Support comes from Pacific Science Center, working to remove barriers to STEM education through programs like science on wheels, digital discovery workshops, and camps for curious minds.

More on ways to help support these programs is at pack, sye.org.

You know, every day on Up First, NPR's Golden Globe nominated morning news podcast, we bring you three essential stories.

At the heart of each story are questions.

What really happened?

What really mattered?

What happens next?

At NPR, we stand for your right to be curious and to follow the facts.

Follow up first wherever you get your podcasts and start your

day knowing what matters and why. It's the Friday before a long weekend, TGIF. From the

KUOW Newsroom, this is Seattle now. I'm your host, Paige Browning. Today we'll hear from a Seattle

middle school super speller. But first, here are today's top stories. It's Friday, May 22nd.

Bicycle weekends, folk life, sporting events, and so much more kickoff today as we enter the

first long holiday weekend of the warm season in

Seattle. We'll run through a few highlights so you know what's going down around town. The Northwest

Folklife Festival is back at Seattle Center with a theme this year of joy, solidarity, liberation.

And you'll find food vendors, music from around the world, and acts such as massive monkeys, Seattle's totally relaxed ukulele musicians, and balk and dance.

There are also two Seattle Storm games down at the arena, so Uptown is going to be packed.

This weekend is the first bicycle weekend on Lake Washington Boulevard where no cars are allowed on a three-mile

stretch. And that's going to continue every weekend through Labor Day. Book lovers also got a

hard launch today. It's the first day of summer book bingo. You have until September to read

from categories such as women's sports and hard to love protagonists.

...