Will.i.am Promotes Tech and Science Education With i.am FIRST: Science is Rock & Roll TV Special
Last night the idea of science and technology became cool with the i.am FIRST: Science is Rock & Roll special that aired last night on ABC. Will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas teamed up with inventor/ For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) founder Dean Kamen for an exciting television special promoting education in science and technology.
The show featured teen profiles that participated in the FIRST Championship. The FIRST event is a worldwide science and robotics competition for kids in grades K-12. In addition to highlighting tech savvy youth the show featured fun performances by Willow Smith, and of course the Black Eyed Peas. Also, celebrities such as Justin Bieber, Brittany Spears, Snoop Dogg, and more made special appearances to express what science and technology means to them.
The program was a great way to get kids excited about the world of science and technology. When they see celebrities like will.i.am engaging and flipping it into something fun, they become intrigued to know more. Will.i.am has done a phenomenal job thus far in making himself part of the technology world and using his talent to promote STEM education.
Overall it was a great show, but what it lacked was black faces. There were a few that popped up here and there, but out of the thousands of people who attended, the black population was almost nonexistent.
Will.i.am is on the right track with his methods in making tech and science popular, but now it’s time to get more minorities involved as well. Even the amount of black celebrities that participated was slim, including only Snoop Dogg and will.i.am himself. We hope to see a better representation of minority youth at the same programs as these subjects become even more popular to young people, including the celebrities that they follow.
Category: Featured, STEM | Tags: abc, Black Eyed Peas, i.am FIRST: Science is Rock & Roll, robotics, STEM, will.i.am
About the Author Kiera is the Editor at Black Web 2.0. Connect with her on Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn.
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