Virginia Tech 2011 KTU program

Hello everyone,

I'm pleased to announce the launching of the 2011 KTU program! The program is open to 450 children (ages 9-12 on Sept. 30, 2010) from a 4 hour driving radius around VT. Please see the KTU website for more information about the storytelling sessions, dates of the program, registration fee and enrollment information!

January 29, 2011 -- “Patterns are Everywhere! How and Why?”
Storytelling session led by Dr. Reinhard Laubenbacher
Professor at Virginia Bioinformatics Institute and of the Department of Mathematics, Virginia Tech
Did you know that we are surrounded by patterns--everywhere? For example, farmers need to understand weather patterns to plan their harvests. Your parents need to understand traffic patterns to drive you to school safely. Music and dance excite us through patterns of sounds and movement. Some patterns are pretty easy to spot, like the pattern on seashell, or the pattern on a snowflake. However, other patterns around us aren’t so easy to see, like the patterns on a pine cone, or the patterns of ocean waves. I’ll bet you wouldn’t guess patterns exist in clouds! To discover some of these patterns, we need to be very, very observant. So join me and together we’ll hunt down some patterns in the world around us--and as we investigate how these patterns form and why they’re there, the answers may surprise you!

February 26, 2011 - “Why are glaciers in Antarctica important to people who
live in Virginia?”
Storytelling session led by Dr. Ellen Cowan
Professor of Geology, Appalachian State University

Geologists know that Virginia wasn’t covered by glaciers even at the peak of the last Ice Age in North America, approximately 20,000 years ago. Yet there are many reasons that we can appreciate glaciers and the work that they do on Earth. Glaciers sculpt beautiful and distinctive landscapes that we see around the world in mountains and in Polar Regions. Antarctica is a vast continent almost completely covered by ice. How has the Antarctic ice sheet responded to past changes in climate? We can use clues from rock layers, fossils and gas bubbles in ice to study the history of Antarctica’s glaciers. With this information we can estimate the affects of a warmer world on Antarctica’s ice and determine the affects far away in Virginia.

March 26, 2011 - “Why do we care about frogs’ health?”
Storytelling session led by Dr. Tyrone Hayes
Professor of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley

We live in a world full of chemicals. They’re used to preserve and flavor food, help plants grow, kill bugs and other pests, dye fabrics and clean our homes. Chemicals help us in many aspects of our everyday lives. While some chemicals are not harmful to us, our pets, or the Earth, some can actually hurt our environment if not used properly. Our program will explore the world of chemical pollution and the many ways chemicals can be both helpful and harmful. We will examine the impacts chemicals can have on people, animals. Where are these chemicals coming from? How have frog populations, other animals, and humans suffered? And what can be done to help the frogs and improve our own health?

April 9, 2011 - “Why do we want to touch everything with our fingertips? And more ‘why’ questions about how our bodies communicate with the world.”
Storytelling session led by Dr. Helena Carvalho
Assistant Professor of Basic Sciences, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute

Are you the type of person that needs to touch everything? Sometimes it feels like we must touch to see better...doesn’t it? It’s fascinating to learn about how our human bodies connect to the world. Do you think the world is what we see? The answer is, “NO!” There are many more “things” in the world than our senses could possibly detect! In this storytelling session we will be discussing and experiencing the Special Senses. Have you ever wondered: Why do we have two eyes on our faces? Or, why do we have two ears on our heads? And why do we stop feeling our clothes after a while? Or why can we not smell our perfume all day? Those and more questions will be answered in our interactive session. Let’s explore together how our human body connects to the outside environment and learn more about the intriguing world of Human Function.

Best,
Dr. Kristy (DiVittorio) Collins