Blog – Page 7 – Margaret Mohr-Schroeder

June 8, 2017

Solar Energy, DNA and germs!

Thursday brought another hands-on exciting day at STEM Camp. This group of students is really something special…they are full of extra curiosity and questions. It has been awesome to witness this week!

Blue/Red Groups

They spent the day with Dr. Brett Criswell, one of our science (chemistry) educators here at UK. He focused on using different types of energy to power vehicles. The students got to make a car that was water powered and then got a chance to see the UK Solar Car and ask the students who created and race the car lots of questions. They loved making the small cars and then seeing a real solar car!

In robotics, they continued with the Green City Challenge. Many of the groups made it pretty far today!

Yellow/Green Groups

It was Yellow and Green groups’ turn to be in a biology lab in our beautiful new Don and Cathy Jacobs Science Building with Brittany Rice, a graduate student in the Biomedical Sciences doctorate program in the College of Medicine. They were able to use state of the art lab equipment, wear lab coats, goggles, gloves, etc. as a real laboratory scientist would (this included some lab safety lessons as well 🙂 ). They made models of DNA and then did a simple DNA extraction themselves to look at their own DNA. They were very fascinated! Then they learned about bacteria and germs and how they grow and where they’re located. They did a bacteria activity with their hands…there was some extra handwashing that went on the rest of the day after they realized the germs on their hands 🙂

In robotics, they continued with the Space Challenge. Most groups have made it pretty far and some completed theirs today and so are working on mastering the challenges from earlier in the week. Lots of movement and exciting programs happening!

In their words…

Blue/Red Groups

you can make dead muscle and heart tissue move with electricity
I realy want to learn more about solar power and hydroelectric
It’s fun to use comonly things to use it in a more complex way.
we got see it right in front of our eyes, and it was real
I got to make a water powered car.

Yellow/Green Groups

Its called nucleic acid because DNA’s in the center of the nucleus.
I liked the handson activities and being able to physically see my DNA
it has so many uses in the future
I thought it was really interesting learning about DNA, and how it bonds. We also got to extract some of our DNA.
I did not like swishing the gatorade in my mouth
Adenine connects to Thymine & Cytosine connects to guanine
it was very interesting, both doing it, and learning about DNA.
I learned the shapes of DNA and what DNA creates mutations.

Conversation Starters…

Red/Blue Groups

Why is it important to talk about different kinds of energy?
What did you do to make your car move today? How did the water make your car move?
What did you observe about the solar car?
What challenges did you complete today in the Green City Challenge? What was your favorite part about programming today? What was the hardest part about programming today?

Yellow/Green Groups

How did you extract your own DNA today? What did you observe about your DNA?
What did you learn from the handwashing activity?
What challenges did you complete today in the Space Challenge? What was your favorite part about programming today? What was the hardest part about programming today?

Picture of the Day… (click the picture to go to all the pictures from this week)

June 7, 2017

Fruit flies, bacteria, and DNA modeling!

Another beautiful day in the Bluegrass as students explored more STEM topics with our awesome professors and graduate students!

Red/Blue Groups

Today the students were in a biology lab in our beautiful new Don and Cathy Jacobs Science Building with Brittany Rice, a graduate student in the Biomedical Sciences doctorate program in the College of Medicine. They were able to use state of the art lab equipment, wear lab coats, goggles, gloves, etc. as a real laboratory scientist would (this included some lab safety lessons as well 🙂 ). They made models of DNA and then did a simple DNA extraction themselves to look at their own DNA. They were very fascinated! Then they learned about bacteria and germs and how they grow and where they’re located. They did a bacteria activity with their hands and then did some sampling to see what bacteria would grow (if any). They’ll get to view their results on Friday.

In robotics, the students started on the green city challenge. The green city challenge requires them to put multiple steps together and complete different tasks such as moving the dam or turning the wind turbine.

Green/Yellow Groups

Dr. Robin Cooper is a Biology professor at UK and has been a long time supporter at STEM Camp. The student always have so much fun in his lab as they experiment with drosophila (aka, fruit flies)! Today they did some sorting of the fruit flies under the microscopes in the lab. They had fruit fly “races” as well. They also did some physiological investigations on how the body reacts to certain flavors and spices. The students also got to spend time in the medical outreach facility where they get to look at and hold real organs, talk about their purpose and function, and look at EKG’s of themselves and their friends.

In robotics, the students started on the space challenge. The space challenge requires them to put multiple steps together and complete different tasks such as moving the moon rocks or opening the satellite.

In their words…

Blue/Red Groups

We got to extract DNA (for real) from our body
I did not know that you could get DNA fro your cheeks
it is weird and gross
working with biohazardous items
I loved learning about Dna & I love doing expirements.
I loved the expirements.
I learned lots about DNA. I learned that you can extract DNA with gatorade.
How DNA has to have a specific base pairs
Would you like to learn more about this topic? – Yes I would so I could help the earth.

Yellow/Green Groups

I learned about how the DNA of a fruit fly is very similar to that of a human and a bunch more about the human body and how it reacts (book).
I loved everything. -Learning about the body using the fruit flies -reading about the human body -actually touching the organs
I am fascinated with genes and biology.
Larva fruit flies roll away as a defense tactic.
Humans share 20% of DNA with fruit flys
if a cockroaches heads off it still can sense a persons from coming
I would probably faint at hte sight of Blood or Bugs
It was hands on gross stuff
That ockroaches can survive without their heads
It was hands on
That Larva are extremely agile

Conversation Starters…

Red/Blue Groups

How did you extract your own DNA today? What did you observe about your DNA?
What did you learn from the handwashing activity?
What did you swab for bacteria today? What do you think you will see on Friday when you look at it again?
What challenge did you start with today for the Green City Challenge? What was your favorite part about programming today?

Yellow/Green Groups

Why did you study about fruit flies today? What was your favorite part of working with the fruit flies?
What organ was the most interesting to look at and hold today? Was there an organ that surprised you in what it looked like?
What challenge did you start with today for the Space Challenge? What was your favorite part about programming today?

Photo of the Day…

June 6, 2017June 7, 2017

Motors, bridges, polymers and more!

It was a beautiful day outside and a perfect day for some intense explorations inside. The students have picked up on camp routines quickly and all were happy to wear their camp tshirts on campus. The groups switched presenters today, so they got to do some modeling, design engineering, and chemical engineering today.

Red/Blue Groups

The students split their time between Dr. Bruce Walcott and Dr. Isabel Escobar’s graduate students today. (If you like TED talks, you can view hers here https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-wbHD77kMWE) In both sessions students were introduced to different fields of engineering and got to use their hands to design, build, explore, and test models just as engineers do. In Dr. Walcott’s group, students got to build simple motors and talk about what electrical engineers do. They also tested out their design engineering skills by building a boat out of aluminum foil and seeing how many pennies it held. Dr. Escobar’s graduate students led the students through some fascinating polymer explorations today. They took polymers found in disposable diapers and used hydrochloric acid to break it back down, finding its saturation point. The students loved getting to explore and test! Their favorite part was feeling the particles and getting to smash them.

Green/Yellow Groups

The students worked on design engineering and building models using their mathematical skills with Dr. Thomas. They had a variety of supplies to choose from, but there were stipulations so they really had to get creative. Boy, they really did get creative! From building the tallest tower they could, do discovering their bridge could not even hold an eight-pound infant, they had a lot of fun testing and learning about why bridges are built the way they are.

All four groups…

In robotics, students really dug deep into the programming today. They worked on the football challenge, getting their robot to perform certain tasks. The favorite was figuring out how to make the grabbers work using a different motor! Tomorrow they will start some new challenges and probably get into the Green City and Space Challenge building.

In their words…

Blue/Red Group

I learned about polymers, calculous, different types of engineers, and chemical enginee’s roles in everyday life.
Polymers can react in interesting ways. Concrete can float if thin and big. we got to actually try it with aluanimum foil.
polymers absorb water and a boat with mor volume can hold more wight
When some polymers interact with water they turn into jell, when they interact with acid they turn into liquid.
That being an engineer is fun
How to make a faraday flashlight.

Yellow/Green Group

How to build a bridge with Posterboard, Popsickle sticks, and tape
That paperclips are super strong
Tape and sticks can be very strong
I learned about different types of bridges, and how they support weight.
Simple structures can Hold a lot of weight.
That triangles are a key to architexture.

Conversation Starters…

Red/Blue – Drs. Walcott and Escobar:

Is there a particular field of engineering that you think might interest you?
How many pennies did your boat hold? If you could build it again, what would you do differently?
What happened when you mixed the powder and water and turned it upside down?
What did the polymers feel like when you touched them? What happened when you tried to smash them?
What did you want your robot to do today? How did you get your robot to do what you wanted it to do?

Yellow/Green Groups:

What do bridges need to be strong?
How did you decide what materials to use for your bridge?
How did you decide on your design for your bridge?
How did your bridge do when you tested it?
How tall was your tower you built?
What did you want your robot to do today? How did you get your robot to do what you wanted it to do?

Picture of the Day…

Click the picture to access the rest of camp photos

June 5, 2017

Week 1 Rainy Day Kick Off!

Even with the rainy start today the day, there was quite the excitement and buzz in the air to kick off the first of our two weeks of 2017 UK See Blue STEM Camp! We are very excited to welcome 228 campers this year! One hundred twenty-eight of them started today! Registration went very well this morning and we really appreciate everyone’s patience as we had to move things inside because of the rain. You all are awesome!

Just a note about the consent and assent forms that we ask for every year. Our camp is subsidized by an NSF grant that requires research and reporting to the agency. The purpose of the research is to develop a camp model that promotes STEM careers to adolescents and can be replicated. We also look at students attitudes towards STEM and the impact of our activities. Without this grant and consent and assent to participate the camp simply would not exist. We never report any names or any individual data…it’s always aggregated together! You can read about some of our work here.

We will post a blog post each night this week with some highlights from the day and some conversation starters. The conversation starters are meant to help you get over the “What did you learn today?” “Nothin’” or <shrugging the shoulders> we often see at the adolescent age. We’ll also post a link to the photos we are taking throughout the week (NOTE: my camera battery died tonight so most of the pictures will be uploading in the morning 🙂 ). If at any time you want a photo removed that is of your child, please let us know and we’ll be happy to take it down.

Yellow/Green Groups

Today the students split their time between Dr. Bruce Walcott and Dr. Isabel Escobar’s graduate students today. (If you like TED talks, you can view hers here https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-wbHD77kMWE) In both sessions students were immersed in the wonderful world of engineering…using their hands to build and explore just as engineers do. In Dr. Walcott’s group, students got to build simple motors and talk about what electrical engineers do. They also tested out their design engineering skills by building a boat out of aluminum foil and seeing how many pennies it held. Dr. Escobar’s graduate students led the students through some fascinating polymer explorations today. They took polymers found in disposable diapers and used hydrochloric acid to break it back down, finding its saturation point. The students loved getting to explore and test!

Red/Blue Groups

Today the students got to experience mathematical modeling and bridge building with Dr. Thomas! They had a variety of supplies to choose from, but there were stipulations so they really had to get creative. Boy, they really did get creative! They got to test out their bridges as well.

All four groups…

In robotics, students started by engineering their robots. They got to build their robot and get to know it. They then start on some basic challenges of getting to move their robots…on a UK football field this year! They had to move their footballs forwards and backwards.

In their words… Each day we’ll post some excerpts from the students’ reflections of what they learned each day at the STEM Content session. We don’t correct for spelling or grammar in these 🙂

BLUE & RED – Dr. Thomas

What did you learn about today that you did not know before?

I learned about how bridges support weight and how to hold up a tower.
I learned about structures and the best way to support budlings.
I learned that you always need to have a foundation.
How a beam can affect the rigidity of a bridge

the weight of a paper clip can make a big difference
sometimes simpler things work better
I learned that a bridge need a strong cord.

GREEN & YELLOW -Drs. Walcott and Escobar

What did you learn about today that you did not know before?

That polymer could be your hair.
You can find the N and S pole of a magnet using a compass.
Polymers are molucules with repeating units.
That we can make polymer out of anything
that polymers are created from monomers linked together to make a pattern
That you could make a motor with wire, batteries, and magnets.

Conversation Starters… We know that your child is getting to the age where it might be like pulling teeth to get them to talk about their day beyond “It was fine.” “It was fun.” Each day we’ll post some suggested conversation starters centered on camp activities or STEM-related themes.

Yellow/Green – Drs. Walcott and Escobar:

Tell me about how you assembled your robot. Did you follow instructions? Did you just try to figure out what parts went together?
Is there a particular field of engineering that you think might interest you?
How many pennies did your boat hold? If you could build it again, what would you do differently?
What happened when you mixed the powder and water and turned it upside down?

Red/Blue Groups:

What do bridges need to be strong?
How did you decide what materials to use for your bridge?
How did you decide on your design for your bridge?
How did your bridge do when you tested it?
Tell me about how you assembled your robot. Did you follow instructions? Did you just try to figure out what parts went together?

Photo of the Day… Each day we’ll post a camp highlight. Click here to go to the pictures. Please note that we try to capture pictures of all the campers, but we cannot guarantee that we will get every single one. We try our very best to though! Also we are STEM teachers and not full time photographers, so our pictures are not perfect and we leave them unedited, so if you love to edit photos…feel free!

June 16, 2016

Flying Objects and Animals!

The red/blue groups got to experience mathematical modeling, physics, and flying objects with Dr. Cindy Jong today. After learning and building, they took their airplanes, copters, and parachutes for testing…many were successful in hitting the bullseye!

The Yellow/Green groups were so excited coming in today after hearing about the animal dissection and display yesterday! Dr. Bryant again shared her passion for animals, helping them, and her love of STEM with the students. She studies why animals die in order to help prevent it from happening in the future. They got to see some really cool things – such as round worms, a cancerous cow organ, a horse heart, etc. After that, the students got to do their own exploring and learning about organs by dissecting a pig. Most of them handled the dissection really well; they were excited to use the special tools and explore the different parts! While learning about the different organs and their functions, they played bingo as well!

Exposing students to dissection and organs is essential these days as dissection is no longer a regular part of the science classroom. Although some students are averse to this information and experience, it is important that they do have an experience and that we are able to produce doctors, veterinarians, and pathologists that continue to make breakthroughs in medicine and disease prevention in both humans and animals.

During lunch, the Mr. Tim Knauer came with his special telescope and the students got to look at the sun. They all thought it was pretty cool…it was a great sunny day to view!

We had a special guest at camp today. Secretary Hal Heiner came and visited camp along with Dr. Wayne Lewis and Bridget Papalia from the Kentucky Education & Workforce Development Cabinet. They were very impressed with the students and loved seeing them interact and have fun with hands-on STEM content. Kentucky is really trying to be more innovative and move STEM forward in the state.

In their words…

Red/Blue Groups

What did you learn about today that you did not know before?

i learned about velocity on & that it is the speed of something in a certain direction also i learned what acceleration is
that violocty is how fast and what direcion its going
when you rub a balloon against your hair it takes the electrons away
i learned that when air hits a planes wing it splits and goes up and down
how to make a proper paper airplane

What did you like about what you learned today?

i liked building parrachutes and paper airplanes
the physics all of it
i liked it because we got to experiment with paper airplanes, ballons, and parachutes
everything because today = fun
i liked that we got to make our own parachutes and drop them

Would you like to learn more about this topic? Why or why not?

yes because I am interested in flying
i would like to learn more about earodynamics because I enjoy building parrachutes
yes. i love physics
yes. i would like to know more paper airplanes to make

Yellow/Green Groups

Today I learned in depth what each organ/part of the body does and where they are located. We also learned about the deformities of animals.
I loved dissecting the pig and learning about all the body parts. I also liked observing and touching the malformed heads.
I would, I want to become a doctor when I grow up and to do so I need to know a lot about anatomy. Dissecting animals really helps me learn more.
That there are a lot of similarities with animals and humans.
That by dicecting animals you can learn things to help her animals
Dissecting animals isn’t for the faint of heart.
Pigs are complicated creatures.

Conversation Starters…

Red/Blue Groups

How do forces serve to push or pull objects?
How does motion connect force and influence objects to move?
How does force lift? Thrust? Drag?
How did you create your parachute? Were you able to drop it onto the target?
How did your airplane fly? What did you take into consideration when you made your airplane?
What challenges did you complete in robotics?
How do you decide what to program onto your robot?

Yellow/Green Groups

What is animal necropsy? Why do we do it?
What did you learn today about the organs?
Which is larger…a horse’s heart or the horse’s brain?
What was the coolest thing you saw today? What was the grossest thing you saw today?
What challenges did you complete in robotics?
How do you decide what to program onto your robot?

Photo of the Day… click here to view the rest of the photos