The Swaliga Foundation will host its eighth annual #STEAMtheBlock Party on Saturday, Aug. 10 from Noon to 5 p.m. at the DC Entertainment and Sports Arena.
The event is free with registration and open to all ages. It will offer a wide array of workshops and activities, including interactive science demos about sound energy and frequency, creating music beats, playing cutting-edge video games, learning how to fly drones, and understanding electric cars. Additionally, attendees can explore virtual reality and the fascinating world of 3D printing.
Since its establishment in 2012, The Swaliga Foundation has been engaging youth in the metropolitan area with STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) to children in D.C.
“We’re taking the city over… we want to set the tone for the upcoming school year. We have to empower and pull up our young people,” Lemond Brown, founder and CEO of the Swaliga Foundation told the Informer.
Brown noticed a learning gap in math and science skills among Black youth and envisioned The Swaliga Foundation as a way to combat youth crime, homicide, and depression among the youth in the area while closing the gap.
Brown, a writer, producer and musician who performs as MR. IMAG, has a degree in architectural engineering from Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Over a decade since its inception, the foundation has helped serve 10,000 youth and families through after-school programs and community events.
The foundation will be hosting competitions prior to the Aug. 10 event, including a business idea/pitch competition that will reward winners with new laptops and a cash prize.
There also will be a T-shirt design competition sponsored by Under Armour with the theme being a “visual representation of D.C. leading the way in STEAM innovation,” winners will get to visit Under Armour’s facilities and see their designs come to life. Both competition deadlines are on Monday, Aug. 5.
The event will also include live music performances by UCB, ENTATY, Uptown XO, Pinky Killacorn, Fly Zyah and. MR. IMAG will be taking the stage and premiering new music from his album, “#STEAMtheBlock: Book of Nature.”
“We’ve got some dope artists, some amazing partners, some of the top engineering and tech companies in the region, and it’s just going to be a fun day,” said Brown.
The Washington Informer is a media partner for this event. Other partners include Best Buy, Under Armour, Events DC, DC Arts & Humanities, OLÉ Entertainment, LLC., Minority Tech Foundation, National Endowment of the Arts, and WUSA-9.