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IN THIS ISSUE: Students Share their Science Fair Inspirations
| FORSE Students Delve into Experiments
180 High School Students to Compete in Science Bowl |
Science Fair & JSHS Volunteer Registration Opens
Diversity in STEM Events
| From the MAS Archives: 1889 | MN STEM Events | MN STEM News
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Minnesota STEM News
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Mayo Clinic Cardiologist explains how positivity increases heart health
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Astronomy: UMN-Twin Cities professor studies magnetic field of spiral galaxy 47 million light-years from Earth
Ecology: DNR captures first invasive silver carp
Biomedical Engineering: Interdisciplinary team at UMN-Twin Cities works to develop a 'smart bandage'
Ecology: Citizen scientists across Minnesota fight buckthorn
Medicine: UMN-Twin Cities professors investigate how secondhand smoke impacts
cardiovascular health in children
Computer Science: St. Thomas launches Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence
Chemistry: UMN professors explain the hazards of household cleaners and how to protect your family
Physics: MSU-Moorhead professor studies sodium glasses as potential energy storage devices for renewable energy
Genetics: Researchers at UMN-Twin Cities present a new method of delivering gene editing reagents to plants
Public Health: UMN-Twin Cities study finds that teen obesity, unhealthy eating habits and less physical activity are linked to low amounts of sleep
Biology: Team including UMN-Duluth professor finds that eutrophication in worldwide lakes will significantly increase methane emissions within the next century
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Minnesota Diversity in STEM Events
This winter is bringing a blizzard of opportunity to celebrate diversity within Minnesota's STEM communities. Here are some highlights:
Science Fusion: Connect with the diverse community of scientific professionals from the Twin Cities through hands-on science experiments and activities at the Science Museum of Minnesota. Look for MAS at:
African Americans in Science on Saturday, January 18
Latinx Americans in Science on Saturday, January 25
Native Americans in Science on Saturday, February 1
Asian Americans in Science on Saturday, February 8
STEM Voices Book Launch: Hear stories of Minnesota immigrants and refugees working in STEM while networking and participating in a conversation about the meaning of leadership. February 15 at the Science Museum of Minnesota.
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FORSE Mentoring Teams Dive into Experiments
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Maddie and her mentor are studying how to compost natural fabrics |
Science Fair experiments are underway for students and mentors participating in our FORSE program at Bdote Learning Center. Students came up with a wide range of creative research ideas this year! Student-mentor teams are meticulously sorting water samples, conducting surveys of their peers, carefully feeding insect larvae, preparing their rockets for test launches, and more! Teams will work together to summarize their research in preparation for their upcoming Science Fair.
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Volunteer and Judge Registration Opens for State Science and Engineering Fair and JSHS
Did you know that 450 volunteers and judges are needed to make
the Minnesota State Science and Engineering Fair (MSSEF) and the
North Central Regional Junior Science & Humanities Symposium
(JSHS) successful? The MSSEF and JSHS provide opportunities for Minnesota students to expand their scientific thinking, educational pathways, and connections.
The projects and explorations of our participants will inspire
you - m
any of our
young scientists spend hundreds of hours researching their
projects and papers to prepare for these events.
We need your help to make it happen. Register to volunteer or judge at the MSSEF here. Register to volunteer or judge at the JSHS here.
MSSEF and JSHS judges are typically university faculty, industrial engineers and scientists, representatives of private and federal research centers, medical practitioners, researchers, and
graduate students. Undergraduate students in the STEM fields are welcome to judge at the middle school level.
Judging shifts for JSHS: Thursday, March 26
7:30 am - 2:00 pm (1st round judging)
1:00 pm - 10:00 pm (callbacks judging)
Judging shift for MSSEF: Friday, March 27
8:30 am - 4:00 pm
If you have questions regarding judging for JSHS or MSSEF
please contact Ally Milenkovic.
We also need 120 general volunteers who are passionate about STEM education and can offer skills ranging from organization, data entry, registration, photography, chaperoning, time-keeping and other administrative and general tasks. Shifts are available in
3-8 hour ranges before the events and throughout the duration of the events.
If you have questions regarding volunteering for JSHS or MSSEF
please contact Sara Gomez.
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How did they think of that?!:
The beginning of students' Science Fair journeys
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Every great p
roject begins with a great idea
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If you've ever stood in the midst of hundreds of unique Minnesota State Science and Engineering Fair (MSSEF) projects, you've probably caught yourself wondering how students come up with so many creative ideas. We asked our 2019 participants where inspiration for their projects came from, and discovered that 'aha moments' are often connected to five main areas: school, community issues, personal interests, the environment, and health.
Many students embarked on their projects in a bid to make a difference in their family, community, or world. One 2019 MSSEF student said that the idea for their project came because "my grandmother has diabetes so I wanted to better understand the subject. I knew pancreases and glucose had to do with diabetes so I decided to test that. I made my artificial pancreas and then created my tests." Another 2019 student told us "whenever I go up to my lakehouse I see all this damaging salt on the roadways, so I thought about what I could do about this."
SSEF provides an unparalleled opportunity for students to gain skills related to conducting independent research. In fact, of our 2019 SSEF participants, 94% reported increased research skills and 86% noted their capability to work independently had improved! And it all begins with that moment of inspiration for a great project. To learn more about project inspiration from our 2019 participants, read our complete story.
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From the Archives: Excerpt from A Recent Visit to Lake Itaska, by Warren Upham (1889)
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In 1920,Warren Upham published Minnesota Place Names |
"Besides the generally crooked course of the road, detours from it must be made in many places to pass around large fallen trees, some of which were lordly white pines that rose to a height of one hundred feet and had withstood the storms of a century. Stumps and boulders, the latter occasionally very abundant, projecting six to eighteen inches in the wheel ruts, jounce and jolt the wagon merrily... A shaky bridge, the uppermost on the Mississippi, built of tamarack poles, carried us safely over Craig's Crossing, seven miles due north of the mouth of Itasca, the stream there being about about twenty feet wide and twelve to eighteen inches deep."
- Published in the Bulletins of the Minnesota Academy of Natural Sciences, Bulletin I, Volume III
Read the full text of
A Recent Visit to Lake Itaska and browse the full journal.
Learn more about the
history
of the Minnesota Academy of Science.
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January 16, Minneapolis
January 18, Whitewater State Park
January 22, Minneapolis
January 24, Twin Cities
January 25, Lake Bemidji State Park
February 1, Apple Valley
February 4, Rochester
February 4, Minneapolis
February 7, Plymouth
February 7 & 8, Collegeville
February 8, St. Paul
February 12, Duluth
February 15, St. Paul
February 15, Jay Cooke State Park
February 15, Lake Bemidji State Park
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180 Minnesota High School Students to Compete in State Science Bowl
On January 25th, 36 teams from across Minnesota will demonstrate their science and math skills during the Minnesota Academy of Science's High School Science Bowl.
The 180 students compete head-to-head in five-person teams to solve technical problems and answer questions in all branches of science and math. The tournament runs in a fast-paced, Q&A format where students race to ring in with their answers first. Each team plays multiple games in a round robin tournament, competing to advance to a double-elimination championship. As a regional competition of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the winning team will receive an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C. to compete in the DOE's National Science Bowl. Last year, Minnesota's regional champions from Wayzata High School won the National Science Bowl!
Science Bowl competitions offer students who excel in math and science a chance to go beyond classroom learning and strengthen their teamwork skills. "I'm able to learn stuff I wouldn't learn in class," said Geoffrey Chen, a member of the winning 2019 Wayzata team. STEM competitions like Science Bowl provide recognition and encouragement to the next generation of STEM students, opening the door to STEM majors and careers.
Learn more about the 2020 High School School Science Bowl schedule and location. |
Minnesota Academy of Science
Program Updates
Macalester College: January 25
Middle School Science Bowl
University of St. Thomas: February 8
Team Entry Deadline: January 15
If you have an itch to check out an amazing STEM quiz bowl,
registration is still open for Science Bowl volunteers
. Training is provided on-site the day of each event, and half day or full day shifts are available.
Benilde - St. Margaret's School:
March 26-28
Judge and volunteer registration is open.
Benilde - St. Margaret's School:
March 26
Judge and volunteer registration is
open
.
Crown College: April 25
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The Time is Always Rig
ht to Donate!
Our volunteers and donors enable us to create oppo
rtunities for Minnesota students to pursue questions they care about, share their kno
wledge, network with like-minded peers, and connect with STEM professionals. When students take their learning beyond the classroom and receive recognition for their efforts, they gain confidence and begin to envision a future in STEM. MAS seeks to expand opportunities and open doors to STEM majors and careers for all
Minnesotan students. To do so, we need your support.
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Critical support for Minnesota Academy of Science programs
comes from our 2020 sponsors and event hosts, including:
Minnesota Department of Education,
Seagate Technology,
National Science Teachers Association,
Ecolab, 3M,
General Mills Foundation, Hardenbergh Foundation
Benilde-St. Margaret's School,
Macalester College, University of St. Thomas,
Crown College,
American Heart Association, and Verizon Wireless.
If you have suggestions for events or science news happening in Minnesota, please send information to emilyshepard@mnmas.org or post it to our
Twitter
,
Facebook
, or
LinkedIn
accounts.
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