Posted 1:24 p.m. Friday, June 27, 2014
The programs bring middle school students to campus for hands-on academic exploration.
[caption id="attachment_35082" align="alignleft" width="959"]
UW-L faculty member Tanya Cordes assists a student using chemistry to create lip gloss as part of the workshop "Lovely Lips Laboratory."[/caption]
By Susan Kelly
UW-L held its fifteenth annual Girls in Science weekend and its fourth Boys Science Exploration Camp June 21-22.
The programs bring middle school students to campus for hands-on academic exploration, collaboration with other young people with similar interests and a chance to increase their knowledge and talent in science and mathematics.
The two programs are a joint effort between the College of Science and Health and Continuing Education and Extension. The program is directed by Susan Kelly, Mathematics; and Karen DeSchepper and Angie Coenen, Continuing Education.
[caption id="attachment_35086" align="alignright" width="288"]
Students investigate light and matter in Kendric Nelson’s chemistry workshop[/caption]
The two camps run separately, but are on the same weekend to conserve costs, increase the availability of faculty and staff and make it easier for potential families wishing to participate in both programs.
Saturday afternoon students moved into the residence hall and then went to Cowley Hall for a student and parent welcome. Then, UW-L faculty and academic staff with college teaching assistants taught two, two-hour workshops.
After four hours of science and mathematics, girls and boys were hungry and ready for some food and relaxation. After dinner they had an evening of fun with college students and recent alumni working as resident assistants.
On Sunday, kids participated in one more hands-on workshop, a pizza lunch and participated in a large physics show for each group.
Each year the program receives positive assessments from participants and parents, and often students return to the program for a second or third year.
As one 11 year-old girl put it, “I LOVED the whole thing — all the projects and experiments!”
Anyone who teaches in the sciences who would be interested in teaching for these two programs can contact Susan Kelly, Mathematics, at skelly@uwlax.edu.
UW-L faculty member Tanya Cordes assists a student using chemistry to create lip gloss as part of the workshop "Lovely Lips Laboratory."[/caption]
By Susan Kelly
UW-L held its fifteenth annual Girls in Science weekend and its fourth Boys Science Exploration Camp June 21-22.
The programs bring middle school students to campus for hands-on academic exploration, collaboration with other young people with similar interests and a chance to increase their knowledge and talent in science and mathematics.
The two programs are a joint effort between the College of Science and Health and Continuing Education and Extension. The program is directed by Susan Kelly, Mathematics; and Karen DeSchepper and Angie Coenen, Continuing Education.
[caption id="attachment_35086" align="alignright" width="288"] Students investigate light and matter in Kendric Nelson’s chemistry workshop[/caption]
The two camps run separately, but are on the same weekend to conserve costs, increase the availability of faculty and staff and make it easier for potential families wishing to participate in both programs.
Saturday afternoon students moved into the residence hall and then went to Cowley Hall for a student and parent welcome. Then, UW-L faculty and academic staff with college teaching assistants taught two, two-hour workshops.
After four hours of science and mathematics, girls and boys were hungry and ready for some food and relaxation. After dinner they had an evening of fun with college students and recent alumni working as resident assistants.
On Sunday, kids participated in one more hands-on workshop, a pizza lunch and participated in a large physics show for each group.
Each year the program receives positive assessments from participants and parents, and often students return to the program for a second or third year.
As one 11 year-old girl put it, “I LOVED the whole thing — all the projects and experiments!”
Anyone who teaches in the sciences who would be interested in teaching for these two programs can contact Susan Kelly, Mathematics, at skelly@uwlax.edu.
This year’s workshops included:
- Physics in Action, Seth King, Physics,
- Light Bright!, Jennifer Docktor, Physics, and Megan Litster, Biology,
- Crime Scene Investigation, Faye Ellis, Biology
- Hunter’s Road Kill Café, Andrea Peirce, Microbiology,
- Lovely Lips Laboratory, Tanya Cordes, Chemistry,
- Mathematics in Graphs — It’s Cool!, Huiya Yan, Mathematics,
- Movie Production through Computer Programming, Andrew Berns, Computer Science
- Mrs. Jones’s Kidney Problem, Marisa Barbknecht, Microbiology,
- Shards of the Past: Experimental Archaeology, Connie Arzigian, Archaeology,
- Simulating Rover Missions on Mars with Lego Mindstorms, Josh Hertel, Mathematics,
- When Light and Matter Collide, There’s Chemistry!, Kendric Nelson, Chemistry,
- Zombies and Math: Will the Zombies Win?, Robert Allen, Mathematics.