ARIZONA SCITECH FESTIVAL DRAWS RECORD ATTENDANCE, CREATES AWARENESS FOR STEM CAREERS

PHOENIX, AZ (April 11, 2018) — Communities across the state officially wrapped up the 2018 Arizona SciTech Festival on March 31, the statewide, two-month long celebration of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

Now in its seventh year, the festival has seen consistent growth in attendance, events and community involvement.

This year’s festival reached record attendance of 450,000 people in 80 communities across the state. There were more than 2,000 events throughout February and March, and about 400 companies and organizations participated, putting on workshops, open houses, lectures, tours, hands-on displays and exhibits.

“The Arizona SciTech Festival events are critical for engaging future generations of scientists and technology leaders and encouraging them to pursue STEM careers,” said Sandra Watson, President and CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority. “We are focused on ensuring that Arizona continues to produce a talent pipeline with the technical skills today’s employers require.”

The Arizona SciTech Festival has grown into the third-largest science and technology festival in the nation – and is an example of the power of grassroots collaboration across industry, academia, the arts and civic organizations.

“To date, more than 1,000 schools have engaged with the festival, strengthening their relationships with local businesses, universities and government,” said Dr. Jeremy Babendure, Executive Director of Arizona’s SciTech. “The level of collaboration you find in Arizona is impressive, and allows us to create impactful programming for students in communities statewide.”

Arizona SciTech is presented in partnership by the Arizona Commerce Authority, the Arizona Technology Council Foundation, the Arizona Board of Regents, Arizona State University, University of Arizona and Arizona Science Center.

This year, Governor Ducey declared Jan. 27-Feb. 2 “Arizona SciTech Festival Week.”

Media Contacts

Dr. Jeremy Babendure, Arizona SciTech Festival, (480) 250-7764, [email protected] 
Susan Marie, Arizona Commerce Authority, (602) 845-1231, [email protected]

2018 Sponsors:
PRESENTING: Cox Communications
PLATINUM: Arizona Commerce Authority
GOLD: Arizona Board of Regents, State Farm Insurance, Nextiva
SILVER: Arizona Renaissance Festival, Freeport-McMoRan Foundation, Intel, Maricopa Community Colleges, SRP, Thomas R. Brown Foundations, Mac 6, AccountabilIT, US Storage Centers, Univision Contigo,
BRONZE: Arizona Technology Council, Arizona Parenting, Grand Canyon University, PADT, Yelp, Mission Facilitators
COPPER: Arizona State University, Phoenix Business Journal, Bear Essential News, Green Living.
KRYPTON: Project Lead The Way
TITANIUM: Midwestern University
FOUNDATIONAL: Arizona Commerce Authority, Arizona Board of Regents, Arizona Technology Council Foundation, Arizona State University, Arizona Science Center, University of Arizona

About the Arizona Commerce Authority

The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) is the state's leading economic development organization with a streamlined mission to grow and strengthen Arizona's economy. The ACA uses a three-pronged approach to advance the overall economy: attract, expand, create - attract out-of-state companies to establish operations in Arizona; work with existing companies to expand their business in Arizona and beyond; and help entrepreneurs create new Arizona businesses in targeted industries. For more information, please visit azcommerce.com and follow the ACA on Twitter at @azcommerce.

About the Arizona SciTech Festival
The Arizona SciTech Festival is a statewide celebration of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) held annually in February and March. Through a series of expos, workshops, conversations, exhibitions and tours held in diverse neighborhoods throughout the state, the Festival excites and informs Arizonans age 3 to 103 how STEM will drive our state through a grassroots collaboration of more than 800 organizations in industry, academia, arts, civic, community and K-12 education. The Festival is anchored at the Arizona Commerce Authority, in collaboration with additional foundational partners including the Arizona Technology Council Foundation, Arizona Science Center, Arizona State University, the University of Arizona and Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR). Visit azscitech.com for more information.