Spacecraft, mini-drones and robotic arms: Obama nerds out

President Barack Obama has a confession: He's a science geek, a nerd, and he's not apologizing to anyone.

Obama is speaking at a White House Frontiers Conference in Pittsburgh. The event is intended to showcase innovations in science and technology and federal investments to spur progress.

Obama started with a tour of some nerd-worthy projects: a Boeing space flight simulator, a self-flying drone used for infrastructure inspection and the SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft that carried cargo to the International Space Station.

He says it's "cool stuff."

Obama says he gets riled up when he hears people ignore facts and science, such as politicians who question whether global warming is occurring. He says only with science can the world tackle its toughest challenges in the 21st century.