Jan. 30th KTU Cancelled

Due to inclement weather and very hazardous driving conditions, KTU will be cancelled for today January 30, 2010.

We based this decision on information from the National Weather Service in Blacksburg, Blacksburg Transit--which has shut down for the day--and also from the Virginia Tech Police. All have confirmed snow covered roads and hazardous driving conditions. Parking lots as well have not been cleared.

Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library to exhibit at KTU on Saturday

To strengthen our community, the Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library provides individuals with access to information, experiences and ideas. The Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library offers a variety of programs for children and teens of all ages. The library has four branches in Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Shawsville and Floyd.

The Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library will have an exhibit at KTU on Saturday. They will be showcasing upcoming programs and books that go along with the lecture program!

KTU Inclement Weather Procedure

In the unlikely event that we will have to cancel a KTU event here is our action plan for getting the word out:
1. Email the participates
2. It will be posted on the KTU homepage (http://kidstechuniversity.vbi.vt.edu)
3. There will be a message on the phone number 540-231-1389
4. We will post it on the KTU blog (http://kidstechuniversity.blogspot.com)
5. A message will be on 710 AM, 100.7 FM, Z104 FM, 95.7 FM, 94.9 FM and 2WD.

Virginia Career VIEW exhibiting at KTU this weekend!

Virginia Career VIEW, funded by the Virginia State Department of Education Career and Technical Education department, has been
providing education and career exploration resources to Virginians of all ages for 30 years. Our premier resource, Career Town, is an interactive web based activity providing online games for grades K-5 to promote career development and educational planning through career exploration and academic skills building. Levels 1-3 provide a total of 23 online activities relating to the 16 federal career clusters while assisting students in developing academic standards of learning as well as career development skills. Students can visit Career Town to explore careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math; also included are printed manuals with additional activities for students, parents, teachers, and counselors to promote hands-on career development experiences focusing on the STEM area as well as the 16 federal career clusters.

http://www.vacareerview.org

Dr. Benjamin on the Colbert Report!

Dr. Art Benjamin, who will giving a talk at Kids' Tech University on Saturday will be on Comedy Central's Colbert Report on Wednesday, Jan. 27th at 10:30 pm! The show is being taped and aired on Wednesday; the next day he is flying to Roanoke to come here!

Tune in!

Jan. 30th- exhibit by VT LUUG

Math on the Computer

The Linux and Unix Users Group at Virginia Tech (VTLUUG) exists to support the use of Linux and Unix at Virginia Tech and in the surrounding community, and to better the computing skills of its members. At the mathematics session of Kids' Tech University, the VTLUUG will be exhibiting advanced mathematical software that is free as in freedom and providing an overview of the role cryptography plays in everyday computing.

http://vtluug.org/wiki/Linux_and_Unix_Users_Group

Dr. Guillette on a science expedition!

Last year Dr. Guillette gave a lecture at Kids' Tech on “Why are plastic bottles bad for alligators?" In his lecture he talked about how plastics are used in everyday life and how they may have an effect on our environment. We learned which plastics might create problems and what people from around the world are doing to make a safer and cleaner environment for themselves and the animals that live around them. Dr. Guillette showed us what it looks like to take a helicopter ride around the swamp and taught us how to spot an alligator nest. This semester he will be giving a lecture on March 20th at Kids' Tech on “Why do we need alligators in the swamp?”

Last semester Dr. Guillette promised to send us pictures of himself on one of his science expeditions. The picture below was taken at the end of the space shuttle landing runway at NASA. Dr. Guillette is sitting on top of a 10.5 ft male gator. Boy, that is one nice looking t-shirt he has!!

KTU Teacher Workshops

We are excited to offer Teacher Workshops associated with KTU! Teachers from around the nation are welcome to attend and earn 1.2 CEU credit hours. Our first workshop is on Jan. 29-30th is focused on the math discipline (title of workshop: "Illuminating Math Concepts")! Patrick Vennebush, a Online Projects Manager from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and Kathleen Jamison form Virginia 4-H are going to be leading the workshop.

This workshop series (there is a teacher workshop associated to each KTU event day) is unique in that the participants will "Learn it, teach it and take it back to the classroom!" The teachers will engage in an exciting, hands-on teaching experience, and then apply what they learned in a unique, first-hand teaching environment with 3rd-6th graders. Teachers will also be able to participate in ongoing community blogs and network with other teachers and education specialists.

Check out the "For Teachers- CEU" section on our website for more information!