Hebrew U, Smithsonian launch Einstein project to make science accessible

Initiative marks centennial of the famed Jewish scientist’s publication of the theory of general relativity

WASHINGTON — The Smithsonian Institution and the Hebrew University are marking the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity by launching an initiative to make science more accessible to young people.

The project, joining the Science Education Center at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, and the Albert Einstein Archive at Hebrew University, will “make science, technology, engineering and mathematics more accessible and appealing to a younger generation,” the American and Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University said in a statement Monday.

Einstein, a Hebrew University founder, bequeathed 80,000 of his scientific and non-scientific manuscripts to the Jerusalem university.

The Israeli ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer, and David Skorton, the director of the Smithsonian Institution, a group of museums and research centers administered as a US government agency, will attend the launch of the initiative at the Smithsonian Castle on the National Mall on Monday afternoon.

Centennial commemorations of Einstein’s groundbreaking theory were launched in November.