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Following a publically broadcasted invitation from President Barack Obama, children and parents from around the country gathered at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. for the U.S. Science and Engineering Festival on Oct. 23 and 24.

Hosted by the global security company, Lockheed Martin, the festival strove to re-invigorate the interest of the nation’s youth in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) by producing and presenting the most compelling, exciting, educational and entertaining science gathering in the nation. The festival had over 100 sponsors, including the university.

According to Dr. Ray Johnson, chief technology officer of Lockheed Martin, the idea for a national festival originated after the success of the San Diego Science Festival last year, which he helped organize.

“It attracted over 100,000 people – a crowd so large for Balboa Park that officials had to start turning away cars wanting to enter the park on the afternoon of the expo,” he said. “Reflecting later on the festival’s success, I thought, if a local event excites this many kids, what could we accomplish with a festival on a national scale?”

Johnson explained that his main hopes for the festival were to encourage young people to be creative and to inspire the kind of innovation that has been the cornerstone of U.S. economic growth throughout the nation’s history