A look from above at one of the exhibit halls at the USA Science and Engineering Festival on April 25, 2014 in Washington, D.C. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
A look from above at one of the exhibit halls at the USA Science and Engineering Festival on April 25, 2014 in Washington, D.C. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
A monkey encourages smart thinking at the USA Science and Engineering Festival on April 25, 2014 in Washington, D.C. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
Drones manufactured by KMel Robotics rest on the ground before performing a musical number for the audience at the USA Science and Engineering Festival on April 25, 2014 in Washington, D.C. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
A girl tries out the realistic F-16 cockpit demonstrator at the USA Science and Engineering Festival on April 25, 2014 in Washington, D.C. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
A family looks at some military vests during the USA Science and Engineering Festival on April 25, 2014 in Washington, D.C. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
A young boy plays with robotics during the USA Science and Engineering Festival on April 25, 2014 in Washington, D.C. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
Two kids practice parachuting from an airplane on a U.S. Air Force simulation at the USA Science and Engineering Festival on April 25, 2014 in Washington, D.C. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
Lt. Gen. David Goldfein of the US Air Force speaks about the importance of science and technology at the USA Science and Engineering Festival on April 25, 2014 in Washington, D.C. Pictured behind him are the medics that saved his life after his plane was shot down over Serbia. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
A waterproof robot shows off its abilities in a pool of water at the USA Science and Engineering Festival on April 25, 2014 in Washington, D.C. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
A young girl is memorized by the moving parts of the 3-D printer at the USA Science and Engineering Festival on April 25, 2014 in Washington, D.C. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
A close-up of a 3-D printer making a design at the USA Science and Engineering Festival on April 25, 2014 in Washington, D.C. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
A young girl, far left, drives a robot with the Star Wars droid R2-D2 on it during the USA Science and Engineering Festival on April 25, 2014 in Washington, D.C. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
A boy mimics the hand movements of a prosthetic arm at the USA Science and Engineering Festival on April 25, 2014 in Washington, D.C. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
Young boys drive a piece of equipment from NASA during the USA Science and Engineering Festival on April 25, 2014 in Washington, D.C. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
Two young kids learn how much dark matter is in the universe at a NASA exhibit at the USA Science and Engineering Festival on April 25, 2014 in Washington, D.C. The black marbles represent dark matter while the colored marbles - the very few of them - represent what we know of the universe. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
Military families, kids and classrooms filled the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Friday for the USA Science and Engineering Festival in Washington, D.C., for a sneak peek of the events. Toys and technology filled the space and introduced kids to science, robotics and technology. The expo is free to the public April 26 and 27, and celebrity guests include Bill Nye the Science Guy, scientist Michio Kaku, and Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs.
