March Newsletter
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March 2022
Hello from the Office of Science Outreach! As Spring arrives this month to Central Pennsylvania, we are looking forward to spending more time on campus and hosting events in person! Also, keep scrolling for information about other events and activities hosted by our colleagues at Penn State. Mark your calendar for all of these awesome opportunities to learn and discover more!
- ENVISION is this month!
- Updates about Science-U, I Am STEM, and Explore with Eberly
- Events for all at The Arboretum
- Science Teacher Summer Workshop
- Summer Camps in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- Architectural Engineering Summer Camp
- The Sea Air and Land Challenge for high school students
ENVISION will be Saturday, March 26!
We are eager to once again host our annual ENVISION: STEM Career Day Supporting Young Women IN-PERSON this month!
- WHO: All students in grades 6-12 are invited!
- WHAT: Three different workshops are grouped together in eight different "tracks". Workshops will focus on fascinating topics such as -- engineering, acoustics, entomology, healthcare, linguistics, anthropology, and more! During registration, participants can choose which track of three workshops they wish to attend, based upon their grade level.
- WHEN: Saturday, March 26, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Lunch and souvenirs are provided.)
- WHERE: University Park campus of Penn State
- WHY: To experience different, hands-on workshops and learn about careers in STEM - science, technology, engineering, and math! Also, to see Penn State laboratories and classrooms, meet Penn State faculty and college students, and, most importantly, have fun with some new friends!
Check out a few photos from past ENVISION events and then use the buttons below to read more about ENVISION 2022 and to register! We look forward to seeing you on March 26th!
Thank you to everyone who registered their children for our 2022 Science-U camps! We are excited that many camps filled so quickly, and we look forward to seeing all the campers this summer! There are a handful of spaces still available for our younger camps, and most waitlists are still open. Notification about financial aid requests will be forthcoming. Click on the Science-U logo to see the camp website.
In addition, information about special camp opportunities for high school students -- the Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Mini Summer School and the STEM Camp for High School Students on the Autism Spectrum -- will be available later this month or early April. Please contact us at sciencecamps@science.psu.edu if you want to be added to an email list and receive information about these programs.
We recently concluded our 5th annual speaking competition for Eberly College of Science students who will serve as Keynote Speakers at the upcoming ENVISION 2022. Congratulations to our First Place winner, Ellie Abraham who is a Ph.D. candidate in Plant Biology! Also, congratulations to our Second Place winner, Margaret Brown, who is a Ph.D. student in Mathematics! Both these young scientists will share a brief story about their personal journeys into STEM. We're sure that the middle and high school students who attend ENVISION will be very interested in meeting and hearing them!
1st Place winner Ellie Abraham.
2nd Place winner Margaret Brown.
The Office of Science Outreach is considering offering a fun, science event for adults -- sometime later this Spring! Our first Explore with Eberly event occurred in January 2020 and successfully featured a crime scene investigation. Anyone who may be interested in an event in 2022 is encouraged to contact our office to be added to an interest email list or to share suggestions. Our email is outreach@science.psu.edu. More information will be provided as it becomes available!
Our friends at The Arboretum at Penn State have several events scheduled to help usher in Spring. Check them out below! Please direct questions to Timothy Gould at twg5075@psu.edu or visit the Arboretum's March calendar.
The Fortress, the River and the Garden
- Tues., March 2
- 6:00 p.m.
- Free, virtual lecture
The Stuckeman School at Penn State will virtually host Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer as part of the school’s Lecture and Exhibit Series. Dr. Kimmerer is a scientist and author of the New York Times’ best-selling book Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teaching of Plants. The Arboretum at Penn State is pleased to be one of the co-hosts for this lecture. For more information and to register in advance, please click the button below.
Spring Bird Academy
- Mon., March 7 and Mon., April 11
- 10:00 a.m. to Noon
- Free, no registration
- Best for children & families
- Childhood's Gate Children's Garden in the Arboretum
Spread your wings and join Penn State Extension Master Gardeners during Spring Bird Academy! During this program, you’ll be introduced to three bird species that reside in Centre County throughout the year. Find out who flies in a “V” formation, what kind of nest a Red-tailed Hawk needs, and how to make dinner for a Northern Cardinal.
Tussey Mountain Hawk Watch Trip
- Tues., March 15
- 12 noon to 2:00 p.m.
- Free, no registration
- Jo Hays Vista
The Avian Education Program invites you to join us at the Tussey Mountain Hawk Watch to observe spring migration. The program will be led by Jon Kauffman, assistant program director at Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center, and Dr. Tricia Miller, the Avian Education Program’s 2022 invited seminar speaker. Please dress for the weather and bring your own binoculars. We will meet in the parking area near Jo Hays Vista, which can be reached by taking Route 26 south from State College.
Unraveling the Mysteries of the Eastern Golden Eagle
- Wed., March 15
- 5:00 to 6:00 p.m.
- Free for all ages
- In-person in 112 Forest Resources Building or virtually via the Zoom link below
The Arboretum's featured speaker for the 2022 Avian Education Program Seminar is Dr. Tricia Miller! Dr. Miller, a conservation biologist, researcher, and educator, will share insights about Eastern Golden Eagle behavior, conservation issues, and migration routes.
Watershed Features Walk
- Sat., March 19
- 2:00 p.m.
- Free
- At the Arboretum
Join the Arboretum and Dr. Richard Parizek, emeritus professor of geosciences, for an in-depth look at the prominent watershed features in the Arboretum. The event will begin with a lecture and investigation of the Watershed Map. Afterwards, participants will spend several hours exploring the natural lands of the Arboretum and learning about the watershed features that are visible there. This program involves moderate hiking and is not recommended for those with limited mobility.
The Importance of Native Plants in the Residential Garden Webinar
- Wed., March 23
- 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.
- Free webinar
- Adults (18+) only
Michelle Stoken, a Penn State Extension Master Gardener and treasurer for the Wild Ones Western Pennsylvania Area Chapter, will teach us what makes a plant native and why native plants are important. Also, we will explore the many benefits of using plants in the residential garden.
The Origin and Fate of Our Cosmos: Understanding Big Bang Cosmology
For the last two decades, the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics has conducted exciting summer workshops for teachers exploring the topics of galaxies, black holes, cosmology, and more. They still have room for this summer's workshop on Cosmology scheduled for July 18-22, 2022 in Davey Lab! Download an informational flyer by clicking on the photo, or click on the button below for more information and to register.
Our colleagues at the Penn State School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) are offering two in-person summer camps for middle and high school students! Registrations are open now and spots are filling up!
Design your own reality!
- Who: Open to anyone entering 7th through 9th grades
- When: June 13-17, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Where: Westgate Building, University Park Campus, Penn State
- Cost: $250
In this exciting and engaging experience, campers will be introduced to virtual (VR) and augmented reality (AR): technologies that transport the user to an exciting new world. For more information, and to register today, click on the button below. You may also click on the image above to download the camp flyer.
Anything is POssible for Girls in Electrical Engineering (APOGEE) -- Wearable Technology
- Who: Open to anyone entering 7th to 12th grades
- When: July 25-29, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
- Where: University Park Campus, Penn State
- Cost: $250
This five-day camp will give campers an opportunity to experience and explore the exciting world behind our modern, technological society. They will learn about the electronics and signals that surround us every day. For more information, and to register today, click on the button below. You may also click on the image above to download the camp flyer.
Architectural Engineering Camp
The 2022 Penn State Architectural Engineering Summer Camp invites high school students to explore both the artistic and technical aspects of buildings and architecture. Campers will work with world-renowned Penn State engineering faculty and graduate students conducting leading research in the design, construction, and operation of buildings. Students will participate in lab work, hands-on projects, and field trips where they will explore sustainability, energy conservation, and design and construction of the buildings where we live and work. For more information, please click on the image to download the camp flyer.
The Sea Air and Land Challenge (SeAL) is an exciting, hands-on engineering program for high school students. As an Office of Naval Research (ONR) sponsored STEM initiative, it encourages students to design and build robotic vehicles and payloads. Watch the short video below to see and hear how it works!
As a web-based program, the SeAL Challenge provides high school students with the opportunity to tackle a difficult engineering project as part of a team, and learn about the tremendous technical careers available in the Department of Defense and the armed forces. The SeAL Challenge also strives to help educators and administrators implement a successful STEM program in their school district.
It is not too late for schools to join in this year! Interested educators or teams, can find more information on the website and even register to participate by using the buttons below, or they may contact the SeAL Challenge 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!
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