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Day 3 Got flies?

Day 3 brought a very nice follow-up to Day 2’s brain activities! The students got to go over to the biology laboratory with Dr. Robin Cooper from the College of Arts and Sciences to explore animal behavior and sensory systems. They experimented with the five senses using fruit flies – looking at how they function in various conditions. The students collected data on mouth movements of the larvae and other data regarding the sense using the lab microscopes. They also completed experiments involving their own neurobiology and the five senses.

In robotics the students have started the Green City Challenge.  This started with trying to block the dam of the city. On Thursday they will continue with windmills, solar panels, etc. The kids are really excited about the challenges and have really enjoyed programming and testing their programs – it’s great to see the engineering practices at work!

Did you know that the See Blue STEM Camp not only benefits your student, but students of UK as well? We are very fortunate this year to have graduate students from STEM Education, Engineering, and Biology help out with the presentations. They are learning a lot about working with adolescents as well as sharpening their presentation skills. We also have a few preservice mathematics teachers helping us out this week and next week; they have gained invaluable hands-on experiences in working with middle school students!

Click below for updated pictures

STEM Camp pics

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Day 2 See Blue STEM Camp – Week 1

IMG_1474Today was another exciting day at the See Blue STEM Camp! Ms. Carolyn Crowdus, a graduate student in the College of Medicine, brought real human brains and a real spinal column over to the College of Education today to help students understand more about neuroscience. Her presentation was, “Got brains? A journey through the human mind”. Campers had the opportunity to hold and touch the brain and spinal column (with gloves on of course!) if they wanted to. They also completed sensory activities with colored pencils and a partner to explore the different nerves and effects of touch on the human brain/body.

IMG_1513In robotics, the students began programming their robots. They worked more on trying NOT to knock down their Lego figures (the goal was to give them a close shave), but also added in turns and basic robotic movements. They had a lot of fun programming and trying out new and different techniques with their robots!

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During lunch today, Dr. Tim Knauer – Director of the McAdams student observatory, brought his special telescopes and the students were able to view various parts of outer space, including looking (safely) at the sun! Dr. Knauer also shared a wealth of knowledge tonight to campers and their families during the night sky viewing. It was a little cloudy, but there was still a lot to see!

We were able to somehow rangle all the kids together and get all 70 of them to look at the camera for the camp picture! Aren’t they a great looking group?!!?

IMG_1467More photo highlights today can be found by clicking the image below:

Recently Updated

 

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Day 1 of See Blue STEM Camp

stem camp 2013Today we welcomed seventy 5th and 6th from across the state of Kentucky to the 4th annual See Blue STEM Camp! We had a great first day of camp today!  All of the kids enjoyed the activities.  They were able to tour of the Vis Center as well as the Engineering Buildings.  Dr. Bruce Walcott, Professor of Electrical Engineering, also had them build towers out of some rogue Lego parts.

0603131542On the robotics side the students got busy building their robots and then participated in the distance challenge.  They had to program their robots to drive up to a figure but not knock it over.  Tomorrow they will move into more difficult programming challenges.

 

Up tomorrow is Ms. Carolyn Crowdus, from the College of Medicine, who will guide the campers through the neuroscience of the human brain.  Her presentation, “Got brains? A journey through the human mind” will help campers explore and learn about the vast intricacies of the human mind. Students will have the opportunity to explore actual brains and stem cords. If you prefer your student not to participate in this activity or if you think the activity will cause a reaction please let us know.

Tomorrow night we are planning on the observatory visit – watch your email for more information!

Check out the following link for pictures:

STEM Camp pics-002

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Google Scholar Citations

Google Scholar has added another feature…Citations. Just go to the following link: scholar.google.com/citations and enter in the information and you can start collecting your publications on your profile. If you have written under multiple names, be sure to search for all of them as some may not automatically populate. I was able to find five of my articles right away. I believe there is a feature to add in publications and even link to them, but I haven’t done much searching yet.

You can make your citation profile public or private and even add a photo, website, etc. You can list your connections (universities for example), email address, and research interests. What a great way to connect to people! Another cool feature is linking up with your co-authors.

This seems to be more reliable than some of the other indexes some people use to record citations. I verified all of my citations by downloading the articles and reading away. It was fun to see how people cited my work and in what context!

Google does have the disclaimer: Dates and citation counts are estimated and are determined automatically by a computer program. Just double check to make sure they really are and you are good to go. What a great thing to add to a vita, dossier, or even your annual review!

 

Margaret Mohr-Schroeder – Google Scholar Citations.