Manhattan Beach TEDx Features Interactive Activities, Surprises
Nov 02, 2024 09:29PM ● By Jeanne Fratello
(A sound bath on the quad at TEDx Manhattan Beach 2024.)
If you thought TEDx was all about sitting and listening to lectures, you would have been pleasantly surprised by some of the crazy turns at Saturday's TEDx Manhattan Beach event.
You might have found yourself immersed in a sound bath... making Day of the Dead-themed block prints... having your brain waves read... joining in an impromptu community chorus with Janice from Friends... and reaching under your seat to find the exact same card that some random guy had just pulled on stage.
In other words, the theme of this year's TEDx Manhattan Beach - Change Makers - was your first clue that after 14 years, this event has evolved to become far more than a sit-and-listen experience.
The Expo Experience
Of course the speakers are the main draw of the TEDx experience, and this year was no different, with enlightening conversations on the potential power of AI and its use in solving human conflict; supermassive black holes; and sustainable supply chains. The audience also heard from a cosmetic scientist who is doing chemical research on products for darker skin tones, a chess master who inspires through positivity, and a brain scientist who explores the impact of music on brain development.
However, an equal amount of the inspiration came from the Expo, which featured interactive booths across the Mira Costa quad and cafeteria.
At the Expo, participants got to experience:
- Recent UCLA grad Soulaimane Bentaleb and his software company Neuron, which translates brain waves and attempts to decipher cognitive processes such as fatigue and stress in order to help employees and improve productivity for businesses. Bentaleb let volunteers wear a special cap that displayed the person's brain waves on a screen and explained what the different peaks and valleys meant that the person was experiencing.
- Elizabeth Munzon and Edgar Martinez of Munzon Gallery in Long Beach, who collaborated with ESMOA to lead this year's community art project, a printmaking workshop with Dia de los Muertos -themed designs. Participants got to roll the print blocks with ink and then press the blocks onto paper to make unique artwork.
- A sound bath produced by White Light Sounds of Redondo Beach, in which participants laid on colorful mats and bathed in the sounds of bowls, a gong, and "rainmakers" to produce a relaxing effect.
...and multiple other booths, including student-organized displays from Mira Costa's Chess Club, AP Art, and AP Chemistry classes.
The Kids are Alright
This year's speakers and exhibitor included an impressive slate of locally born and bred young innovators from Manhattan Beach.
- Manhattan Beach native Kevan Doyle is a photographer and filmmaker whose work primarily focuses on the creative storytelling of athletes, artists, adventurers, and sustainability initiatives. He shared his new short film about an effort to save the ecosystem in Sri Lanka by repurposing discarded fishing nets into surf fins.
- Travis Eichner is a Mira Costa junior and magician who has performed at the prestigious Magic Castle in Hollywood and on "America's Got Talent." Eichner wowed the crowd by having two volunteers scatter cards on the floor, asking a third volunteer to choose a random face-down card (seven of spades), and then asked everyone in the audience to look under his or her chairs, where they found sealed envelopes, each containing a seven of spades.
- Lila Mokhtari is a Mira Costa junior and the winner of the national Young Entrepreneurs Association's Saunders Scholars competition. She shared the story of her Maji soap brand and her conviction that socially responsible businesses can be successful and profitable.
- Madelyn Pieronek is a Manhattan Beach native and a freshman at Notre Dame who spoke on her personal journey with an ADHD diagnosis and the nuances of ADHD symptoms.
- Mira Costa senior Maia Rocha is the 2023-2024 Manhattan Beach YEA! winner who demonstrated her "Doing Done" productivity app at the Expo.
- YEA! student and Mira Costa freshman Yumie Lee is the founder Pictoversity, a nonprofit that helps encourage kids' learning through comics, which she presented at the Expo.
Sentimental Nods
The program also brought back growth mindset champion Eduardo Briceño, a TEDx Manhattan Beach original speaker whose two TEDx Manhattan Beach videos have been viewed more than 10 million times. Briceño said that his appearances at TEDx Manhattan Beach had essentially launched his career as a speaker and consultant on continuous improvement, innovation, and impact. His experiences also motivated him to write a book, The Performance Paradox, which has since won multiple prestigious awards.
TEDx Manhattan Beach emcee Paul Silva also brought up Kathy and Barry Fisher of GROW to thank them for their multiple years of support for the program. GROW closed down earlier this year.
And last but not least, when thanking all of the tech and maintenance supporters, Silva gave a special recognition to longtime MBUSD electrician Steven Bennett, who had worked on multiple TEDx events at Mira Costa, and who passed away earlier this year.
The program ended with a community singalong led by singer/songwriters Maggie Wheeler (a.k.a. Janice from Friends) and Arnaé Batson.
MB News was proud to serve as the TEDx Manhattan Beach media sponsor for the fourth consecutive year.
TEDx Manhattan Beach 2024 [10 Images]
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