Tag Archives: NASA

I stand with Ahmed shirt

Stand with Ahmed: A Pittsburgh-made shirt benefiting Ahmed and kids interested in STEM

Earlier this week, the country was simultaneously outraged and captivated by the story of Ahmed Mohamed, a 14-year-old Muslim student who was arrested for bringing a clock, which educators and police thought was a bomb, to his high school in Texas.

Support for Ahmed flooded in from around the country. His 3-day suspension and arrest was not only grounded in Islamophobia, but actively discouraged the curiosity of a bright, young mind. Tech juggernauts like Facebook and Twitter invited him to tour their companies, and educational institutions like MIT, NASA, and TAMS opened their doors, with the latter offering him a one-year scholarship. Even President Obama said he should come to the White House.

One of the things that made Ahmed’s ordeal particularly heartbreaking is this memorable image of him in handcuffs, sporting a NASA T-shirt. It not only broke our collective hearts to see such a young kid visibly scared and confused, but reinforced how genuine his curious nature and interest in science is. 

In solidarity, #IStandwithAhmed took over the Internet and this response by Pittsburgh-based artist Matthew Buchholz of Alternate Histories is simply amazing.

I stand with Ahmed shirt

If you buy a shirt, you’ll directly benefit Ahmed and kids like him– all proceeds go towards a scholarship for Ahmed, plus memberships at makerspaces for other young innovators. You can also directly contribute to the I Stand with Ahmed LaunchGood campaign.

Act now though as they are only available until Thursday!

Yuri's Night Pittsburgh

Celebrate space with Yuri’s Night Pittsburgh tomorrow!

Yuri's Night Pittsburgh

Space is pretty awesome. Blockbuster hits like Gravity and Interstellar, privatized space exploration such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Virgin Galactic, and incentives like Google’s Lunar XPRIZE, which awards $30 million to the first private company to send a robot to the moon, have renewed our interest beyond our atmosphere.

And Pittsburgh has great representation with local NewSpace company Astrobotic leading the race to the moon, having won initial milestones of the Lunar XPRIZE and currently accepting payloads to be sent to space on their first launch.

And lucky you– you can get in on some space-related fun tomorrow evening with Yuri’s Night! From 4-7pm (don’t worry, plenty of time before the Game of Thrones season premiere) the Livermore will be hosting Pittsburgh’s celebration of mankind’s achievements in space, named after Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin who was the first human to journey into outer space.

The event is totally free to attend, and there will be space-related drinks, stellar beats, complimentary snacks, and tons of space talk, videos, and fun. The event will also serve as the afterparty for the NASA International Space Apps Challenge, brought to Pittsburgh by SpaceChallenges.org, a local non-profit aiming to promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education through charitable competitions using space exploration as inspiration.

What: Yuri’s Night Pittsburgh
When: Sunday, April 12, 2015 from 4-7pm
Where: The Livermore, 124 S Highland Ave
Cost: Free, including light appetizers