TMT and LIGO at the National Science Festival

For two weeks in October, the National Mall and surrounding areas in Washington, D.C., were transformed into a city-size laboratory for exploration and education as part of the inaugural USA Science & Engineering Festival—the nation's first national science festival.

Two Caltech-led projects—the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) Science Education Center and the Thirty Meter Telescope project—hosted interactive science exhibits during the expo and helped inspire visitors young and old to think scientifically.

Over 500 of the nation's leading science and engineering organizations hosted more than 1,500 free, interactive exhibits that drew about 500,000 people to downtown Washington to learn about science, technology, engineering, and math. For those who couldn't make it to the capital, over 50 satellite events were sponsored throughout the nation.

Watch the video of festival visitors from TMT's Fisheye camera.