I’m planning to head to the Santa Monica Pier for the 4th Annual S.T.E.A.M. Innovation Fair and Rube Goldberg Curious Contraption Contest on Sunday, March 5. I feel clever as heck just planning to attend and seeing the robots! The Free Festival Includes: A Contest of Student-Imagineered Rube Goldberg Machines, an Innovation Exhibition Featuring Soccer Matches between Guest-Operated LEGO Robots, and a Panel of NASA & JPL Engineers
Rube Goldberg Curious Contraption Contest
Royal Rumble of Rube
11:30AM-2PM
Teams have taken DIY machine-building to new heights as they face off & compete for the best Rube Goldberg machine that can apply a BAND-AID™ in 20 steps or more! Prize money & everlasting glory are on the line so come pick a champ & cheer them on.
The Path to Innovation
2-3:30PM
A panel of innovators, including Michelle Easter of NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Jeremy Selan of Valve virtual reality, Zaina Siyed highschool robotics champion and founder of the FemSTEM scholarship will discuss the challenges of their fields and the opportunities that await!
I am a Robot!
11AM-1:30PM
Curby, Santa Monica Public Work’s walking, talking recycling robot will be joining us for a limited time at the grand entrance to the Santa Monica Pier along Ocean Front Walk.
Get Your Build On
11AM-4PM
Build a fort out of cardboard boxes, a sculpture out of rolled newspaper, or help create a giant recycling machine. This day is a builder’s paradise!
Swim With the Fishes
11AM-4PM
Visit Heal The Bay’s Aquarium under the Pier to check out the coolest creates and even pilot an underwater ROV mini-sub.
- Gray Bright: Host of the Tomorrow Show, standup comedian, robotic engineer, and Lego enthusiast.
- Brent Bushnell: Board President and CEO (or Chief Rabble-Rouser) of Two Bit Circus, a Los Angeles-based experiential entertainment company.
- Michelle Easter: former high fashion runway model who diverted at 26 to pursue an engineering degree. By 31, she had finished at the top of her class with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and is now a Mechatronics Engineer for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
- Jeremy Selan: two-time Scientific and Technical Achievement Academy Award Winner and Valve developer making an impact in the virtual reality sector.
- Zaina Siyed: local high school student, robotics champion and founder of FemSTEM – a foundation to help encourage girls to participate in STEM activities.
- Columbia Memorial Space Center: guests can use LEGO robots to compete against each other at soccer.
- Craig Burrows Photography: floral photography collection lauded by Wired for its ‘ultraviolet-induced visible fluorescence’ technique.
- Heal the Bay / Aquarium / FCEC: piloting an underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV), build boats out of aluminum foil and play around with a host of other technological gadgets.
- Orchanic: showcasing an A.I. prototype that uses Deep Learning to identify trash on the beaches, the HEXA spider robot, and smart clothing.
- Paisley Garbage: arts and craft vendor.
- Peddler’s Creamery: churn delicious homemade ice cream by a bicycle.
- reDiscover Center: turn massive amounts of recycled cardboard into anything imaginable.
- STEMup4Youth: guests can let their imaginations go wild by building enormous structures out of recycles cardboard.
- Steve Craig’s drawBot: a crowd favorite, Steve Craig returns again this year with his exceptionally popular drawing machines and more.
- T4T.org: invites festival-goers to create the Ultimate Recycling Machine using their imagination, engineering skills, and some fun upcycled materials.
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