Empire Produces an Innovative Live Webcast from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to Promote STEM Education
Non-profit organization, Change the Equation, launched their new online game iON FUTURE live from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. The event, which was hosted by Keke Palmer, and featured NASA’s ‘Mohawk Guy’ Bobak Ferdowsi, was streamed live into classrooms all across the country.Change the Equation is a not for profit coalition of business leaders aligned to improve learning in the U.S. and to promote careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).As part of their program to achieve this goal, Change the Equation developed iON Future, an interactive, online game to allow middle school and early-high school youth to explore STEM-based professions and to match their interests with different career pathways in STEM. To launch this game and drive initial awareness and trial of iON Future, Change the Equation turned to Empire Entertainment which conceived of an entertaining STEM-related live webcast.Working closely with Change the Equation, Empire created an original 40 minute webcast that originated from the acclaimed NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. This facility has served as “Mission Control” for generations of unmanned space exploration including the recent Mars Curiosity mission. Hosted by Keke Palmer, star of Nickelodeon’s “True Jackson, VP,” the show took place before a live audience of students from the Los Angeles area and included participation by Mars Curiosity Flight Director Bobak Ferdowski, popularly known as ‘Mohawk Guy’ for his unique haircut. The program also took viewers and students to remote locations where STEM knowledge is needed for success, including:- GlaxoSmithKline in Collegeville, Penn., where they are doing important molecular research on pharmaceutical products; - Rolls Royce in Indianapolis, where students got an inside look at how jet engines are manufactured; and - Viacom’s Network Operations Center in Happauge, N.Y. where networks like MTV, VH-1, Nickelodeon, and others beam their programming via satellite dishes around the world. In addition, each remote segment and the end of the program was accompanied by a challenge that the students at Jet Propulsion Laboratory and viewers could work to solve, giving students an opportunity to see what it is like to be a STEM professional. The iON Future launch webcast was viewed by a significant number of the target audience and drove substantial trial of the iON Future game. Watch the Ion Future Launch Webcast on demand at https://vimeo.com/165209860?utm_source=email&utm_medium=vimeo-cliptranscode-201504&utm_campaign=29220 and play iON Future here: http://ionfuture.org/. Empire is a leading producer of innovative broadcast and webcast projects.
Guests received their first taste of technological innovation at registration, where they were welcomed by name on a reactive LED screen installation covering the full width of the entry wall. A large lunch café was created with a décor scheme that incorporated custom-built, ceiling-high steel LED frames draped with foliage to create smaller, intimate restaurant-style spaces that displayed both technology and nature.
A series of breakout sessions presented content targeted to attendees’ varied interests, while imagery displayed throughout the venue showcased real-life applications of how products designed to empower developers help to unleash the power of data and reimagine possibilities that will improve our world.
Every element of Microsoft Connect(); from registration, breakfast and keynote, to lunch and evening cocktails, were custom-designed to communicate exacting brand messaging and to deliver a high-touch guest experience to this important audience. The keynote and breakout sessions were livestreamed through an onsite studio built for this purpose and content was watched online by millions around the world.
Empire is proud to collaborate with Microsoft on this annual, top-tier business communication event.
To view excerpts of Connect(); 2017, please visit https://www.microsoft.com/connectevent
