What’s Next?
New York kids ponder the future at NextFest
By Kathy Ishizuka -- School Library Journal, 11/1/2006
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Held from September 29 to October 1 in New York City’s Javits Center, NextFest played host to more than 18,000 metro-area schoolchildren, who previewed the show for free during Education Day on September 28, courtesy of Pfizer.
“The sheer volume of interest in New York City was overwhelming,” says Maya Draisin, NextFest’s director of community outreach. “We had 4,500 kids in San Francisco, 9,000 in Chicago [NextFest’s previous host cities], but over 19,000 registered in New York and it would have been more, but we had to close the registration.”
Intended to spark student interest in careers in science and technology, Education Day featured auditorium presentations presided over by astronauts and Pfizer execs, among others. But perhaps it was the interactive exhibits that held the greatest potential for stimulating young minds.
Once cut loose from their seats, the fourth through 12th graders fanned out through the exhibition pavilions, showcasing the latest innovations in communication, design, exploration, entertainment, healthy security, green living, and transportation from visionary inventors and R & D labs worldwide.
The greatest draw? A display called “The Future of Play”—no surprise there—as crowds of kids made a beeline past the guys in a booth demonstrating an RFID boarding pass for the latest in gaming. There was Kick Ass Kung-Fu, which, through a camera, software, and many willing kids, inserted the live volunteers into a side-scrolling fighting game.
Then there was the Digiwall, a musical rock-climbing wall with computer-controlled sensors that light up and sound a note with every grip by a climbing user. So creative multi-taskers can design climbs to any skill level, while composing personal soundtracks at the same time. Still other inventions that drew the attention of youngsters seemed more sensual than technological in their appeal. The Laser Harp, for instance, allowed users to make music by passing their hands and arms through a series of red laser beams. Quick moves increased the volume, while slow touches produced gentle, lullaby-like tones. In contrast was the rather strange sensations wrought by Conspiratio, a Japanese game that simulates what it feels like to suck various digital foods through a straw.
Also in attendance was the International Children’s Digital Library (ICDL, www.icdlbooks.org). The virtual library, which came out of the University of Maryland, holds more than 1,000 e-books from 45 countries written in 35 languages. “Obviously, we’re up against some pretty stiff competition,” said Ben Bederson, director of the ICDL Foundation. “But once people see [the library], they’re totally excited about it. There’s nothing else like it content-wise in this entire exhibit.”
