Twenty of the nation's most interesting people in the areas of science, design and entertainment will be discussing the sources of their inspiration on Saturday -- with the hope of inspiring and empowering children and teens to pursue and share their own ideas. The TEDYouth event (designed for ages 12 to 18) will take place from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. (CT) in New York, but will be webcast to free viewing parties worldwide, including one at the Flick Auditorium at Edina High School.
Speakers include inventor and MythBusters co-host Adam Savage, ocean explorer David Gallo, "Science Babe" Deborah Berebichez, and mathematician Garth Sundem (who creates formulas to predict everything from whether students should study or goof off, to the odds of success in asking someone out for a date. For fun, watch this formula he creates on whether to wake up early or not).
Claude Sigmund, who teaches a government class to 9th graders at Southview Middle School in Edina, said he wanted to host the viewing party because he liked the event's theme of "Play, Learn, Build, Share." Students will hopefully discover that even what they do for play and in their free time has educational value, and might inspire great ideas, he said.
Recognizing that attendees might not be interested in all 20 speakers, the organizers in Edina will arrange a series of discussions and hands-on games and activities during the event, said Mike Walker, an Edina district technology integration specialist.
"The focus is on youth and the theme is something that resonates with a lot of youth today," he said, "about being able to mash up, build and share ideas."
The whole TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) concept is new to me. I first learned of it watching a presentation by a sixth-grader on how he programmed an app that combines Whack-A-Mole with Justin Bieber. (See below.) Hard to knock a forum that encourages kids to share their ideas and turn their passions into potential paths for their futures!
Stuff to Do is an occasional series of off-beat activities for children and families:
In heated western Minn. GOP congressional primary, outsiders challenging incumbent
Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame: A class-by-class list of all members
This retired journalist changed professional wrestling from Mankato
