2013 Nationals Opening Ceremony Keynote Speaker

[ptkid]

I think that Salman Khan would be great. I'm sure most of us have watched at least one of his videos, and he does some science stuff too, like Astronomy and Genetics. Also, he looks like a pretty good speaker: http://vimeo.com/11731351

Salman Khan would be cool too...i love Khan Academy!

Agreed, he's a great teacher and speaker.

for a second, i thought you were talking about the indian actor.

[chalker]

Just wanted to give everyone an update on this. There are a lot of good ideas being suggested here. We've reached out to a couple of them and unfortunately either haven't heard back or get channeled through professional speaker reps. As it's those reps job to maximize the income of themselves and their clients, none of them have been willing to entertain a discount in the very significant speaker fees. As there is only so much budget to go around, we don't feel it's appropriate to spend close to a third of the projected tournament budget on a single person.

In the past, when there has been direct communication with the keynote speakers ahead of time, SO has been able to often get them to waive or significantly reduce their fees in light of the nature of the event and the audience. We'd really like to try to establish such communication with some of the people suggested.

THUS, I have 2 requests of the members of scioly:

1. If you have any type of connection to anybody of national prominence that would be appropriate as a keynote, please let me know or try to reach out to them to see if they'd be interested in speaking.

2. It might help if there is a sizable 'grassroots' campaign to contact some of the people listed in this thread (such as Sal Khan, Neil Tyson, the Mythbusters, Bill Nye, etc. etc.). If you are interested in trying to help, please visit the appropriate websites and leave feedback or send emails asking for them to consider speaking at the tournament. Below are some 'factoids' you could potentially use for such a purpose.

Organization description
Science Olympiad is a national non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of K-12 science education, increasing male, female and minority interest in science, creating a technologically literate workforce and providing recognition for outstanding achievement by both students and teachers. These goals are achieved by participating in Science Olympiad tournaments, incorporating Science Olympiad into classroom curriculum and attending professional development workshops.

For the past 28 years, Science Olympiad has led a revolution in science education. What began as a grassroots assembly of science teachers is now one of the premiere science competitions in the nation, providing rigorous, standards-based challenges to nearly 6,400 teams in 50 states. Science Olympiad's ever-changing event lineup provides a variety of career choices and exposure to practicing scientists and mentors.

Event description
The annual national tournament is the culmination of each year’s competitive season, where the best 120 teams from all over the country gather at a host university to compete and celebrate their achievements. This typically includes an energetic and entertaining opening ceremony the night before the competition, where an audience of ~2500 people (including competitors, coaches, parents and event supervisors) participate in activities like a parade of states, keynote presentation (typically involving some sort of demo or activity) and a swap meet / ice cream social. More details on the tournament can be found at: http://www.wright.edu/scienceolympiad/

Audience demographics
~1000 of the country's best and brightest Middle School aged students
~1000 of the country's best and brightest High School aged students
~500 Parents / coaches / teachers / event supervisors / volunteers
-From all over the country (~40-70 per State)
-All teams have won regional and state level competitions in order to advance to the National tournament.
-All have demonstrated interest in STEM education
-Also will have ~20 representatives from the Japanese Science Olympiad program present

Date of speech
Friday, May 17, 2013

[wlsguy]

Thanks Chalker.

I would suggest Jack Hanna (Columbus Ohio, Nationally Recognized, has animals). I have no idea how to contact him.

Hopefully in another 10 years some of the Science Olympiad Alumni will be among the "notables".

[chalker7]

Thanks Chalker.

I would suggest Jack Hanna (Columbus Ohio, Nationally Recognized, has animals). I have no idea how to contact him.

Hopefully in another 10 years some of the Science Olympiad Alumni will be among the "notables".

Yep, that would be (will be?) great if we had a huge selection of SO alumni notables!

Jack Hanna is also on our list, I've tried contacting him through a couple of avenues with no success, but we'll keep trying various options.

[kennethfriedman]

How about Dr. Ed Burger, head of the math department at Williams College. He pioneered online learning with his video lecture series through Thinkwell, which are hilarious, and has written many textbooks and books such as "Coincidences, Chaos, and All That Math Jazz"

KF
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[sturmde]

You want Brian Jones from Colorado State University.
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The creator and leader of The Little Shop of Physics would rise to the occasion and be the best of all possible speakers. Plus, he won't charge anything, other than asking for his airfare, a nice downtown classic hotel room, transportation, and some funding for cool things to pass out to the audience for the talk.
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http://littleshop.physics.colostate.edu/
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Trust me, he's worth a thousand Tysons, or a hundred Nyes.