Newsletter #13
March 16, 2007
Please mark your calendar!!!
MRU Celebration Conference at Missouri State University, May 5th,
8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
CONGRATULATIONS to MINI-GRANT AWARDEES!
Mini-Grant Awards
Mini-Grant 1. The Thayer STEM Academy
The Thayer STEM Academy will accept applications from girls in grades 6-12 for the Spring Semester. (January 2007-May 2007) Applicants will be drawn from a pool of teacher-recommended girls based on the following criteria: Previous grades in science and math, previous attendance, and overall teacher recommendations. An overall total of 30 applicants will be selected from an original pool of 50 recommended students. If quotas of 30 girls are not met, then the application process will be opened to boys.
Meeting Times: The Thayer STEM Academy will meet from 3-5 twice weekly for 17 weeks during the spring 2007 semester. The applicants have found that two extra weeks are needed to be able to cover the wide variety of topics offered during the STEM Academy experience. There will be a total of 68 hours that the Thayer STEM Academy will be in session during the spring 2007 semester.
Academy participants will be required to keep logs and journals of each science area during the course of the semester. Students will be required to fill out an exit survey (knowledge-based) to see how well they retained information from the curriculum in the STEM experience.
Hands-on Projects: Students will be required to keep a running portfolio of all observation experiences within the STEM classroom. S tudents will demonstrate knowledge of the scientific process through reporting on data logs, field study forms, and journal entries. All students will be required to score their own portfolio using a rubric. This will serve to reinforce knowledge gained during the STEM experience.
Mentoring: Students will be assigned a specific mentor for each of the major STEM fields studied. This will be a collaborative effort in conjunction with Missouri State University at West Plains. Although the mentors may never actually be present with the students, they will answer questions and support students with projects via e-mail and telephone.
Mini-Grant 2. Cell Biology, Summit Preparatory School (grades 6-8)
The students will investigate different aspects of cell biology using interactive, hands-on learning including basic Mendelian genetics and patterns of heredity, components and functions of cell components (including prokaryotic, eukaryotic and plant cells) and interaction of cells. The students will participate in two CILC videoconferences at the Discovery Center which will include, “The Genetics of Fairy Tales and Hidden Kingdoms”, “The World of Microbes and “Virtual Visit Unit”. The students will also participate in a lecture on cells accompanied by a cell lab experience at MSU with Dr. Nathan Windell. They will also have a tour of the St. John's Clinical Lab which will include explanations of difference human cells that can be examined as well as microbes that are routinely tested for in a clinical lab setting.
- Understand the different components of cells as well as the differences between prokayrotes, eukaryotes and plant cells.
- Understand the different organelles of the cell and the functions of each organelle.
- Understand the patterns of heredity and the genetic basis for the inheritance of genes.
Mini-Grant 3. GIRLS IN SPACE, Mansfields School
A summer school experience for thirty 6-8 grade girls will be provided by attendance at Overnight Space Adventure. The school will provide teachers to act as sponsors, a school bus and driver for transportation, and services will be purchased from the Cosmosphere for dinner, activities, overnight lodging, and breakfast.
Mini-Grant 4. LEGO ROBOTICS, Girls Scouts of the Flint Hills
(Girls 5-8) Rural Kansas girls will receive additional opportunities similar to new projects in the Kansas City area using Lego Mindstorms Robotics. Emporia State University (ESU) Math, Science and Technology teachers will work together to develop a workshop for girls 11-14 years old. This funding request is based on the success of our first Lego Robotics Funshop provided by a STEM collaboration.
ESU students will be encouraged to be involved in "playing" with the Lego Robotics systems and providing feedback on lessons or curriculum ideas that will engage the younger girls as well as provide a meaningful learning experience. Dr. Connie Schrock, of ESU plans to use this project as a pilot test for several creative ideas within the ESU Education faculty. They have been given the task of organizing the 2008 state-wide conference for teachers and will focus on creative ways to combine Math, Science and Technology curriculum. Girl Scout Council of the Flint Hills will recruit both Girl Scouts and non-Girl Scouts for this workshop through existing strong networks of support in the seven counties we serve in East Central Kansas. To build on our existing Lego Robotics success, we will purchase more Programmable Bricks and strive to include more girls and college-age female mentors. Due to a recent staff change, we will use this second opportunity to recruit in our Studio 2B: Latinas group. We were unable to spark their interest in this first ever opportunity. We are successful in our area with high participation rates because we continue to focus on girl-directed programs in agreement with our motto "by girls, for girls".
Mini-Grant 5. SPACE CAMP AT THE COSMOPHERE, Girls Scouts of the Ozarks Area, Inc.
This project will allow 25 girls to participate in a 24-hour program at the Kansas Cosmosphere. Not only will the girls be able to participate in traditional programs such as touring the Hall of Space Museum, Laser Light Show, and Night Sky presentation in the Planetarium, girls will participate in hands-on scientific experiments in the areas of rocketeering, robotics, and space exploration through various simulators utilized during their Future Astronaut Training Program. This project with expand our current math and science program, allowing the girls to have the once-in-a-lifetime experience of working with scientists to explore and experiment and to have their questions answered by the experts. The project will begin with 2 local workshops held throughout the communities we serve, to spark an interest in the girls; one workshop will be held at the observatory at our local resident camp where girls will partner with students and professors at North Eastern Oklahoma A&M College, to increase the girls’ knowledge in the field of astronomy. Girls will be required to participate in at least one of these workshops before attending Space Camp. In 2004, NASA reported that there has been an alumni of the Girl Scouting organization on 42 missions to the moon and beyond; we would like to see that number only rise. Girls who participate in this program may be one of the first team to live on the proposed outpost on the moon or travel to Mars. But even if these girls futures keep their feet grounded on Earth, this experience will expand their horizons and open their eyes to the possibilities for their future.
The Kansas Cosmosphere will provide the complete program for the girls once they arrive at the Cosmosphere. The Cosmosphere offers this program throughout the year for Girl Scout and other special groups. The program will be centered around teaching young women about the worlds of aviation and spaceflight. This program will allow the girls to earn the Sky Search and Aerospace merit badges. Scouts who attend will experience working with robotics, rocket buildings, and will actually learn about and use some of the simulators that are used in their Future Astronaut Training.
Most of our Girl Scouts are from rural, often poor, communities. Our collaboration with the Cosmosphere makes a statement to our girls and our community that we will offer the best programming available to their girls. This is a consistent message and the Cosmosphere programs are excellent and are the best we know of for our girls interested in space.
Sincerely,
Dr. Paula Kemp
Email Paula.
Principal Investigator, MRU Project (supported by National Science Foundation)
