Kids' Tech University

Hi everyone,

Well, it looks like the Jan. 29th event was a success! One of my favorite moments was, during Dr. Laubenbacher's talk, when the kids were watching a video of a white blood cell chasing down a bacteria and when the white blood cell ate the bacteria everyone started cheering! I'm a little disappointed that Officer Wooddell didn't let me use the blow horn at the Math Emporium; but I'll get over it!

The Feb. event is right around the corner! You'll start seeing updates about the KTU exhibitors participating in the hands-on afternoon activities on Feb. 26th on the blog. I won't email every single time there is an update...I don't want to gook up your inbox but just know updates are coming soon and often! Please share the updates with your children!

Also, we will have a "Hot Topics in Cool Science" workshop for Teachers. If any teachers are interested in signing up please go to the website for more details or email Dr. Kristy Collins at kdivitto@vbi.vt.edu .

"Hot Topics in Cool Science"

Workshop instructors: Louise Huffman and Dr. Kathleen Jamison
February 25, 12:30-4:30pm & February 26, 9am-4:30pm
CEU credits offered- 1.1

Through the compelling story of ANDRILL's research in the extremes of Antractica, participants will be introduced to cutting-edge climate change science and "Antarctica's Climate Secrets" hands-on materials.

Registration is open. VA 4-H will pay for the first 10 participants registered for the program. Registration cost is $30.

Dr. Reinhard Laubenbacher- storyteller for Jan. 29th KTU!

January 29, 2011
“Patterns are Everywhere! How and Why?”

A storytelling session led by Dr. Reinhard Laubenbacher

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!

Dr. Laubenbacher has been a Professor at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute and a Professor in the Department of Mathematics at Virginia Tech since 2001. He is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Cancer Biology at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem (NC) and Affiliate Faculty in the Virginia Tech Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences. Prior to these appointments Dr. Laubenbacher was Professor of Mathematics at New Mexico State University. He has served as Visiting Faculty at Los Alamos National Laboratories, was a member of the Mathematical Science Research Institute at Berkeley in 1998, and was a Visiting Associate Professor at Cornell University in 1990 and 1993. Current interests in Dr. Laubenbacher’s research group include the development of mathematical algorithms and their application to problems in systems biology, in particular the modeling and simulation of molecular networks. An application area of particular interest is cancer systems biology, especially the role of iron metabolism in breast cancer.

Kids' Tech University, Jan. 29, 2011!

In case you are starting to wonder what is going on behind the scenes here at Kids' Tech University we're gearing up for the upcoming semester at Virginia Tech! On Monday, I will be emailing the parents the information on where to go on Jan. 29th. If a KTU parent hasn't received this information by Monday night, they should get in contact me (Kristy Collins).

We also encourage parents take a look at the "For Parents" website on the KTU homepage. It'll answer a lot of questions regarding timing, parent activity, lunch information and the rules on bringing children other than those enrolled to the program.

Kids' Tech University offers Teacher Workshops!

Kids' Tech University is offering teacher workshops in conjunction with the program. Teachers and agents will earn CEU (Continuing Education Unit) credits for their participation. We are offering workshops based in mathematics (Jan. 28 and 29), climate change (Feb. 25 and 26), ecology (March 25 and 26), and health sciences (April 8 and 9). The workshops for this year are different than the ones offered last year.

Virginia 4-H is offering to pay for the registration fee ($30) for the first 10 registrations for each workshop.

Check out the website for times, registration and information on the workshops!

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"Patterns with nature: Math concepts explained"
Workshop instructors: Dr. Reinhard Laubenbacher and Dr. Kathleen Jamison
January 28, 12:30-4:30pm & January 29, 9am-4:30pm
CEU credits offered- 1.1
Have you ever heard that math is the universal language? That it is constant and can define the world around us? Find out more about mathematical patterns that are all around us, and how math can help us to find patterns in nature with this January teacher workshop. In this workshop teachers will learn about the math concepts that are applicable to nature and the various online learning tools that may be brought into the classroom.

"Hot Topics in Cool Science"
Workshop instructors: Louise Huffman and Dr. Kathleen Jamison
February 25, 12:30-4:30pm & February 26, 9am-4:30pm
CEU credits offered- 1.1
Through the compelling story of ANDRILL's research in the extremes of Antractica, participants will be introduced to cutting-edge climate change science and "Antarctica's Climate Secrets" hands-on materials.

"Interactive Learning with Science: Exploring Your Environment"
Workshop instructor: Dr. Kathleen Jamison
March 25, 12:30-4:30pm & March 26, 9am-4:30pm
CEU credits offered- 1.1
Exploring Your Environment is a 2 volume 4-H Curriculum with a facilitator guide designed for middle school age learners, but has been used effectively with upper elementary school aged children. It teaches basic ecological concepts that help learners understand how nature works and how we affect it and are affected by it. Each section of the curriculum focuses on an environmental question or issue and has a corresponding activity that allows learners to jump right into real-world issues that affect our life by completing investigations and explorations of the natural world. The primary focus areas are: ecosystem services, water conservation, energy use, climate change, recycling, natural resource stewardship and air quality.

"Interactive Learning with the Health Sciences"
Workshop instructors: Dr. Kathleen Jamison and Dr. Helena Carvalho
April 8, 12:30-4:30pm & April 9, 9am-4:30pm
CEU credits offered- 1.1
Teachers will take away hands-on activities to do with their classes that explain general health science concepts such as testing for sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste.