Washington, DC - Part 1

You probably thought that I had enough traveling, after last week's European tour...right?  Apparently not.  After only a day at home with the family, I'm back out on-the-road.  This time?  Our nations capital - Washington, D.C.

This time, I'm only here for a couple of days.  The White House started an initiative to focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education.  The National STEM Video Game Challenge was created to motivate interest in STEM learning for America’s youth by tapping into students’ natural passion for playing and making video games.

I was asked to serve as a national judge for the competition, for the last two years.  I'm here in DC to attend the awards ceremony, honoring the top kids/teams from elementary school, all the way to college-age.

I had a couple of hours before the awards began, so I immediately set out for the National Mall.  It's a rainy and overcast day - so the pictures certainly won't have blue-sky background ; )  For those that haven't been to D.C, this is an area in the middle of town that connects the Capitol Building all the way to the Lincoln Memorial.  As an American, it's a truly inspiring place - filled with such buildings as the Smithsonian national museums, Washington Monument, WWII Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, etc.

Capitol Building - geting ready for the big Memorial Day concert

Smithsonian "Castle"

National Archives

Washington Monument

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

After spending last week in some amazing European capitals, it's nice to remember that Washington, D.C. is just as amazing.  My heart swells with pride just looking at the various memorials and structures.

Just to prove I was there...

The award ceremony was really fun.  I loved seeing the families of the winners - nothing like proud parents ; )  It's always a blast to see your kids work hard to achieve something.  It's nice to know that all of that interest in videogames actually has a healthy outlet - like this competition.  There were guest speakers from the Executive Office of the President of the United States, Congressmen, and corporate sponsors of the competition.  One gentleman, who has been in the gaming industry, gave a really inspiring talk - encouraging kids to pursue their passion:

He did a great job...and I would like to do the exact same thing.  I'll have to work on this plan ; )

The kids were awarded their certificates...and I was really glad to see some young women in the competition.  We need a little more balance in this industry, for sure:

That's it for now.  I'm heading out to dinner with my brother-in-law and his wife.  I haven't seen them in a while and I can't wait to catch-up with them.  Hopefully, I'll steal some time tomorrow to see their awesome kids.  See ya!!