp. Want a 10% discount? Become a member today! Register for camp!

Launch the Future Campaign Celebrates Milestone

The Science Center celebrated a milestone last week with a celebration co-hosted by Google Reston to recognize that each of the five galleries now has a title partner, marking a significant achievement for the Launch the Future Campaign. The event featured an address by Vint Cerf, the renowned internet pioneer and Google's Chief Internet Evangelist (pictured above left), who spoke passionately about the importance of sparking children's interest in STEM fields. The distinguished lineup of speakers also included Daniel Golding, Google's Director of Network Infrastructure and Tech Site, Sumeet Shrivastava (pictured above right), Chair of the Northern Virginia Science Center Foundation Board, and Nene Spivy, Executive Director of the Northern Virginia Science Center Foundation. To learn more about the Northern Virginia Science Center, please visit novasci.org.

Enter the Flying Robots! June 27 • 3 PM to 5 PM  Xelevate 13870 Taylorstown Rd Leesburg, VA 20176 Join us to fly drones and learn about the applications of this exciting technology in industries in our region. This upcoming event is hosted by the Loudoun Chamber of Commerce Technology Committee. The Science Center team will be participating in this event and sharing information about the Northern Virginia Science Center.

Register here!

Congratulations to the Youth Advisory Board Seniors!   Throughout their tenure on the Youth Advisory Board (YAB), senior members have consistently contributed to furthering the mission of the Children's Science Center Lab. They have employed various methods to provide support, such as conducting interviews with STEM Champions and actively volunteering at the Lab, camps, and Family Science Nights. Together, these 14 YAB seniors have dedicated over 1000 hours of their time as volunteers, a remarkable achievement. We extend our heartfelt congratulations and gratitude to each of them, fully confident that they will continue to achieve incredible feats in the days to come!   Tanuj Bhat | Purdue University | Aerospace Engineering Lauren Foster | University of Michigan | Chemistry, Pre-Med Sonika Modur | University of Virginia | Computer Science Sudeep Orvoy | Georgia Tech | Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering Arjun Ramakrishnan | University of Virginia | Computer Science Sankrith Ramani | Columbia University | Biology and Music Madhuri Sosale | University of Virginia | Materials Science and Engineering Ella Tyrrell | University of Pennsylvania | Nursing, Spanish, Health Services Management Anjini Verdia | University of Virginia | Computer Engineering Hannah Zook | University of Virginia | Biomedical Engineering Cameron Schmitt | Clemson University | Business Dana Hanlin | University of Pittsburgh | Mechanical Engineering Aarathi Manchikalapudi | University of Virginia | Neuroscience and Economics, Pre-Med Sara Huffman | Virginia Commonwealth University   For more information about this program, visit childsci.org/internships.

Try It At Home! Cotton Ball Pollination What do chocolate, ketchup, and jack-o-lanterns have in common? None of them would exist without pollinators! Pollen is the yellow powdery stuff found in the center of a flower. Flowers need to share their pollen with other flowers, but they cannot do it alone! Learn more about this concept in this activity! Try it at home!

The Northern Virginia Science Center Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that operates the Children's Science Center Lab at Fair Oaks Mall and STEM programs traveling to schools and other community venues across the region.

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