U.S. Department of State to Exhibit at the USA Science and Engineering Festival Expo in Washington, D.C.

The U.S. Department of State will participate in the 4th USA Science & Engineering Festival (USASEF) Expo, April 16-17, in Washington, D.C. The Expo, designed to inspire the next generation of innovators, is a free, family-friendly event that allows youth and adults to participate in more than 3,000 hands-on activities.

The Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) will exhibit a six-ton armored vehicle that kids will be allowed to “test drive,” as well as cutting-edge countermeasures and communications systems that provide 360-degree situational awareness during protective operations. Visitors will also have the opportunity to try to get past an alarm system without detection, and then meet security technology professionals and DS special agents to learn how they apply science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to their jobs.

A display by the U.S. Government Publishing Office will include the State Department’s Office of Foreign Missions (OFM), and will allow visitors to examine the secure documents, such as diplomatic driver’s licenses, identification cards, and tax exemption cards, that GPO, in partnership with OFM, developed new technology to produce the new highly secure credentials.

The Department of State’s Greening Diplomacy Initiative (GDI), led by the Office of Management Policy, Rightsizing, and Innovation (M/PRI), will set up a Mobile Eco-Diplomacy Lab where visitors will be able to see and touch a real solar panel, a small-scale edible community garden, and a rainwater harvesting and filtration system, like those used at many U.S. embassies.

Diplomats working in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs will explain how they use STEM programs to strengthen cultural understanding, foster regional stability, promote study abroad and advance the rights of women and girls. Fulbright grantees from various countries will also participate in the festival and share their experiences as visiting scholars working in the science and technology fields.

The State Department’s participation at USASEF will highlight our unique ability to apply science, technology, and innovation in the conduct of foreign relations, as well as how science, technology, and innovation are vital to the Department’s efforts to build and sustain a more democratic, secure, healthy, and prosperous world. The Department works to build international scientific cooperation that increases worldwide economic and social development to create innovative solutions to shared global challenges.