The Arizona SciTech Festival showcases Arizona as a national leader in science, technology and innovation through a series of events taking place this month. Spearheaded by the Arizona Technology Council Foundation in partnership with Arizona State University  and Arizona Science Center, the Arizona SciTech Festival is a grass roots collaboration of over 200 organizations in industry, academia, arts, community and K-12, geared to excite and inform Arizonans ages three to 103 about how science, technology and innovation will drive our state for the next 100 years.

The Arizona SciTech Festival is geared to help address Arizona’s education, economic and workforce needs. Arizona’s state and local leaders support this event as a powerful vehicle for leveraging productive synergy among stakeholders in the scientific, educational, and business communities to increase the output of future leaders/innovators in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). Furthermore, this festival will create awareness of the strong relationship between Arizona’s strengths in research and technology and the immense potential it offers Arizona in the future.

Science Festivals do for science what film festivals do for films. They offer activities and events that engage, inspire and spark imagination across entire communities. Through diverse programming encompassing practical and hands-on workshops, displays and exhibitions, broadcasts, concerts and plays, site visits and guided walks and tours, Arizonans will develop a first hand understanding of the importance of science and technology in Arizona’s past, present and future. No matter where you are located or who you are – there will be events and activities that will awe and inspire you.

Why is it important to expose Arizona’s children to science and technology? A 10-year employment projection by the U.S. Department of Labor shows that, of the 20 fastest growing occupations projected for 2014, fifteen of them require significant mathematics or science preparation. Ensuring that Arizona students are engaged and excited about Science and Technology will help ensure that more of our kids will be prepared and qualified to do these jobs. This will help to attract much needed businesses to our state as well. So, developing and supporting strong STEM education programs in Arizona will not only have a lasting impact on our students, but will help to secure a stronger future for our state. The festival is only going to continue to grow and because of the festival, Arizona has the potential to be a cultural center in science and technology.

Please visit AZSciTechfest.org for more information about the festival and a full listing of events. You can also follow them on Facebook at ArizonaSciTech and Twitter @arizonascitechfest for more information as well as participate in weekly contests and giveaways.

This Presidents Day weekend, American history will be brought to life in Tempe in a world premiere musical revue spanning 223 years of the American presidency – from George Washington to Barack Obama. Childsplay, a nonprofit theatre company of professional, adult artists, has been engaging young audiences and their families in Arizona for 35 years. “Rock the Presidents” was written by Arizonan Dwayne Hartford (book and lyrics) along with Sarah Roberts (music), and Arizona audiences get to see it first, before it heads out on a national tour.

Hartford says the concept of the show came from his passion for studying American history, and he wanted to come up with a fun way for parents and their children to look at how our past has shaped the nation and how the choices we make today influence our future. “’Rock the Presidents’ is about the 44 men who have been elected to lead our country, but it is also about the promise of the young people in the audience,” he explains. “Perhaps one of the girls and boys who see the show will grow up to be the first Arizonan to finally be elected President. But, there’s no question that our audiences will play a vital role in the future of our nation.”

Although, there is a lot of history packed into the 70 minute show, Hartford promises it lives up to its name and “rocks,” and audiences for the show’s preview performances agree. “Sarah’s music, sung by our amazing cast, leads to a fun, raucous environment. We have students screaming and dancing, having a great time rocking with the presidents.”

To listen to more songs from “Rock the Presidents,” click here.

After the show, the cast takes time to answer questions, but first, they like to challenge their audience to start thinking about their own place in history. They ask, “What will you do to change the world?” It’s a great question for parents and kids alike to ask each other as they leave the theatre.

“Rock the Presidents” opens this weekend, on February 18 (fittingly, Presidents Day weekend), and will run through March 4 at the Tempe Center for the Arts, before touring in schools throughout Arizona and then across the country. For more information about tickets & show times, visit ChildsplayAZ.org.

Enter to win tickets!

[UPDATE: The contest is now closed. Congratulations to Tami. Enjoy the show!] Childsplay is giving away a family pack of 4 tickets to the performance of “Rock the Presidents” on Saturday, February 25 at 1 pm to a lucky reader of this blog. Dwayne Hartford, who wrote the show’s book and lyrics, has a trivia question to test your knowledge of Presidential history. Answer the question in the comments below, and we will randomly select a winner from those who answer correctly. You must submit your answer in this page’s comments by Wednesday, Feb. 22 at noon, and we will announce the winner later that day.

Hartford asks: “Arizona just celebrated its Centennial. Which President was in office when Arizona became a state in 1912?”

It’s fitting that we celebrate your 100th birthday on Valentine’s Day, because there is so much to love about the state we call home.

We are proud to be Arizonans, and we call this great state home for so many reasons. Arizona is as diverse and unique as it is beautiful and majestic. There are also a lot of wonderful things happening in education in our state. There are students, educators, schools, parents, and leaders of our state with immeasurable passion and commitment to excellence.

Because of your vast potential, we raise our expectations to the highest degree. We expect not only modest improvements, but world-class results here in Arizona. We want to be considered more than just the best in the nation; we expect Arizona to be competitive with the best education systems in the world.

Today, as we celebrate 100 years of statehood, we have an opportunity to transform Arizona education into a world-class system that prepares our students to compete and succeed, producing a next generation to help lead Arizona’s greatness.

Arizona, today we wish you a happy 100th birthday, and a happy Valentine’s Day. We are proud to live in this great state, and hope to be a part of making the next 100 years even greater.

Yours truly,
Expect More Arizona

Recognizing that too many Arizona students are currently trailing their peers in key academic areas such as reading, science and math, Expect More Arizona sees a significant opportunity to raise the bar with respect to expectations as well as in supporting bar-raising measures at all stages of the education continuum – from birth through career.

“Arizona’s students are growing up in a fast paced, ever-evolving and globally competitive world.  By creating a world-class education system, Arizona can effectively prepare our students to succeed in college and career, and ultimately, to compete with their national and international peers,” said Paul J. Luna, Chairman, Expect More Arizona and President & CEO, Helios Education Foundation.

Creating this world-class system can begin with encouraging students, families and educators to set completing college or other postsecondary program as the ultimate academic goal for all students.  With two out of three jobs of the future requiring some form of postsecondary education, the economy requires that students graduate college and career ready.  To achieve this, Arizona students must be academically prepared at every stage by supporting bar-raising measures such as higher standards and tougher curriculum – both of which foster critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and strong communication skills.

We already see examples of excellence from many schools across our state, and we believe a world-class system can be a reality for all Arizona students.

“There are schools in Arizona, even those in the most challenging of circumstances, that are competitive with the best in the nation,” said Luna. “There are students who are willing to work hard and challenge themselves, teachers and other educational leaders who hold high expectations for all students, no excuses, and parents who work with schools to build a high expectations culture in the home that reinforces the schools’ efforts.  Now, we need to shine the spotlight on the best schools and programs in our state, learn from what they are doing and emulate them.”

To accomplish this for all schools, Expect More Arizona is rallying parents, students, educators, community leaders to work together to build a shared vision of excellence.

So how can you get involved and help make education in Arizona world class? We have created a series of online resources and tools, and is regularly making presentations within the community, to help parents, families, votes and leaders become educated on the issue and take action.

Resources available include:

• College and Career Planning tools
• Parent Resources
• News and Information about what’s happening in Education
• Opportunities to get involved
• Access to a network of people across the state who care about education and the success of our students