Oracle Academy participates in the Education Outreach Day at Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair

Oracle Academy continues our commitment to advance technology education by participating in the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) Education Outreach Day, held on May 18, 2023. ISEF is the world’s largest international pre-college science competition and the overarching goal of ISEF Education Outreach Day program is to encourage students to think critically, work together, and get excited about science and engineering.

During the ISEF Education Outreach Day, Oracle Academy volunteers provided an opportunity for middle and high school students to engage in a hands-on science and coding experience utilizing Oracle Academy Workshop-in-a-Box learning resources. These included RelativityLand, an interactive JavaScript simulation focusing on Einstein’s special theory of relativity, and Programming the Finch Robot in Greenfoot, which encourages students to program an interface that makes the Finch Robot interactive by programming its light, proximity, and temperature sensors using Java in Greenfoot.

Approximately 2,500 local middle and high school students and 250 teachers from the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex area participated in the event.

Our Oracle Academy Volunteers included Jeffrey Diamond and Leick Robinson, both consulting members of Oracle Labs technical staff, who spent a very busy day engaging with the students.  From Jeff and Leick: “We spent a fun, amazing day in Dallas manning a booth at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) for Oracle Academy, showcasing RelativityLand and the Greenfoot Finch robot demo. It was incredibly inspiring being immersed in students gathered from all over the world for this science competition.”

“Oracle had a high-prestige, double-wide endcap booth near the entrance doors, with a large TV monitor. Waves of students kept us on our feet non-stop for hours, engaging with highly interested students and teachers,” they noted. “The Finch “battlebot” arena was very attractive to the younger students, while RelativityLand appealed to the older, more academically advanced students. Many of the teachers showed interest in Oracle Academy resources and how they could make use of them to enrich the classroom experience.”

“We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the absolutely outstanding IT staff at the convention center who had all of the hardware and software set up for us before we arrived. They went above and beyond, even installing a last-minute software update overnight without even being asked, all in the midst of a huge, chaotic convention!,” they said. “Our experience would not have run nearly as smoothly without their support!”

Oracle Academy continues to work with educators and partners to engage, inspire, and prepare students to become innovators and leaders of the future. Please visit our blog regularly to see the latest news.

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