Nationally renowned science educator and former children's television host Bill Nye will visit Charleston in November as part of the Chancellor's STEM Speaker Series, hosted by the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission's Division of Science and Research.
Nye, the host of the popular PBS series "Bill Nye the Science Guy" in the 1990s, will be the featured speaker for the speaker series on Nov. 19, according to Jan Taylor, director of the commission's Division of Science and Research. According to Taylor, Nye was an ideal choice to headline the speaker series, which focuses on family-friendly science topics meant to engage audiences of all ages.
"Bill Nye has spent his career entertaining and educating children and adults with the wonders of science, which parallels our goals for this speaker series," Taylor said. "We hope to excite our state with science and to help everyone better understand its importance in our daily lives."
Nye's talk will focus on exploration and discovery in science, as well as the importance of lifelong learning, Taylor said. The event will be held at the Maier Foundation Performance Hall at the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences at 7 p.m. on Nov. 19.
Nye received 18 Emmy Awards for his work on "Bill Nye the Science Guy," and has since become a sought-after speaker on topics ranging from global warming to evolution. After wrapping up "Bill Nye the Science Guy," Nye, a mechanical engineer, served as the technical expert for the early-2000s show "Battlebots," a series in which competitors designed robots to fight one another in arena-style battles, and later hosted The Science Channel's "100 Greatest Discoveries." In 2005, he produced a 13-episode science series geared toward adults called "The Eyes of Nye," and has since appeared on programs ranging from "Larry King Live" to "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire" to discuss various scientific topics.
"The importance of science education for our future simply can't be overstated," said Paul Hill, chancellor of the Higher Education Policy Commission. "We thank the Clay Center and our partners for recognizing that fact and for helping to make this event possible, and we look forward to the excitement around science Bill Nye will bring to West Virginia."
Tickets to the event are free, but must be reserved by contacting the Clay Center's box office in person, online at www.tickets.theclaycenter.org or by phone at 304-561-3570. Tickets will be available beginning at 10 a.m. Monday.
"We hope that the speakers we have hosted over the past year, including Bill Nye, show everyone in West Virginia that science is important and is exciting," Taylor said. "By sharing interesting science topics through this speaker series, youth in particular can see how science improves our lives and the world."
The Chancellor's STEM Speaker Series is supported by the Clay Center, Marshall University, West Virginia State University, West Virginia University, the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts, the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, the West Virginia Regional Technology Park, Fairmont State University, Concord University, Toyota, West Virginia University Institute of Technology, the High Technology Foundation and West Virginia Public Broadcasting.
Reach Lydia Nuzum at lydia.nuzum@wvgazette.com, 304-348-5189 or follow @lydianuzum on Twitter.