Categories
GeekWire

D.C.’s March for Science sparks chain reaction

Science marchers
A breast cancer survivor poses as Wonder Woman among other demonstrators at the March for Science, with the U.S. Capitol in the background. (GeekWire Photo / Alan Boyle)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The scenery for the world’s most watched March for Science may have featured the political icons of the nation’s capital, but the weather was pure Seattle.

Today’s rally brought thousands of people to the National Mall for hours’ worth of teach-ins and speeches, despite a Seattle-style drizzle.

Bill Nye the Science Guy, a co-chair for the national March for Science movement, struck on the theme of the day when he noted that many policymakers in Washington and around the world were “deliberately and actively suppressing science.”

He also noted the stereotypical view of scientists as detached nerds who dwell on topics with little relevance to society as a whole.

“But our numbers here today show the world that science is for all,” he told the crowd. “Our lawmakers must know and accept that science serves every one of us, every citizen of every nation and society. Science must shape policy. Science is universal. Science brings out the best of us. With an informed, optimistic view of the future, together we can – dare I say it? – save the world.”

Get the full story on GeekWire.

Categories
GeekWire

March for Science puts trio in the spotlight

Villa-Komaroff, Nye and Hanna-Attisha
Lydia Villa-Komaroff, Bill Nye and Mona Hanna-Attisha are the honorary co-chairs for the March for Science. (AAAS / Bill Nye / Hurley Medical Center)

Lydia Villa-Komaroff and Mona Hanna-Attisha may not be as well-known as Bill Nye the Science Guy, but all three scientists strike the right chords after what has been a somewhat dissonant buildup for next month’s nationwide March for Science rallies.

Today organizers named Villa-Komaroff, Hanna-Attisha and Nye as the honorary national co-chairs for the March for Science, which is set for April 22. The main event will be in Washington, D.C., but more than 400 satellite marches are being planned in locales around the world, including Seattle.

Get the full story on GeekWire.

Categories
GeekWire

How to get set for the March for Science

Stand Up for Science rally
Lab-coated scientists get their pictures taken after a “Stand Up for Science” rally in downtown Boston’s Copley Square. (GeekWire Photo / Alan Boyle)

BOSTON – Hundreds of science-minded demonstrators converged on Boston over the weekend to test a prototype for the March for Science, a campaign that’s expected to bring out more than a million people around the globe on April 22.

The “Stand Up for Science” rally took place on Feb. 19 during the height of this year’s meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and as a result drew attendees from the AAAS crowd – including Bish Paul, a molecular biologist who got his Ph.D. from the University of Washington and worked at Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Paul, a gay immigrant from India, told The Boston Globe that his aim wasn’t to attack Republicans, but to defend the scientific community and what it stands for.

“We’re not protesting a party,” he said. “As scientists, we want to support truth.”

Get the full story on GeekWire.