Science Extravaganza 2005

October 14, 2005

On Friday, October 14, the Cal State Fullerton student chapter of the Society of Mexican American Engineers and Scientists hosted a "Science Extravaganza" for approximately 300 middle school students from Santa Ana , Long Beach , and Boyle Heights . The Cal State Fullerton chapter of MAES teamed up with chapters from UC Irvine, Santa Ana College , CSUF Long Beach and USC to coordinate the day's activities. There were fourteen workshops total, with each group of student attending five workshops. Some workshops were technical, such as "gumdrop bridges," web page design, robotics, and electronics. Other workshops, such as Hispanic Scholarship Foundation and "College Roadmap," taught students about what they must do to be prepared for college. All students attended lunch together and were treated to a keynote message from Mr. Robert Navarro. Navarro is manager for the solar powered Pathfinder Plus aircraft and for the High Altitude and Long Endurance (HALE) project at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, CA. Navarro received his bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Cal State Fullerton in 1989. Overall the day was very successful and students who participated expressed more interest in technical careers at the end of the event.