The Biocom Institute Festival of Science and Engineering started this past Saturday with an Expo Day! 100+ tents and booths were set up. These vendors ranged from universities such as UCSD, to enterprises such as Microsoft, to media outlets such as KGTV ABC 10 to professional organizations such as ACS. Essentially, a very wide range of exhibits aiming to educate, inspire & empower in the field of STEM. The full list can be found here. Each booth had something for a specific audience that ranged from toddlers all the way to university students and beyond. Concepts such as absolute value were taught through interactive rap at the main stage. Various experiments and shouts of “ooohs” and “aaaahs” could be seen and heard as one walked around the park.
ISACA San Diego also made a presence there. In my previous interactions with them, the target audience has always been professionals in the field of information security, assurance, risk management and governance. When I shared my surprise that they had a booth, Kim Lamoureux the president of group said, “The times are changing.” What a true statement indeed! Online safety & digital hygiene practices are vital to the upcoming generations.
Their booth attracted toddlers such as Luke (age 4) who learned about Binary Code being the computer language while creating binary bracelets. Another popular activity at their booth was creating a cipher wheel! Giggles were heard as kids created their own and were able to decode and encode messages to their friends! Historical fact: Thomas Jefferson created the concept and prototype back in the 1790s of a wheel cipher. It has served as the basis of cryptography till date. Around a 1000 bracelets and 400 cipher wheels were made by the kids!
ISACA SD collaborated with The Cynja, and showcased their free iPad app aimed to educate families on online safety. They also had a comic book which explained concepts such as strong passwords in a way that was appropriate for kids. It’s definitely a great topic starter when approaching this topic, do take a look at it here! What made this booth even more successful were the volunteers! Such a dynamic, driven and energetic group that truly invested in bringing awareness to the younger generations in a fun & interactive manner.
In short, a lot of fun educational activities & energies at Petco Park this week, do check it out!
