Thousands of students, families and teachers will explore deep space, build new cities and ride snowboards when Raytheon Company’s interactive MathAlive! exhibition premieres at the Prince Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz Science and Technology Center (Scitech) in Al Kohbar, Saudi Arabia on May 28, 2014.
This interactive, dual-language exhibition, opened in partnership with Scitech and King Fahd University, is designed to encourage students to explore Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) related studies to support the Kingdom’s focus on STEM education and higher learning. The exhibition will run from May 28 to June 21, 2014.
“Raytheon is committed to inspiring students in the Kingdom to create a lifelong relationship with math and science that will open up exciting opportunities and support the Kingdom’s goals of building a sustainable knowledge economy,” said Dr. James R. Brungess, Vice President and Senior Executive, Raytheon International Inc., Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The MathAlive! exhibit offers 40 interactive displays that demonstrate the link between math and science and a number of exciting activities, including building future cities, programming the robotic arm from the cupola of the International Space Station, and designing a custom skateboard to “pop” – the quick, snapping motion that allows a board to do the best tricks.
The 465 sq m exhibit is presented in Modern Standard Arabic as well as English and contains exciting content relating to mathematics at work around the world. It includes historical achievements of Gulf mathematicians and others from the Middle East who apply science, technology, engineering and math studies to their careers. Interactive activities allow visitors to experience math amid the cultural context of familiar Middle Eastern imagery, landmarks, customs, culture and language.
“Scitech is committed to promoting science, technology, engineering and math education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Partnering with Raytheon to host MathAlive! is a great honor and gives our students access to a compelling interactive educational experience that demonstrates the wide variety of possible careers,” said Dr. Habib Abdalhammayel, Director General of Scitech.
Further extending Raytheon’s global STEM commitment, Engineering is Elementary®, a program designed for young children in partnership with the Museum of Science, Boston and the pan-Arab educational organization Injaz, will debut its “The Little EngineerTM” curriculum in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia later this year. The Little Engineer program encourages understanding of engineering and technology among children as young as six years old through interactive activities that explore engineering fields.
