2008 Woodie Awards
Wonders of technology at Holt Arena
Jerrod Warr
Issue date: 3/28/07 Section: Life
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Hot Air Balloozles and Meteorologist Tooloozles! There were cranes high in the sky and robot cars zooming by. Poofs of science puff, popped perfectly past every person. Mass media cutlets bamboozled and funwoozled kids of all ages. Definitely, the whirly, swirly, head-turny tech world offered plenty to learny.
And that's how visitors to the Sixth Annual Tech Expo, held last Thursday, felt as they entered the Holt Arena, as if Dr. Seuss had organized the whole event himself. Anyone who thought university was all about droning professors and regurgitated book reports didn't feel the same way after seeing the various displays that filled the arena.
Around 100 organizations showcased some of today's hottest and most innovative technology. There were several independent companies present: Lithia Motors, Union Telephone, Micron, Hawthorne Medicine, Idaho Power, and Intel were some of the many businesses on site to educate all who would listen. ISU also had a fair amount of booths open; students had the opportunity to learn about the College of Engineering, Mass Communication, Health Information Technology, and various other programs. Even still, local high schools proudly displayed some of the projects they had been working on, from video yearbooks to consumer science. Indeed, it was collaboration on a grand scale.
While displays were open to anyone interested in learning additional information about a particular tech field, the event had a unique sense of catering to the up-and-coming youth. The goal was to create excitement and wonder in the minds of these young students about any or all of the sciences. In a welcoming address printed in the tech pamphlet, Mary Vagner, Superintendent of Pocatello/Chubbuck School District #25, had this to say:
"The expo will expose you to many exciting career opportunities. These opportunities will connect what you are learning now to how it will be used in the future. By taking advantage of the resources available to you today, you will be better prepared to make educational choices. These choices will help you reach your career goals."
And the tech expo appeared to deliver on its promise. At nearly every booth, there were groups of young onlookers gawking at robotic arms, interactive games, medical tools, and a myriad of other attractions; even Bill Nye would have seemed like Ben Stein in Ferris Bueller's Day Off in comparison. It made this college senior wish he was in high school and could do the whole university adventure all over again... well, almost.
For many students, the applied sciences aren't for them, and that's okay; universities have plenty of options for everyone. However, it's clear from the numerous displays on hand that today's technology will affect everyone's tomorrow. And while some of us can't distinguish a megahertz from gigabyte, events like ISU's tech expo allow us to step into a whole other world, one where even Dr. Seuss himself would be amazed.
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