"We're going to show young people how cool science can be"

Today Steve Benen said this:

I can't think of a modern president who speaks as often and as enthusiastically about science as Obama.

Way back in the early days of his presidency, Obama signed an executive order ending the Bush-era restrictions on stem cell research. Here's what he said on that occasion.

"Promoting science isn't just about providing resources, it is also about protecting free and open inquiry," Obama said. "It is about letting scientists like those here today do their jobs, free from manipulation or coercion, and listening to what they tell us, even when it's inconvenient especially when it's inconvenient. It is about ensuring that scientific data is never distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda and that we make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology."

As a way to promote science in education, a few months later President Obama launched the Annual White House Science Fair.

If you win the NCAA championship, you come to the White House. Well, if you're a young person and you've produced the best experiment or design, the best hardware or software, you ought to be recognized for that achievement, too. Scientists and engineers ought to stand side by side with athletes and entertainers as role models, and here at the White House we're going to lead by example. We're going to show young people how cool science can be.

Today was the Second Annual White House Science Fair.


Someone is definitely enjoying himself. And its not just fourteen year old Joey Hudy who invented this extreme marshmallow cannon.

Ahhh...robots and stuffed chickens - what a combo!.

And yes, science is for girls too!

This is perhaps my favorite picture. What do you do when you have some time on your hands at the White House while you're waiting for the science fair to start?

I have a hunch that this 2 1/2 year old will be traveling to the White House Science Fair in no time.