March 2023
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Happy Almost Spring!
While most students and faculty are enjoying a break this week, the Office of Science Outreach is preparing for the upcoming summer! We still have some Science-U spots available, and we are eager to hire and train this year's summer staff members! Read below for details on Science-U camp availability and jobs.
We also successfully concluded the 2023 ENVISION:STEM Career Day Supporting Young Women on February 25. Thanks to all who participated!
Other highlights of this issue include a summer workshop for science teacher, the Sea, Air, and Land Challenge that includes building robots, and other news from Penn State that may be of interest.
Have a great month!
Registration continues!
Online registration for Science-U summer camps started on Tuesday, February 7 and many camps filled up within 20 minutes! We're always surprised at the popularity of our summer camps and appreciate everyone's support! Families with registered campers will receive more information closer to the summer. If there are any questions, please do not hestitate to contact our office at sciencecamps@science.psu.edu.
Two camps still have some openings, and special opportunities for high school students are also available. See below!
Ecology Expeditions Camp
This *NEW* day and residential camp for students entering grades 9-12 will be held the week of June 25-30 and still has spots available! Our camp director, Tim Gleason, will take campers through local forests and steams to visit and work with scientists who are tackling today’s most pressing environmental issues. More information is available on our website. Use the link below to register!
Nature Explorers Camp
This exciting day camp for children entering grades 2-4 has spots available for its July 24-28 session. In this ecology-themed camp, the instructors provide hands-on activities to teach young children about nature topics such as climate, water quality, insect life cycles, ecosystems, and more! Information can be found on our website, and the link to register is below.
Applications are now available for the 3-day Gravitational Waves and Multimessenger Astrophysics camp! This program for students entering grades 9-12 is scheduled for June 20-22 and will be led by Penn State faculty in Physics and in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Learn more and download the application by clicking on the image above.
Applications are now available for the 3-day Biotechnology Mini Summer School! This program for students entering grades 9-12 is scheduled for July 5-7 and will be led by Penn State faculty in Biochemistry. Click on the image above to read more about the mini summer school and to download the short application.
A separate registration is now open for the STEM camp for high school students on the autism spectrum. In conjunction with the National Austim Conference, this program is scheduled for July 31-August 3 and will be held at the Penn Stater. Click on the image above to get more details about this unique opportunity and to register.
Science-U is Hiring!
University or college students (aged 18 and above) or other adults interested in summer science education should take a look at our many Science-U opportunities. Resumes and cover letters are collected through Penn State's Workday system. Interviews are currently being conducted on Zoom or in-person, so visit the website linked below to find out more!
It was a great day at ENVISION 2023 on Saturday, February 25! Almost 130 participants came to the event to learn about various STEM disciplines, and nearly 100 Penn State students and community members where there to help show them around campus and answer questions about careers in STEM.
The day started off with groups gathering in the Huck Life Sciences Building and then attending Keynote speeches by Miatu Kormah and Natalya "Tasha" Radovic. These two undergraduate students from the Eberly College of Science shared their science stories with the attendees and emphasized that while studying STEM can be challenging, it is very rewarding.
We hope all the participants benefited from their day in Penn State labs, classrooms, and the Redifer dining hall. We look forward to seeing some of them again this summer at Science-U and of course, next year at ENVISION 2024! Below are a few photos from the day and more are posted on our Facebook page!
See what some parents of ENVISION attendees had to say!
My two daughters both came home from Envision 2023 with big smiles! They were eager to share their new knowledge about different STEM careers and the many new things they learned throughout the day.
The Science workshops are amazing, from simple to a high level. After attending ENVISION, with hands-on experiments, students are introduced to the STEM fields. ENVISION is a great program where students get to explore, and start creating their own path to post-secondary education options.
Click on the image above to download and share the flyer with other teachers.
Astronomy Workshop for Science Teachers
A Penn State in-service workshop in Astronomy is available for science teachers the week of July 17-21, 2023. The topic will focus on stars and their evolution, and is entitled Lives and Deaths of Stars. Stipends and Act 48 credits are available. Click on the link below to learn more and to complete an application by April 1, 2023. Questions may be directed to Prof. Niel Brandt at 814-865-3509.
In the news at Penn State....
These articles in the Penn State Today newsletter caught our attention because they may be of interest to families in the community.
Creating a Diverse STEM Workforce
The EnvironMentors program engages underrepresented high school students in STEM research projects supported by Penn State faculty and graduate students. There is information and a registration link for potential program mentees in the article.
Discovery of massive early galaxies defires prior understanding of the universe
Penn State researchers used data from NASA's James Webb Space telescope to publish a paper showing evidence of six massive galaxies that challenges the previous theories of the universe!
Lecture on using smart devices to track health habits
A lecture sponsored by the College of Health and Human Development will be open to the public on Wed., March 29 at 3:30 p.m. and will be available on Zoom. David E, Conroy, Penn State professor of kinesiology, human development and family studies, will discuss how using prompts on smart devices can help improve your health.
Penn State Extension to offer free virtual walking program
A free, virtual walking program called "Everybody Walk Across Pennsylvania" is available from April 10 to June 5. The article explains that teams of up to five people (and pets!) or individuals can register for free and walk at locations and times convenient for them - as long as they walk 10 miles a week! The registration link is near the end of the article.
Penn State's Applied Research Laboratory (PSU-ARL) is inviting students, teachers, and mentors to the Sea, Air, and Land (SeAL) challenge! This opportunity is for middle and high schools across Pennsylvania and surrounding states to compete in building a robot to complete a challenge! The robot must be able to navigate in the sea, air, or land, mimicking missions encountered by the military, national security agencies, and first responders. Through these challenges, students will be exposed to a variety of STEM related topics, in addition to research, design, optimization, and teamwork.
A welcome letter, flyer to share, an informational booklet and the official website are linked below and show pictures from previous events as well as intructions on registering a team. Those who are interested or want to learn more may also email Susan Zingaro at seaairland@arl.psu.edu.
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'd love to hear from you!
By submitting photographs or information to the Office of Science Outreach, we reserve the right to use them in our future newsletters or marketing.
