LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., Feb. 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of National Engineers Week, IBM (NYSE: IBM) teamed up with Orlando-area high school teachers and students today to unveil IBM THINK, a new interactive experience in INNOVENTIONS West at Epcot at Walt Disney World Resort. The 6,600 square-foot interactive exhibit is designed to showcase how the world can work better with the help of technology and innovation.  The THINK experience presented by IBM explores how technology transforms the way we live and work.

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To keep visitors inspired after experiencing the exhibit and encourage others to attend, IBM also announced free science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) lesson plans for middle and high school science teachers, along with a companion app for Apple iPads and 10" Android tablets. The lesson plans enable teachers to use the IBM THINK exhibit content to help students understand the process of innovation, while the THINK Exhibit app brings those lessons to life.

The THINK exhibit engages visitors through a unique combination of experiences. They include a 40-foot "gesture wall" that reveals the ebb and flow of data in our daily lives through colorful visualizations of information such as traffic, solar energy and air quality IBM is also providing game stations, an inspirational film about making the world work better, and a self-guided interactive tour.  The exhibit shows how progress is made possible by a combination of people and technology, and by the purposeful way humans have approached the process of innovation. 

"During the past century, IBM has played a key role in making the world work better," said Lee Green, VP Brand Experience and Strategic Design at IBM. "The THINK exhibit features stories and engaging experiences that appeal to Epcot guests from around the world."

The new exhibit is based on IBM's 2011 THINK pop-up exhibit at New York's Lincoln Center, developed for the company's Centennial.

STEM Lessons on Innovation

To put the concepts of IBM THINK into practice, IBM worked with the New York Hall of Science to develop STEM lessons plans, now available for free online on Teachers TryScience, to inspire students to act as innovators in their daily lives.  Their release intentionally coincides with Engineers Week, an annual program created by the National Engineers Week Foundation to inspire current and future generations to pursue study and careers in science and engineering. 

The educational material is brought to life by apps based on the THINK exhibit. Through thousands of images and historical anecdotes, the IBM THINK exhibit app tells stories of the history of progress, from space exploration to weather prediction and medical advances.

The lesson plans and apps help students better understand some of the scientific concepts behind the THINK exhibit and inspire them to be innovators.

"The THINK lessons provide an engaging way to enable students to learn STEM concepts in a real-world context," said Danielle Miller, Astronomy and Physical Science Teacher at University High School in Florida. "The THINK app and lessons have made my students see the process of innovation in a way they never have before. THINK has helped my students become scientists."

Some of the THINK lessons include:

• THINK:  The Process of Innovation – Provides an overview of the concept and process of innovation, using the THINK app
• Fight the Flu -- Introduces students to the science of epidemiology including factors associated with the spread and prevention of disease

The lessons are featured on Teachers Try Science, a free, critically acclaimed web site that provides middle and high school science educators with high quality lessons integrated with practical and engaging teaching techniques.  The process of discovery used in the material encourages students to see, map, understand, believe and act on knowledge. More lessons will be released in Spring 2013.

About INNOVENTIONS at Epcot
INNOVENTIONS is located in the heart of Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.  Creativity and imagination abound as guests celebrate inspiration and the innovations that improve their lives and expand their horizons.  Hands-on, interactive exhibits allow children and adults to be immersed into ideas that inform, entertain and inspire.  For more information on INNOVENTIONS, visit www.innoventions.disney.com.

For more information about the IBM THINK exhibit, visit:

• Citizen IBM Blog
• IBM Smarter Planet blog
• www.ibm.com/think
• Twitter: Join the conversation at #IBM #THINK
• Flickr
• YouTube

Contact:
Lisa Lanspery
IBM Media Relations
(914) 499-6532
lisalanspery@us.ibm.com

Ari Fishkind
IBM Media Relations
(914) 499-6420
fishkind@us.ibm.com

SOURCE IBM