Nine days filled with STEAM Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics in the City of Pasadena kicked off Saturday as more than 45,000 participants are expected at over 100 innovation-focused events for Connect Pasadena 2018.
The innovation-focused series runs from Oct. 20 through 28, 2018 offers up seminars, tech crawls, interactive events, AI, virtual reality, robotics, programming and many other immersive happenings.
Connect Pasadena 2018 is billed as the biggest innovation series in Pasadena and in Los Angeles. It is certainly the most ambitious undertaking that Innovate Pasadena, a mostly volunteer organization made up of over 600 entrepreneurs, business leaders, engineers, venture capitalists, educators, designers, students, CEOs, and actual rocket scientists, has ever attempted since launching its first Connect Weekend Alpha in March 2014.
Innovate Pasadena says there are “tons of community events” focused on science, design, technology, and entrepreneurship during Connect Pasadena 2018. And they’re not just for adult professionals, entrepreneurs, artists and scientists alone.
The festival’s calendar is filled with kids’ events as well, such as The Foos – an award-winning learn-to-code app – for girls in grades K-5, a STEM workshop on Lego/Vex robotics and a 3D printing workshop for ages 8 and up, a preschool STEAM discovery event, and a Robot Open Build for ages six and up, among others.
Whole-family events are also in the calendar, such as a Family Code Night on Wednesday and a Caltechmakers Family Hackathon Saturday, October 27, as well as a parent-oriented lecture this Saturday, October 20, on the skills of emotional awareness to help parents connect more successfully with their children.
The series also includes the Pasadena Business and Economic Summit on Tuesday, October 23, organized by the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce. Here, local business and industry leaders will discuss the local and regional economy, with an expert providing an economic overview and insights into trends and issues impacting the economy.
For scientists, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory is leading the 2018 Conference on Advanced Power Systems for Deep Space Exploration at the Pasadena Convention Center on Wednesday, October 24, and the Pasadena Bio Collaborative is hosting an Open House for science-inclined students and science educators.
Conservationists and environmentalist will surely want to be part of a Forest Bathing Walk on Saturday, October 20 and a Re-Generation of Gardens event on Wednesday, October 24 at the Los Angeles Arboretum in nearby Arcadia, and a hands-on, plants-on lecture event exploring how plants are the answer to Earth’s sustainability challenges on Friday, October 26, at Blankspaces on Colorado Blvd.
As ArtCenter displays classic cars in celebration of the college’s 70th anniversary of its Transportation Design program on Sunday, October 28, MUSE/IQUE and Artistic Director perform music that take you back to a time when the only things on your mind were a full tank of gas, your favorite song on the radio, and the endless possibilities of the open road ahead.
Connect Pasadena 2018 as it looks is simply a festival that has something for everyone and for all ages, with a few gender-specific gatherings, like a Hiring Women in Tech panel on Saturday, October 20, and a Pasadena Women in Technology happy hour Wednesday night, October 24 – both of which are open for men to sit in, by the way.
Throughout the event calendar, at least from Monday, October 22, socials, happy hours, a Tea-Tech-and-Tequila mixer, demos and drinks, meet-and-greets and networking events are scattered to provide every participant an opportunity to relax while sharing experiences and ideas with other innovators coming to the festival.
The Connect Pasadena 2018 website lists all of the events in the final schedule as well as all the partners under Innovate Pasadena, plus a number of sponsors who have been supporting the group’s activities since 2013.
Many of the events in the series are free to attend, but when there are costs, clicking through the website will give you details on costs, ticket prices and other attendance requirements.
For Connect Pasadena 2018’s complete calendar, including a description of each program within the festival, visit www.innovatepasadena.org/community/calendar.