What's one of the secrets to success in mathematics or science? Developing your skills as a good observer! On six Saturdays during the spring we will hold workshops to look at a variety of areas in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM), that combine hands-on activities with computer and network explorations, while discovering the role of computers and communications technologies in modern science. Saturday Explorations in Science and Mathematics workshops are intended for students in grades 6 through 8 (or the home school equivalent). Younger students who are particularly mature and older students who are interested may also be considered.
Once again we have an exciting partnership with North Carolina Central University. The Spring Saturday Explorations students will be invited to participate in CybAdventures. CybAdventures is a morning of hands-on experiments or computational activities that are both entertaining and informative. Topics range from Chemistry to Geospatial sciences. Topics are dependent upon the availability of NCCU faculty.
CyberStorm: An adventure in the eye of a virtual hurricane. CyberStorm will involve hands-on experiments, internet research and computational activities to learn about hurricanes. You will learn about the latest technologies such as satellites, sensors and supercomputers that scientist use to predict the path of a hurricane. Come find out more about one of the greatest forces of nature - let's go hurricane hunting!
In addition to giving students some insight into how graphics-- from visualizations of molecules to the latest hollywood effects-- are created with computers, this workshop will acquaint students with some free graphics tools that they can continue to use at home. Students will use these tools to create their own two-dimensional visualizations. All of the examples presented in this class will have a particular focus on the use of computer graphics and visualization as a teaching and research tool in science, mathematics, and engineering.
"Investigating the 'Death' of an Orange: How is the Rate of Heat Loss Based on the Surrounding Temperature?" In this activity, the students will investigate the "time of death" of an orange (simulating a human body), by measuring the rate of heat loss from an orange and see how it depends on the temperature of the surroundings.
The workshop will cover a hands-on introduction to batteries, the types of batteries, and the generation of typical discharge curves to evaluate battery performance. The goal of the workshop is to stimulate interest in electrochemistry and develop understanding among students through simple experiments on how electrochemistry and batteries impact our lives from transportation to entertainment.
This workshop uses modeling tools to investigate authentic scientific problems. Following an introduction to computational science, students will learn how to create computational solutions to problems such as population dynamics, predator-prey relationships, and the spread of diseases.
This class builds bridges between math concepts and the use of those concepts in problem solving situations. Students will approach familiar concepts from a new and interesting direction and discover exciting ways to apply math.
Session size is limited to 20 participants in order to assure a high quality learning atmosphere. Participants work both in teams and individually in a supervised, hands-on learning environment. Each day they learn about new scientific approaches and tools and then have the opportunity to try them out for themselves in our iBook computer lab.
Students often do not have the opportunity to experience the tools and techniques that drive cutting-edge scientific research. In fact, most school science curricula hardly mention the revolutionary new approaches modern science uses daily to research such areas as galaxy formation, volcanic eruptions, cardiovascular activity, the spread of disease, and a host of other interests. Saturday Explorations in Science and Mathematics workshops are designed to expose students to the high technology environment in which most scientists now work and the specialized critical thinking and communication skills they must have to be successful there.
All activities take place at the Shodor headquarters in Durham, North Carolina and North Carolina Central University Participants will use high-performance laptops and local servers equipped with computational software which the students will learn how to use throughout their classes.
Participants should be 6th - 8th graders (or the equivalent) and interested in science and mathematics. Younger students who are particularly mature and older students who are well-behaved may also be considered. While some experience with computers is helpful, it is not required.