Archive for the ‘Adam Savage’ Category

MythBusters to Headline North Carolina Science Festival

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
North Carolina Science Festival

Image: NC Science Festival

The North Carolina Science Festival kicks off on September 11th. With hundreds of events scattered across the entire state, there’s something for everyone at the first of its kind festival.

One event of particular interest to most GeekDad readers is “An Afternoon with Adam and Jamie.” On September 19th at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, MythBusters Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman will discuss their enviable careers, share behind-the-scenes stories and outtakes, and even screen a video of the show’s more spectacular explosions. They’ll also be taking questions from the audience.

Adam and Jamie can probably appreciate the theme of the festival: “Life is your lab.” The rest of the festival centers around this idea and features tons of cool hands-on science events in various locations across the state:

  • Come face-to-face with all things creepy and crawly at Bugfest (North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh).
  • Check out the biggest exhibit of shell collections in North Carolina (Cape Fear Museum of History and Science, Wilmington).
  • Explore the science of wine making (Shelton Vineyards, Dobson).
  • Build an electromagnet (Imagination Station, Wilson).
  • Take a guided bird walk (Jackson Park, Hendersonville).
  • Tour a coastal research station (US Army Corps of Engineers Field Research Facility, Duck).
  • Learn how movie professionals create special effects (Museum of Life and Science, Durham).

The festival runs from September 11-26. Event locations, prices and details can be found at the NC Science Festival website.

Keep an eye out for more coverage from the NC Science Festival and look for GeekDad at the events!

Posted in Adam Savage, Astronomy, Biology, Chapel Hill, Durham, Field Trips, Jamie Hyneman, Mythbusters, NC Science Festival, North Carolina, Outdoor Activities, People, Places, Raleigh, Science and Education, education, fun, science | Comments Off

Mythbusters at the White House!

Monday, November 23rd, 2009
Source: Mythbusters twitter feed

Source: Mythbusters twitter feed

After seven years of promoting experimentation, education, and the scientific method on Mythbusters, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman visited the White House today and received a direct shout-out from President Obama, who told them “I hope you’ve left the explosives at home!”

Their visit was part of a White House event promoting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) in education called “Educate to Innovate”. This includes a public-private partnership from a number of media companies, including Discovery, who broadcasts MythBusters, who are creating a number of STEM initiatives such as commercial-free Kids’ Science Blocks and a new STEM Academy for teachers.

Congratulations to Jamie and Adam, you two clean up really well!

Read more on the Mythbusters twitter feed and on the Twitter #STEM tag.

Posted in Adam Savage, Jamie Hyneman, Mythbusters, STEM, Science and Education, education | Comments Off

W00tstock FTW!

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
W00tstock poster by Len Peralta.

W00tstock poster by Len Peralta.

Back in the last century, I once attended a Nine Inch Nails concert where the opening band was The Jim Rose Circus - an eclectic mix of music and performance art paying homage to the circus freaks of an earlier age. Please let me be clear that while I’m not comparing the performers at W00tstock to circus freaks per se, there was a lot of similarity between those two shows. Except for the music. And the crowd. And no one at W00tstock ate light bulbs (that I saw).

Our Secretary of Geek Affairs, the Honorable Wil Wheaton

Our Secretary of Geek Affairs, the Honorable Wil Wheaton

W00tstock is a glorious revelry and celebration of all that it means to be a geek, explored through music, words and humor. I’m not going to do a full review here, because I really don’t want to give it all away. Let’s just say, if you throw Paul and Storm, Wil Wheaton (wearing his Department of Geek Affairs shirt in the picture above - remember, we GeekDads can be proud that we played a part in getting him elected Secretary), Adam Savage (whom we’ve interviewed), and special guests Kid Beyond, Molly Lewis, and comedy duo Kasper Hauser up on a stage in front of a room full of geeks, you’re going to get something wonderful.

There’s another show tonight in San Francisco, and one tomorrow night in L.A. Just go. I mean it. And if you don’t live near a show, encourage them to bring it to your town. It’s really, really worth it.

And just to whet your whistles, here’s a little taste of the show: Paul and Storm performing Frogger: the Musical.

Posted in Adam Savage, Armchair Geek, Kasper Hauser, Kid Beyond, Molly Lewis, People, The Internet, W00tstock, paul and storm, wil wheaton | Comments Off