The California State University, Fresno MESA Schools Program was established in 1980. The overall goal of the MESA Schools Program at California State University, Fresno is to motivate and prepare disadvantaged students, especially those from underserved population, with the knowledge and skills that will enhance their interest and prepare them for professions requiring degrees in engineering, and other mathematics and science-based fields.

CSU Fresno MESA program services include enriched math and science classes, intensive academic summer programs, career exploration in STEM fields, field trips to colleges and industry-related sites, assistance with college applications for admissions and financial aid, PSAT and SAT Prep, transcript reviews, scholarships, student and parent leadership training and professional development for MESA teachers. The core of the program encompasses rich hands-on, project-based learning with an emphasis on STEM subjects. Many of the MESA hands-on activities are team oriented and competition based.

Contact:

California State University, Fresno
MESA Schools Program
2220 East San Ramon Avenue, M/S EE94
Fresno, California 93740-8028
Phone: 559.278.2976
Fax: 559.278.4517

NanoDays

The 2011 annual NanoDays, is coming in the spring, March 26-April 3. It’s not too early to get ready now.

This nationwide festival focuses on educational programs about nanoscale science and engineering and its potential impact on the future. NanoDays events are organized by participants in the Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network (NISE Net), and take place at over 200 science museums, research centers, and universities across the country, from Maine to Hawaii.

Many NanoDays celebrations will combine simple hands-on activities for young people with events exploring current research for adults. One popular 2010 activity involved visitors working together to build a giant balloon model of a carbon nanotube. (Real carbon nanotubes, which are 1/50,000th of the width of a human hair, have extraordinary strength and unusual electrical properties that make them useful in electronics and materials science.)

Other NanoDays activities demonstrate different, unexpected properties of materials at the nanoscale — sand that won’t get wet even under water, water that won’t spill from a teacup, and colors that depend upon particle size.

Some NanoDays participants host public forums, discussions about the risks and benefits of particular appllications of nanotechnology. Many participating universities host public tours of their laboratories that work with nanoscale science and technology.

How to participate:

Being part of NanoDays is easy: host an eventsabout nanoscale science and engineering during NanoDays, March 26 – April 3, 2011. NISE Net can help with materials and ideas, and in return, asks participants to file a report about their events.

Last year, some 200 NanoDays events were held across the country, including hands-on activities and demos, speaker events, theater presentations, art shows, lab tours, lectures, deliberative forums, and science cafes. Through NanoDays, the NISE Network aims to reach audiences across a diverse geographic distribution, people with disabilities, and under-represented audiences in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math).

What can you do for NanoDays?

You can host a day or a week of activities on the theme of nanoscale science and technology. The NISE network has developed a host of resources to, including products in their online catalog and their NanoDays kits.

The Digital Kit: provide the information about hands-on activities, and include guides and tips to help you stage your NanoDays events, including downloadable guides and printable signage files.

Free online download is available to anyone who registers on nisenet.org, particularly for international locations outside the United States, K-12 educators, libraries, and other educational organizations. Many of the activities use inexpensive, readily available supplies. Contents include a planning guide, marketing materials, and hands-on activity guides with supply lists.

The Physical Kit: physical kits, which will be mailed out in January 2011, are available by request; apply online between October 20 and December 10, 2o10.

Reporting Requirements: If you host or co-organize a NanoDays event, NISE NET requests that you report back to the Network about your experiences. They report this to the National Science Foundation; it also help all of their partners to learn from each other and improve their ability to engage the public. A link to an online reporting form will be provided on the website.

About NISE: The Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network (NISE Net) is a national community of researchers and informal science educators dedicated to fostering public awareness, engagement, and understanding of nanoscale science, engineering, and technology.

“An Engineering Education Makes a World of Difference” is a new website from the National Academy of Engineering that highlights role models who have used an engineering education to innovate products, processes, and services that improve human health, welfare, and happiness. Twice a week for each week from Monday, January 31 through Thursday, July 14, the site will release a new video (less than 30 seconds long) to be posted to the web and which can be “pushed” to individual cell phones. You can  text “CASEE” to 21534 to subscribe to the twice-weekly videos.

In addition to the role models, the site provides links to other sites that explain what engineering is and where visitors can find out more about engineering.

eGFI is featured in the “WHERE can I find out more?” section.

Learn More at http://engineeringaworldofdifference.org

Need some help with your homework? Look no further than Khan Academy.

The website features over 1,800 mini-lectures on subjects including mathematics, history, finance, physics, chemistry, astronomy, and economics.

All online tutorials are produced and narrated by Salman Khan, who has a master’s in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT. Usually under 15 minutes in length, the videos are low-tech and conversational, with Khan using step-by-step doodles and diagrams on an electronic blackboard to explain various concepts.

Khan Academy has become a web sensation: the videos are viewed 70,000 times a day and have received over 37 million views worldwide. Not only that, but all of the videos are available on YouTube as well.

The project started when Khan, who was living in Boston at the time, agreed to help tutor his cousins in New Orleans. Because of scheduling conflicts, he recorded videos for them on YouTube so that they could watch his explanations at their own pace.

When other users started tuning in, Khan realized he could provide a useful education to anyone, anywhere.

Image: Outlook India

The deadline to submit is April 22, 2011.

For more information, visit http://web.mit.edu/inventeams/apply.html

Lemelson-MIT Program, MIT School of Engineering
30 Memorial Dr., E60-215
Cambridge
MA, 02142
Contact: Ellen Dickenson
Grade Level: High School
Discipline: Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Technology, Computers
Website: http://web.mit.edu/inventeams/

Girls Go Green 2010

This live-in week long camp will give students the opportunity to explore career options that help society while protecting the environment. Attendees live together in a residential hall, meet current female student leaders and professors, participate in team projects and field trips, and explore the science and engineering behind a green environment. Check the Camp Overview for more info.

Dates: July 17-22, 2011

Ages: Applicants should be entering the 11th or 12th grades in August, 2011.

Cost: $350 (if registered by June 1, 2011), $380 (if registered after June 1, 2011) – includes housing, meals, t-shirt, activities, and all supplies (Fee will be refunded if not selected to attend)

Capacity: Space is limited to 25 students (if the camp is full you can request to be placed on a waiting list)

Please note: Submitting the registration form does not guarantee acceptance or hold your place in camp. Registration is not complete until all forms and payment of $350 – $380 have been received; these must reach the MS&T office at least 14 days from the date of your registration. If not received by then, your registration will be canceled.

Registration Cancellation Policy: Persons wishing to cancel their registration must do so in writing by June 1, 2011 to receive a refund. Requests for refunds will be charged a $40 cancellation fee. No refunds can be given after June 1, 2011. Please allow three to four weeks for processing of refunds.

• Online registration begins February 1, 2011. (If you would like an application to be mailed to you call  573-341-7286 to request an application)
• Print, sign and mail the General Permission Form, Agreement & Release of Liability Form, and Youth Health Statement Form
• Mail all forms and payment (if not paying online by credit card) made payable to the Missouri S&T.

Helpful Links:

• Camp Overview
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Travel Information and What to Bring
• Tentative Agenda

Please check the Website for more, and updated, information.

Harry Potter Day

The Maryland Science Center invites everyone to join a “magical celebration of the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” in their IMAX theater. The film will be accompanied by a day filled with activities for kids big and small.

• Attend a Potions class with a sinister professor you might recognize.
• Use the magic of imagination in the Davis Planetarium to explore Harry Potter characters in the night sky at 2:00pm, 2:40pm, and 3:20pm.
• Plant some magic in Herbology class.
• Visit with the Sorting Hat to see which house you will be sorted into, and then make your very own crest to take home.
• While you’re here, follow the Marauder’s Map to find various horcruxes hidden throughout the Science Center.

All events are Noon-4pm, free with paid admission, and free for members.

Date: Saturday, November 20, 2010

Time: Noon-4:00PM

Location: Maryland Science Center

Cost: Free with paid admission and free to members

Who should attend: Members, Families, Muggles, and Magicians

Please check the Website for more information.

Eligibility

2011 SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Environmental Excellence Awards

Since 1993, the awards have recognized the outstanding efforts of students and teachers across the country who are working at the grassroots level to protect and preserve the environment. Eligibility: All K-12 schools in the United States are eligible to apply. Projects must be sponsored by a formally recognized school group, such as a grade level, classroom or club. Public, private and licensed home schools are all eligible to apply. Individual students (e.g., science fair projects) and the previous year’s award-winning educators and projects are not eligible to apply.

DEADLINE: Dec. 1.

Awards:

Eight projects will be selected. Each winning group will receive:

• $10,000 to benefit the award-winning project
• All-expenses-paid trip for three (3) students and one (1) adult leader to a SeaWorld or Busch Gardens park for a special awards event

From the eight projects, one (1) outstanding environmental educator/leader will be recognized. That educator will receive:

• $5,000
• All-expenses-paid trip for themselves and one (1) guest to a SeaWorld or Busch Gardens park for a special awards event
• All-expenses-paid trip to the 2011 National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) national conference

Please check the Website to learn more and to register.

Location

“The Science of Gingerbread”

2010-11 Contest

The Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana, CA, is seeking delectable gingerbread creativity from children, adults, businesses, and organizations. Try your hand at creating a delicious masterpiece out of gingerbread, icing, and other edibles in this year’s competition. Submissions will be accepted Nov. 20-29, 2010 and on display November 26, 2010 – January 2, 2011.

What’s in it for participants?

• An exclusive Gingerbread party to kick off the festivities
• A unique holiday team building experience
• An opportunity to display your logo/organization in Discovery Science Center for 6 weeks
• A chance to win cash prizes in the several categories.

Visit the Center’s gingerbread fact page to learn about the spice, including its use during the Crusades as a food preservative and medicine, and 16th-century English gingerbread “portraits.”

2010-2011 Gingerbread Contest Dates

• Bring Your Entry to Discovery Science Center: November 20-29, 2010; 11am – 4pm (Please note that the Center is CLOSED on Nov. 25, Thanksgiving Day)
• Gingerbread Houses on Display: November 26, 2010 – January 2, 2011
• Winner Announcement: Friday, December 10 at the Participants Awards Party

Entry and Submissions

Please see the Website for Contest Rules and Regulations

Download Entry Form

View Competition Ideas & Examples

View Tips to Get Started

2011 Argonne National Laboratory’s 16th annual Rube Goldberg machine contest

Argonne National Laboratory will sponsor 12 Chicago-area high schools in a Rube Goldberg machine contest to be held at the Chicago Children’s Museum on Friday, Feb. 25, 2011. The 2010 task is to build a complicated machine that takes at least 20 steps to water a plant. Sign-up soon to be one of the 12 participating high schools.

Rube Goldberg Machine Contests bring Goldberg’s cartoons to life in a way that pulls students away from traditional ways of looking at problems and sends them spinning into the intuitive, chaotic realm of imagination. The resulting inventions are collections of bits and pieces, parts of now useless machines, scraped together to achieve an innovative, imaginative, yet somehow logical contraption to conquer the job at hand. The contest shows us all the need for simplicity and the pitfalls of complexity.

The 2011 task: To build a complicated machine that takes at least 20 steps to water a plant.

More information: Full information packets, including rules and entry applications will be mailed to Chicago-area high schools before the end of November 2011. If you want to be sure your school receives an information package, please click the “Receive info ” link below and send us the following information, all of which is required:

• Name of faculty advisor
• School name
• School address

Receive info packet for Argonne’s 16th annual Rube Goldberg machine contest for Chicago-area high schools.

Contest details:

• Entry address: Do not send your entry form to Argonne. Instead, send it to Rube Goldberg, Inc. The address is on the form. If you misplace the form, you can download a new one here or at the Rube Goldberg, Inc. Web site at www.rubegoldberg.com. Alternatively, you may fax your entry form to Rube Goldberg, Inc. at 203-557-4625. Be sure to indicate that you want to enter the Argonne contest.

• Entry fee: Please disregard the $300 entry fee requirement. Argonne will pay your entry fee.

• Stipend: In addition to paying each team’s entry fee, Argonne will provide each team with $100 to defray costs of materials and travel.

• Number of teams per school: Up to two teams from each school may enter Argonne’s contest.

• Entry deadline: Argonne’s contest is limited to the 12 teams on a first-come, first-served basis.

• Official rules: Please download them at the Rube Goldberg, Inc. Web site at www.rubegoldberg.com/

Check the Argonne website for more information.