Latest news with #SparkSTEMFest
Yahoo
16-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Meet five founders shaping Orlando through innovation
Editor's note: This story is available as a result of a content partnership between WFTV and the Orlando Business Journal. Budding, experienced and veteran entrepreneurs interviewed by Orlando Business Journal have something in common. Though at different stages of their careers, they all highlight the importance of passion, persistence and community engagement in achieving success. Markys Mackey, founder and CEO of Verity Construction Co., launched his firm in 2020 and quickly made strides across multiple sectors. Read: Orlando Science Center Kicks Off Day One of Spark STEM Fest Today Laine Powell, founder of Tech Sassy Girlz, shared her story of transitioning in 2014 from a stationery business to a nonprofit focused on increasing the representation of girls and women in STEM. Click here to read the full story on the Orlando Business Journal's website. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Southeast Steel plans major redevelopment in downtown Orlando
Editor's note: This story is available as a result of a content partnership between WFTV and the Orlando Business Journal. A longtime downtown Orlando business wants to redevelop its 107-year-old property. Southeast Steel Appliance Warehouse applied to the city of Orlando to demolish its facilities at 63 W. Amelia St. and erect two new buildings on the site. Read: Orlando Science Center Kicks Off Day One of Spark STEM Fest Today The proposal calls for building a new two- or three-story facility, with roughly 6,300 square feet per floor, in the empty northeast corner of the one-acre property. Click here to read the full story on the Orlando Business Journal's website. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Orlando Science Center Kicks Off Day One of Spark STEM Fest Today
Today marks the first day of the Orlando Science Centers Spark STEM fest, for children and families alike. Presented by the UCF Office of Research, Spark STEM Fest inspires all ages through shows, exhibits, competitions, and interactive experiences with researchers, engineers, and other professionals. Read: FAA releases updates for missing plane found by officials near Volusia County Regardless of your background, this event will engage your mind, spark your curiosity, and ignite a passion for STEM learning throughout Presidents Day Weekend. Featured exhibitors include: Check out robot dogs and other robots from UCF's Disability, Aging & Technology Faculty Cluster. Have you ever wanted to control robots just by your thoughts or by moving your fingers or wondered how robot dogs work and how they can do things together, including dancing? Here's your chance! Meet Team Witch Doctor from the Battlebots TV show. Don't miss your opportunity to drive a robot during a robo smackdown in the Camp Witch Doctor Battle Arena. Kits will be available so you can also learn how to build your own robot at home. Discover if you have what it takes to make it as a Demigod at Camp Half-Blood with our friends from the Walt Disney Company as you explore the world of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Experience cutting-edge flight simulators firsthand with Lockheed Martin. Enjoy various simulator-based activities that showcase the latest advancements developed by Lockheed Martin. Engage with their team of experts to learn about STEM career paths! Immerse yourself in marine biology with Minorities in Shark Science. Come learn all about sharks! You'll take a deep dive into shark anatomy, learn about their role in the marine ecosystem, and find out ways you can help protect them! Encounter a VR shark, a shark tooth identification activity, artifacts, and shark trivia. Exercise your brains with hands-on activities developed by UCF's Neuroscience Alliance! Explore the Frontiers of Space with the Florida Space Institute. Get a first-class ticket on a journey through the cosmos with hands-on learning experiences, displays, and simulations for exploring space, Mars, and the Moon. Dive into the future of architecture while exploring design tools that harness artificial intelligence with this workshop facilitated by Black Architects in the Making. Get a full list of exhibitors here: Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Science center: Illusions, questions in spotlight at Spark STEM fest
Illusionist Jason Latimer has nothing up his sleeve, unless we count curiosity and scientific research. 'I always try to make it clear to all the kids, I have no superpowers. I'm just a guy who asked a lot of questions,' he said. Latimer will perform his 'Impossible Science Live' show multiple Saturday, Sunday and Monday during Orlando Science Center's Spark STEM Fest. Expect mind-bending illusions such as the bending of light, molding water into shapes and passing solid objects through other solid objects, he said. 'The reality is all of it is different fields of applied science, and if they [audience members] asked enough questions, I'm sure they could figure it out and they could do it themselves,' he said. 'The cool part about it is, if you don't understand it, it's going to look like magic.' It's an all-ages show, he said. 'When I roll water into a shape and I hand it to somebody, that's going to be amazing, whether you're 5 or you're 55 or 105,' he said. Latimer's interest in magic and the sciences behind it started at a show at age 9, he said. 'It blew my mind. I ran out just thinking, what else is possible?' he said. 'As funny as that sounds, I genuinely took that conversation straight into the science lab. So, it's like I wanted to study magic because I wanted to know how things worked, and then I quickly found myself studying science books almost to apply to magic on purpose.' Latimer's career path weaves from entertainment to education. In 2003, he was awarded the 'best overall' title at the World Championships of Magic. Later, he was a judge on Penn & Teller's 'Wizard Wars' on Skyfy and now co-hosts 'SciJinks' on the Science Channel. He's currently the curator of Impossible Science at Fleet Science Center in San Diego. 'I'm on this mission to inspire curiosity and wonder,' Latimer said. One Impossible Science mission is to increase availability. 'We transform gymnasiums and auditoriums into temporary science centers up to 5,000 square feet, and we could do it in two hours,' Lateimer said. 'It's a rapid deployment of a science center.' It also runs 27 camps for magic and science in rural California. 'We have magicians from New York, magicians from Hawaii, magicians that fly in for these small camps because magicians are starting to realize it doesn't have to be just entertainment,' Latimer said. 'We can use magic to inspire a mystery.' Many scientific developments – from the light bulb to the theory of relativity – were unknown until someone asked just the right questions, he said. 'It's only impossible if you give up because nobody knows what's ultimately possible,' Latimer said. 'It's a game of how many questions can you ask.' The Spark STEM Fest showcases disciplines including animation, robotics and engineering using live demonstration and what the science center refers to as 'messy, ooey gooey science experiments.' There are animal encounters, too. The event spotlights 70 exhibitors such as Lochheed Martin, Florida Space Institute, Surprise Studios, Minorities in Shark Science and UCF's Disability, Aging & Technology Faculty Cluster and its robot dogs. Spark is included with regular admission to Orlando Science Center, which is $29.99 ($22.99 for ages 2-11). Latimer's show requires an additional $5 ticket. Operating hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Latimer also will be performing at Science Night Live, the adults-only event at the science center on Saturday from 8 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. The evening is separately ticketed but will include the features of Spark STEM Fest running as well as the usual museum attractions. Tickets are $20 and available online only. For tickets and more information, go to dbevil@
