SEEDS Blacksburg Price House Nature Center's public opening is this coming Saturday, April 17th 11AM 4PM.
Find us at www.seedsguys.org & www.facebook.com/blacksburgnaturecenter
Become a fan!
We'll also be at the nature center on Friday, April 16th for VT Remembrance Day to honor Julia Pryde.
WE ARE TAKING VOLUNTEER APPLICATIONS NOW For our open public hours. Please inquire with us if you are interested.
Exhibits
Birds migration, bird feeders, bird watching
Insects social insects > VT Beekeeping club will be setting up a living observation hive.
Trees Wood, tree parts, trees and you
Seasons and trees
Skulls, bones, and shells
Regional Wildlife
Making Animal Tracks
Local waters: Freshwater Heritage of Blacksburg
Story telling area (kid-style nature books always welcome)
"What is it?" exhibit
Matching exhibit
Art in Nature: Kids interpret the environment through art
Cave life and karst geology (coming soon)
GLOBE monitoring site (coming soon)
Vision discovery (coming soon)
Feel free to stop by and check out our progress. The price house gardens are begining to bloom!
SEEDS Summer Field Camps 2010
SEEDS summer camp schedule is posted on our website. Open registration began on 1 April. You can print a registration form from our website and mail it in. Sorry no online registration. We must have a deposit and your signature on the registration form.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
InnovationSpace at Virginia Tech
At the Feb. 27th KTU the InnovationSpace at Virginia Tech came out to the afternoon hands-on activity time and some kids made videos using the technology they showcased! You can view the video's here- http://www.youtube.com/user/iSpaceKTU
Experiential Gallery for Creative Technologies
Experiential Gallery for Creative Technologies
The Experiential Gallery for Creative Technologies exists as a space where community, school, and university resources come together to allow visitors to experience learning through digital and technology-based arts. It is designed around creative research endeavors relating new media, digital and cyber arts, and experimental lab activities linked to all levels of education.
The Experiential Gallery is a product of digital arts projects designed and developed through collaboration among Virginia Tech faculty and students, education experts, and art organizations such as the Taubman Museum of Art.
At the Experiential Gallery, visitors of any age can explore multiple aspects of the exhibits. By entering with an open mind and willingness to play, ask questions, and learn, you can explore exhibits with all of your senses. You should come away with a sense of discovery and brains full of questions and ideas. After your visit, we encourage you to talk about your experiences with others, learn even more about the artists and their projects, and apply what you learned to their lives.
Visit the Experiential Gallery for Creative Technologies in Kent Square on Main St. in downtown Blacksburg. For more information about our exhibits: http://www.experientialgallery.vt.edu
The Experiential Gallery for Creative Technologies exists as a space where community, school, and university resources come together to allow visitors to experience learning through digital and technology-based arts. It is designed around creative research endeavors relating new media, digital and cyber arts, and experimental lab activities linked to all levels of education.
The Experiential Gallery is a product of digital arts projects designed and developed through collaboration among Virginia Tech faculty and students, education experts, and art organizations such as the Taubman Museum of Art.
At the Experiential Gallery, visitors of any age can explore multiple aspects of the exhibits. By entering with an open mind and willingness to play, ask questions, and learn, you can explore exhibits with all of your senses. You should come away with a sense of discovery and brains full of questions and ideas. After your visit, we encourage you to talk about your experiences with others, learn even more about the artists and their projects, and apply what you learned to their lives.
Visit the Experiential Gallery for Creative Technologies in Kent Square on Main St. in downtown Blacksburg. For more information about our exhibits: http://www.experientialgallery.vt.edu
Formula SAE will be at KTU!
The VT student team of Formula SAE will be at Kids’ Tech University on April 10th! Formula SAE is a project that challenges undergraduate mechanical engineers to design, manufacture, and test a Formula One style race car. It has been an exciting year of designing, building, and racing. VT Motorsports will go to competition in Michigan with a car which exemplifies our strive for perfection. The team is part of the WARE lab on the VT campus. Check out http://www.vtmotorsports.com/ for more information, pictures, and videos.
Marilyn Lanier will be exhibiting on April 10th!
“Paper Airplane Fly”
Aerodynamics of Paper Planes
Ever wondered what it takes for a plane to fly? Try designing your own paper airplane model. The skill of folding planes requires the ability to follow directions and attention to detail. Paper airplane folding is a great way to explore the fundamentals of flight through paper plane aerodynamics. The same forces that make a real airplane fly are involved with paper airplanes, just on a smaller scale. This activity requires teamwork. The objective is to design your best paper airplane within the set time and fly it. Making a paper airplane model that flies is easy, but the challenge is to make a plane that will fly further and preferably land in style.
Marilyn Lanier, B.S, M.Ed.
PhD Candidate, School of Education
Department of Teaching and Learning
Secondary Science Education
Virginia Tech
Aerodynamics of Paper Planes
Ever wondered what it takes for a plane to fly? Try designing your own paper airplane model. The skill of folding planes requires the ability to follow directions and attention to detail. Paper airplane folding is a great way to explore the fundamentals of flight through paper plane aerodynamics. The same forces that make a real airplane fly are involved with paper airplanes, just on a smaller scale. This activity requires teamwork. The objective is to design your best paper airplane within the set time and fly it. Making a paper airplane model that flies is easy, but the challenge is to make a plane that will fly further and preferably land in style.
Marilyn Lanier, B.S, M.Ed.
PhD Candidate, School of Education
Department of Teaching and Learning
Secondary Science Education
Virginia Tech
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team of Virginia Tech (HEVT) will be at the April 10th KTU!
The Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team of Virginia Tech (HEVT) designs, builds, and refines hybrid electric vehicles as part of the GM and Department of Energy Sponsored, Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition series. Our focus is reducing petroleum energy use and greenhouse gases emissions, while maintaining consumer acceptability. This year, we have a new cool feature. A 40 mile range, electric only engine that transitions to FlexFuel power, to complete longer trips.
Alpha Epsilon will be exhibiting with KTU!
Alpha Epsilon is an honor society for outstanding biological and agricultural engineers. Virginia Tech’s Eta chapter consists of graduate and undergraduate students who are in the top of their class in Biological Systems Engineering. Alpha Epsilon is leading an outreach initiative to work with nearby K-5 schools in promoting science in environmental education through a sustainability kit.
By following the life cycle of an apple from the farm, to the store, and to consumption, the sustainability kit seeks to make the concept of sustainability more understandable to young students. Through Albert the Apple’s life cycle, students will learn about sustainable agriculture, energy transportation, recycling, and composting. Alpha Epsilon is proud to pilot three different activities developed for the sustainability kit during Kids Tech University. Students will have the opportunity to learn about the energy from a potato, transportation of produce, and water resources and quality.
By following the life cycle of an apple from the farm, to the store, and to consumption, the sustainability kit seeks to make the concept of sustainability more understandable to young students. Through Albert the Apple’s life cycle, students will learn about sustainable agriculture, energy transportation, recycling, and composting. Alpha Epsilon is proud to pilot three different activities developed for the sustainability kit during Kids Tech University. Students will have the opportunity to learn about the energy from a potato, transportation of produce, and water resources and quality.
Alpha Pi Mu exhibit on April 10th
Gotta Love Legos!!!
Engineering is all about design and teamwork, and this event combines the fun of Lego building with teamwork excitement!! The goal of this activity is to build a small Lego structure with one builder and one communicator. The catch is that the builder can only build with the Legos without looking at the instructions, and the communicator can only look at the instructions without touching the Legos. The team must put together the Lego structure as quickly as possible, and the winner receives a prize!!!
Alpha Pi Mu is the Industrial and Systems Engineering Honor Society. It is our mission to unify and promote the ISE department, and benefit the Virginia Tech community as a whole. This exhibit serves to promote the engineering department in a fun way that the kids will love!!
Engineering is all about design and teamwork, and this event combines the fun of Lego building with teamwork excitement!! The goal of this activity is to build a small Lego structure with one builder and one communicator. The catch is that the builder can only build with the Legos without looking at the instructions, and the communicator can only look at the instructions without touching the Legos. The team must put together the Lego structure as quickly as possible, and the winner receives a prize!!!
Alpha Pi Mu is the Industrial and Systems Engineering Honor Society. It is our mission to unify and promote the ISE department, and benefit the Virginia Tech community as a whole. This exhibit serves to promote the engineering department in a fun way that the kids will love!!
Society of Environmentally Focused Students is exhibiting on April 10th!
Title: Features of Water Treatment
Program Info:
The Society of Environmentally Focused Students (SEFS) is a student-run group of the Civil and Environmental Engineering department. The group comprises graduate students from the Environmental and Water Resources Division, whose focus areas span the range of Environmental Engineering.
Abstract:
Our display will be based on drinking water treatment, demonstrating the importance of three environmental characteristics in producing clean drinking water. Three interesting water treatment features will be shown:
(1) A simulation of the coagulation/flocculation process of water treatment:
This test simulates one step in the treatment of water to produce clean drinking water. It is a simple demonstration of the process by which solids are removed from water in drinking water treatment. The test is based on visual comparison, and therefore can be quite interactive through asking children to choose which water they would want to drink.
(2) Bacterial cultures from water samples before and after treatment:
Bacterial cultures originating from different water sources will be displayed. Water sources ranging from very dirty (wastewater) to very clean (drinking water) were chosen for this experiment as a way to visually detect differences in bacterial quantities and water quality.
(3) The role of pH:
pH is a measure of how acidic or basic a solution is. This is measured on a scale that ranges from 1-14, with 1 being the most acidic, 14 being the most basic and 7 being neutral. Pure water is said to be neutral, with a pH close to 7.0. The pH of human blood is usually slightly basic with a value of pH 7.4. To demonstrate the pH ranges we will use graphic displays and examples of various liquids that span the pH range, as well as pH indicators that can show what the pH of something is.
Program Info:
The Society of Environmentally Focused Students (SEFS) is a student-run group of the Civil and Environmental Engineering department. The group comprises graduate students from the Environmental and Water Resources Division, whose focus areas span the range of Environmental Engineering.
Abstract:
Our display will be based on drinking water treatment, demonstrating the importance of three environmental characteristics in producing clean drinking water. Three interesting water treatment features will be shown:
(1) A simulation of the coagulation/flocculation process of water treatment:
This test simulates one step in the treatment of water to produce clean drinking water. It is a simple demonstration of the process by which solids are removed from water in drinking water treatment. The test is based on visual comparison, and therefore can be quite interactive through asking children to choose which water they would want to drink.
(2) Bacterial cultures from water samples before and after treatment:
Bacterial cultures originating from different water sources will be displayed. Water sources ranging from very dirty (wastewater) to very clean (drinking water) were chosen for this experiment as a way to visually detect differences in bacterial quantities and water quality.
(3) The role of pH:
pH is a measure of how acidic or basic a solution is. This is measured on a scale that ranges from 1-14, with 1 being the most acidic, 14 being the most basic and 7 being neutral. Pure water is said to be neutral, with a pH close to 7.0. The pH of human blood is usually slightly basic with a value of pH 7.4. To demonstrate the pH ranges we will use graphic displays and examples of various liquids that span the pH range, as well as pH indicators that can show what the pH of something is.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
The Autonomous Underwater Vehicle team will be at the April 10th KTU!
AUVT builds an AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle; Submarine Robot) every year for the purpose of competing in AUVSI's annual AUV competition in San Diego, CA. They work out of Virginia Tech's Ware Lab as an undergraduate engineering design team.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Dr. Wu Feng will be exhibiting at the April 10th KTU!
Dr. Feng from the VT Department of Computer Science will be exhibiting at the April 10th KTU program! He will have 2 exhibits detailed below:
1. What is Computer Science and Engineering?
This exhibit will be a rolling presentation of "What is Computer Science and Engineering?" and will serve to debunk many of the myths perpetuated by Hollywood. The exhibit will show how computer science and engineering seeks to leverage computers to solve problems across a gamut of disciplines - from the arts and humanities to medicine and health to other sciences and engineering. Thought-provoking question: Is the iPhone or Droid a computer? Trivia: Which discipline has consistently been in the top-10 paying jobs of this decade? Which discipline is expected to have 71% of all the job openings in science engineering by 2014, according to the U.S. Bureau Labor & Statistics?
2. MyVICE: My Virtual Instances of Computing Environments
This exhibit will present our computer science curriculum for teaching 3rd-7th graders how to "program with pictures" (or more metaphorically, storyboarding or "moving making"). This curriculum, when coupled with the notion of "virtual computing," will transform the way that science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are taught in K-12.
1. What is Computer Science and Engineering?
This exhibit will be a rolling presentation of "What is Computer Science and Engineering?" and will serve to debunk many of the myths perpetuated by Hollywood. The exhibit will show how computer science and engineering seeks to leverage computers to solve problems across a gamut of disciplines - from the arts and humanities to medicine and health to other sciences and engineering. Thought-provoking question: Is the iPhone or Droid a computer? Trivia: Which discipline has consistently been in the top-10 paying jobs of this decade? Which discipline is expected to have 71% of all the job openings in science engineering by 2014, according to the U.S. Bureau Labor & Statistics?
2. MyVICE: My Virtual Instances of Computing Environments
This exhibit will present our computer science curriculum for teaching 3rd-7th graders how to "program with pictures" (or more metaphorically, storyboarding or "moving making"). This curriculum, when coupled with the notion of "virtual computing," will transform the way that science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are taught in K-12.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Lunar Outpost to Settlement Senior Design Team will be exhibiting at KTU on April 10th!
Lunar Outpost to Settlement Senior Design Team
Students- Jamal Gibson, Sadnima Khan, Jason Smith, Colton Sizemore, Matt Wilson, Zachary Hannis, Andrew Plumb
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University: Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering
This will be a hands-on activity where the students participate in a Lego Mindstorm competition and take their excavate regolith on the “lunar surface”. The Lego Mindstorm kits will be borrowed from Virginia Tech’s Student Engineering Council.
There will be four demonstrations each lasting 30 minutes where a group of students will come to the booth and will be given a brief introduction to the project. The students will then have five minutes to brainstorm ideas on collecting the regolith by choosing different Lego Mindstorm robots. They will have three chances to collect as much regolith as possible and the student who has collected the most will win a prize. After the competition there will be a lecture on why regolith needs to be harvested. These lectures and activities will then be posted on youtube.com.
Students- Jamal Gibson, Sadnima Khan, Jason Smith, Colton Sizemore, Matt Wilson, Zachary Hannis, Andrew Plumb
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University: Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering
This will be a hands-on activity where the students participate in a Lego Mindstorm competition and take their excavate regolith on the “lunar surface”. The Lego Mindstorm kits will be borrowed from Virginia Tech’s Student Engineering Council.
There will be four demonstrations each lasting 30 minutes where a group of students will come to the booth and will be given a brief introduction to the project. The students will then have five minutes to brainstorm ideas on collecting the regolith by choosing different Lego Mindstorm robots. They will have three chances to collect as much regolith as possible and the student who has collected the most will win a prize. After the competition there will be a lecture on why regolith needs to be harvested. These lectures and activities will then be posted on youtube.com.
The VT NASTT (North American Society for Trenchless Technology) Student Chapter Presents Deteriorating Water & Wastewater Infrastructure Exhibit
North American Society for Trenchless Technology
*The Virginia Tech NASTT (North American Society for Trenchless Technology) Student Chapter Presents Deteriorating Water & Wastewater Infrastructure Exhibit*
There has been a steady decline in the state of our water and wastewater infrastructure over the past two decades and a growing concern is that these services may currently be inadequate. Funding for these needs is limited, and a deferred maintenance, out-of-sight, out-of-mind philosophy still prevails in many regions. This exhibit will demonstrate some of the technologies currently being utilized to evaluate our water and waste water infrastructure.
Specifically, the hands-on activity will consist of engaging students to evaluate CCTV (Closed-Circuited Television) clips of wastewater pipes and completing a standard NASSCO Inspection Sheet.
*The Virginia Tech NASTT (North American Society for Trenchless Technology) Student Chapter Presents Deteriorating Water & Wastewater Infrastructure Exhibit*
There has been a steady decline in the state of our water and wastewater infrastructure over the past two decades and a growing concern is that these services may currently be inadequate. Funding for these needs is limited, and a deferred maintenance, out-of-sight, out-of-mind philosophy still prevails in many regions. This exhibit will demonstrate some of the technologies currently being utilized to evaluate our water and waste water infrastructure.
Specifically, the hands-on activity will consist of engaging students to evaluate CCTV (Closed-Circuited Television) clips of wastewater pipes and completing a standard NASSCO Inspection Sheet.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) will be exhibiting on April 10th!
Exhibit Title: “What are your human factors?
Kids will learn how vital our senses really are. They will participate in activities, but they will be wearing gloves, blindfolded, or performing mental and physical tasks concurrently. We hope these activities are enjoyable as well as instructive as to how we depend on our eyes, sense of touch, as well as how difficult it is to perform tasks that stress different parts of our bodies (i.e. mind versus muscle strength).
A bit about our organization:
Our mission is to promote discovery and exchange of knowledge concerning the characteristics of human beings that are applicable to the design of systems and devices of all kinds. The purpose of our society is to promote and advance the understanding of human factors involved in the design, manufacture, and use of machines, systems, and devices of all kinds through the exchange of knowledge and methodology in the behavioral, biological, and physical sciences. We are planning to have lab visits, community outreach, social events, and a speaker series to promote our organization.
Kids will learn how vital our senses really are. They will participate in activities, but they will be wearing gloves, blindfolded, or performing mental and physical tasks concurrently. We hope these activities are enjoyable as well as instructive as to how we depend on our eyes, sense of touch, as well as how difficult it is to perform tasks that stress different parts of our bodies (i.e. mind versus muscle strength).
A bit about our organization:
Our mission is to promote discovery and exchange of knowledge concerning the characteristics of human beings that are applicable to the design of systems and devices of all kinds. The purpose of our society is to promote and advance the understanding of human factors involved in the design, manufacture, and use of machines, systems, and devices of all kinds through the exchange of knowledge and methodology in the behavioral, biological, and physical sciences. We are planning to have lab visits, community outreach, social events, and a speaker series to promote our organization.
VT Synthetic Biology Group will be exhibiting at KTU on April 10th!
Seeing Inside Living Cells by Making Them Glow
VT Synthetic Biology Group
We know a lot about what goes on inside of cells, but it is very hard to see inside without killing the cells. Most of what we know comes from either trying different experiments and looking for big changes (like cells dying) or by killing the cells and then looking at the parts inside. What would be much better is to be able to look at all the parts inside while they are still alive and living their normal lives. One way to do this is to use fluorescent proteins, which glow different colors and can be seen under a microscope. What we do is modify the cells' DNA so that these fluorescent proteins are attached to other proteins that we want to study. Then we can put them under a microscope and make videos of what those proteins are doing.
The synthetic biology group at Virginia Tech is interested in working with DNA so that we can engineer organisms to do new and exciting things. For example, we are making bacteria that glow when there are dangerous chemicals present. These could be chemicals that terrorists want to use or things that are dangerous to the environment. In the future, synthetic biologists hope to create more and more complicated things: bacteria that find and kill cancer cells, organisms that produce biofuels and bioplastics, and more.
VT Synthetic Biology Group
We know a lot about what goes on inside of cells, but it is very hard to see inside without killing the cells. Most of what we know comes from either trying different experiments and looking for big changes (like cells dying) or by killing the cells and then looking at the parts inside. What would be much better is to be able to look at all the parts inside while they are still alive and living their normal lives. One way to do this is to use fluorescent proteins, which glow different colors and can be seen under a microscope. What we do is modify the cells' DNA so that these fluorescent proteins are attached to other proteins that we want to study. Then we can put them under a microscope and make videos of what those proteins are doing.
The synthetic biology group at Virginia Tech is interested in working with DNA so that we can engineer organisms to do new and exciting things. For example, we are making bacteria that glow when there are dangerous chemicals present. These could be chemicals that terrorists want to use or things that are dangerous to the environment. In the future, synthetic biologists hope to create more and more complicated things: bacteria that find and kill cancer cells, organisms that produce biofuels and bioplastics, and more.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Engineer's Without Borders - Local and Community Outreach (EWB-LACO) will be exhibiting on April 10th!
Engineer's Without Borders - Local and Community Outreach (EWB-LACO)
See and Say Dissection- Sometimes the best way to understand how something works is to take it apart. That is exactly what this activity is for. We will learn about how a typical children's toy works.
Engineer's Without Border's participates in 4 oversees projects and numerous local and community projects. Internationally we focus on building projects and creating long lasting improvements to communities. Locally we focus on building projects and K-12 activities that are aimed at encouraging and inspiring students to be inventive and think about the world around them.
See and Say Dissection- Sometimes the best way to understand how something works is to take it apart. That is exactly what this activity is for. We will learn about how a typical children's toy works.
Engineer's Without Border's participates in 4 oversees projects and numerous local and community projects. Internationally we focus on building projects and creating long lasting improvements to communities. Locally we focus on building projects and K-12 activities that are aimed at encouraging and inspiring students to be inventive and think about the world around them.
Alpha Omega Epsilon is exhibiting on April 10th!
Construction Kids!
You know how parents are always telling their kids not to play with their food? Well today, that rule goes out the window! By using marshmallows and toothpicks, visitors to this booth will learn the art of dome construction. During this hands on activity, kids will get to learn some of the basics of construction while having a blast!
Alpha Omega Epsilon is a sorority for women in engineering and technical science majors. One of the ideals of the sorority is to promote engineering activities while being active members of our community. With this activity, the sisters of A.O.E. look forward to promoting the profession of engineering by getting kids involved and having fun!
You know how parents are always telling their kids not to play with their food? Well today, that rule goes out the window! By using marshmallows and toothpicks, visitors to this booth will learn the art of dome construction. During this hands on activity, kids will get to learn some of the basics of construction while having a blast!
Alpha Omega Epsilon is a sorority for women in engineering and technical science majors. One of the ideals of the sorority is to promote engineering activities while being active members of our community. With this activity, the sisters of A.O.E. look forward to promoting the profession of engineering by getting kids involved and having fun!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
WAVY; 10:30 am on Saturday, April 3rd!
Hi everyone,
This has been an eventful KTU week! We, here at KTU central, are gearing up for the final spring KTU event on April 10th!
This past week I, Kristy DiVittorio, taped a show that will air on the WAVY TV program called Kid Talk on Saturday morning! The theme of the show was "Tech Safety" and I was the guest expert! I also got to talk about KTU and I hope the show will bring a lot of positive press to the program.
So, at 10:30 am on Saturday morning, April 3rd, tune in to Kid Talk on WAVY! We don't get WAVY here in Blacksburg so they said that the show would be available on the internet at 11 am on the link above.
Best,
Kristy
PS- I have to admit that the green room isn't all that green! Its more brown!
This has been an eventful KTU week! We, here at KTU central, are gearing up for the final spring KTU event on April 10th!
This past week I, Kristy DiVittorio, taped a show that will air on the WAVY TV program called Kid Talk on Saturday morning! The theme of the show was "Tech Safety" and I was the guest expert! I also got to talk about KTU and I hope the show will bring a lot of positive press to the program.
So, at 10:30 am on Saturday morning, April 3rd, tune in to Kid Talk on WAVY! We don't get WAVY here in Blacksburg so they said that the show would be available on the internet at 11 am on the link above.
Best,
Kristy
PS- I have to admit that the green room isn't all that green! Its more brown!
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