Science-U 2021; ENVISION; Frontiers of Science Lectures; and other events
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February 2021
Hello! This month's newsletter has a lot of information about upcoming virtual events - including our announcement concerning this summer's Science-U camps! We hope everyone is staying safe and well and can engage in some of the activities and events presented in this issue!
Keep scrolling to read more about:
- Science-U 2021 format announced
- ENVISION: STEM Career Day Supporting Young Women registration continues
- Girls Who Code program starting soon
- New! Engineering and Robotics Workshops for girls
- Science at-home activities for February
- Attend the Ashtekar Frontiers of Science Lectures on Saturdays
Science-U 2021 to be held remotely
Despite the challenges presented by the pandemic in 2020, The Office of Science Outreach successfully held three summer camps online and expanded our school year programs into virtual formats as well.
Now, considering the ongoing pandemic, the uncertainty of the summer months, and the safety of our campers and staff, we have decided to hold all 2021 Science-U Summer Camps remotely. Some of the camp offerings may be slightly different than what we offered previously. However, we will try to accommodate as many of the registered campers from 2020 as we can. Once we have finalized a schedule, we will contact families about registration for our virtual Science-U camps later in February. Thank you for your patience as we work to make Science-U fun and enjoyable for all involved!
Virtual ENVISION
We are looking forward to seeing everyone virtually at ENVISION: STEM Career Day Supporting Young Women! Students in grades 6th through 12th are invited to join us via Zoom on Saturday, March 20, 2021 from 9:00 a.m. to Noon! (Printable flyer.)
Come hear inspirational speakers share stories about why they chose a STEM field. Then, meet with professional scientists and college students to learn more about STEM careers and the college experience. There is no cost for this event, and attendees will receive a certificate of participation!
Girls Who Code starts Feb. 21st
The Association of Women in Computing (AWC) invites students ages 13 and above to the Girls Who Code Club, a FREE coding program at Penn State! Classes will be held virtually on Sundays 3-5pm, February 21st to April 25th. Penn State Girls Who Code Club is open to participants of all identities.
Girls Who Code is a free program where middle and high school students can learn introductory coding concepts in Python. Instructors from AWC will guide students through hands-on lessons and then mentor them as they create their own projects to demonstrate what they've learned. AWC members will also give tech talks to enrich students' understanding of the tech industry. For more information and to register for the program use the link below or click on the flyer.
Empowering Girls in Engineering and Robotics
Inviting all girls from 4th through 8th grades looking for a fun afternoon in engineering! Empowering Girls in Engineering and Robotics (EGER), an engineering program funded by EngineerGirls, the National Academy of Engineering’s outreach program, is organizing a series of five online workshops on engineering.
The first workshop, on February 27, 2021, from 1-4 PM will focus on robotics. The activity is split up by grade level, where students will learn the principles of robotics through an online interactive activity. Students will also get a chance to meet two female role models currently working in robotics.
EGER was founded and organized by a past Science-U participant, Ananya Tadigadapa, who is a senior at State College Area High School and an Engineer Girl Ambassador (2020-21). We thank her for sharing her outreach program with us!
Science at Home for February
Although February is the shortest month of the year, it has a long list of holidays and several month-long observances! In the United States, February is recognized as American Heart Month, Black History Month, and National Bird-Feeding Month!
Families can celebrate these observances throughout February with a number of at-home science activities:
- Practice heart-healthy lifestyle tips from the American Heart Association
- Read about African-Americans who were pioneers in science
- Make your own bird feeder out of recyclables
Of course, our Virtual Science Festival is available with many other at-home science experiments, videos, demonstrations, and lab tours - so check back often!
Frontiers of Science Lectures focus on sustainability
The Ashtekar Frontiers of Science Lectures in the Eberly College of Science, a free public outreach, now in its 27th year, will continue at Penn State until February 27. This year’s lecture series is titled “Sustainability: How Science Can Help Achieve the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals” and focuses on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — a call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030. Each of this year’s lectures will link to one of the seventeen SDGs. Join us for the Zoom webinars each Saturday in February from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Although two lectures occurred in January, the upcoming four speakers and their topics are introduced below.
January Lectures:
The 2021 Frontiers of Science series began on January 23rd with a lecture by Jan W. Low, corecipient of the 2016 World Food Prize and principal scientist with the International Potato Center (CIP), titled "Building Healthier Food Systems for Sub-Saharan Africa With Nutritious, Resilient Orange-Fleshed Sweetpotato." Looking toward the post-pandemic future, many are calling for us to learn from the devastating impact of COVID-19 — especially in developing countries — and build back a better, healthier, more inclusive food system in sub-Saharan Africa. Low described how orange-fleshed sweet potato could be key to achieving this goal.
Following Low’s lecture, Joyce Jose spoke on January 30th about “Targeted Therapeutic Intervention Strategies of SARS-CoV-2,” The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the urgent need to develop effective antiviral agents against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Jose has developed a novel experimental system for screening potential candidate compounds and identifying those that inhibit the virus’s replication, and discussed her lab’s recent findings.
Meet our team!
Our Office of Science Outreach staff members are happy to assist you with any questions related to Science Outreach. Bookmark our website at https://science.psu.edu/outreach for more information or email us at outreach@science.psu.edu.
We would love to hear from you!
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