Obama Plays Cheerleading Role for STEM Education

Amid a struggling economy, a raft of foreign-policy headaches, and the tail end of a heated campaign season, President Barack Obama carved out time in his schedule this month to watch students in the State Dining Room demonstrate a solar-powered model car, a water-purification system, and a soccer-playing robot.

That might seem like a surprising distraction. But to hear the president tell it, those activities—part of what was dubbed the first annual White House science fair celebrating winners of STEM-focused student competitions—are just what the nation needs to prosper.

“In many ways, our future depends on what happens in those contests,” Mr. Obama said at the event . “It’s in these pursuits that talents are discovered and passions are lit, and the future scientists, engineers,...