August Newsletter - ExCITe Center

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Don't miss the 2021 STAR Scholars Summer Showcase!

The 2021 STAR Scholars Showcase is Thursday, Aug. 26, on Lancaster Walk between 33rd Street & 34th Street. See some of Drexel's brightest students present their summer research projects. Our ExCITe STAR Scholar, Rebecca Moroz, will showcase her research on "The Integration of Art into STEM Education using Minecraft", focusing on our 2021 Virtual Young Dragons STEAM Minecraft Camp!

Last Chance to Vote for our SXSW EDU 2022 session!

Please vote for the ExCITe Center's SXSW EDU 2022 session proposal , "Building an Inclusive Maker Community", led by faculty members Kareem Edouard, Youngmoo Kim, Chris Wright, and Drexel PhD alum Rasheda Likely (now with Keenesaw State University)!

Public voting counts 30% towards SXSW program selection. PanelPicker voting ends this Thursday, August 26th!

Fling to the Finish by SplitSide games is releasing this Monday, August 23rd for Early Access!!

SplitSide Games is a small team of Drexel student developers, part of the Entrepreneurial Game Studio. When they're not in classes, they spend all their free time working on their premiere title: Fling to the Finish.

Fling to the Finish is an awesome cooperative racing game where teams of two players race through colorful, chaotic obstacle courses while tethered by a stretchy elastic rope. We've had loads of fun play-testing the game at ExCITe!

SplitSide's ambition is to use the success of their first project to help build their studio and keep the team together in Philadelphia.

Click here to request Early Access to stream Fling to the Finish!

FTW Philly news broadcast report on EGS-produced Sons of Ra nominated for a regional Emmy!!

Sons of Ra is a two-player online competitive tower defense game where players take control of powerful Egyptian Gods. It began as a class project that was developed by a large group over 6 months at Drexel. The goal was simple: to capture the strategic appeal of real time strategy games into an experience that could be played on a couch, with a controller. After those 6 months had passed, the core team of four members decided to continue development into a finished product that could be adapted for a wide range of systems.

The game was launched earlier this year, and a report by FTW Philly about the game is now nominated for an Emmy Award!

The ILLEST Lab recently welcomed Kevin Lowber from Episcopal Academy for his STEAM-focused internship this month. He is participating in a summer simulator led by ExCITe co-ops, Note Nuchprayoon and DJ Dawkins, and assisting in the development of project-based activities. They are working with a Young Dragons program alum to further build and design makerspace programming.

Next month, we will also be welcoming a new cohort of West Philadelphia High School students to the Continuing STEM Education Academy (CSEA)!

ILLEST Lab's Dr. Chris Wright: 2021 BMe Vanguard!

Congratulations to Dr. Chris Wright, who was recently named a 2021 Vanguard for the Next Narrative for Black America by BME Community!

Meet our new AmeriCorps Vista for Digital Inclusion, Laura Sato.

We're excited to have Laura Sato join the ExCITe Center! Laura is one of four AmeriCorps Vista Fellows volunteering at Drexel for the next year. Having just completed her MA in Museum and Exhibition Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Laura will assist in the management of the Digital Navigator program and in long term planning for additional digital inclusion initiatives.

“No Such Thing” podcast featuring Andy Stutzman!

Be sure to listen to the 92nd episode of the “No Such Thing” podcast where our Director for Civic Tech, Andy Stutzman, joined colleagues from the City of Philadelphia and the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) to discuss digital inclusion and equity!