Weird Science?
Champlain College will be teaming with students on Thursday November 10, 2011. While this isn't unusual for a college campus you should probably know the average age of these students will be eleven years old.
As part of an ongoing program to encourage interest in science and technology Champlain College and its Divison of Information Technology and Science is hosting it's fourth annual Kids In Technology & Science (K.I.T.S.) program.
This hands-on, tangible learning experience expects over 200 middle-school students from at least eleven area schools to participate in the fun-filled day. These students get a chance to work with our Champlain College undergraduate students, faculty and staff building computers and robots; then they will use those computers to learn basic animation concepts using Alice Programming and participate in an animation contest. Additionally, there will be tables with demonstrations of other science and technology areas of interest such as
- mathematics
- digital forensics investigation
- hydrogen fuel cell
- radiography
...and much more!
Students will have time to participate in two of the following stations:
Station 1 - Building Robots, 1.5 hours
Learn to build and program Lego Mindstorm Robots. Then, compete with your friends to see who can build the best!
Station 2 - Building Computers, 1. 5 hours
Ever wonder how your computer works? Build your own computer from the inside out!
Station 3 - Radiography & Science, 2 workshops, 45 minutes each
Radiography: You can find the disease process, see the images of a famous artist and count the puppies in a pregnant dog, all by viewing these diagnostic digital x-ray images. We will explore the bony skeletal anatomy and compare the model to our x-ray images. This will be an exploration of how x-rays are produced and how they are used in human and animal medicine.
3D-DNA: Get up close and personal with DNA. In this workshop, you will learn about the 3-dimensional structure of DNA, which looks like a spiral staircase, by building a scientifically accurate model of the DNA double helix from a kit.
Station 4 - Math & Games, 3 workshops, approximately 30 minutes each
Alice Programming Contest: (from Alice.org): Alice is an innovative 3D programming environment that makes it easy to create an animation for telling a story, playing an interactive game, or a video to share on the web. Alice is a teaching tool for introductory computing. It uses 3D graphics and a drag-and-drop interface to facilitate a more engaging, less frustrating first programming experience.
Virtual Robot Programming and AI Competition: In this workshop you’ll learn and use basic functional programming to get your virtual robot through a series of levels in an easy to learn “drag and drop” environment. You’ll have a limited time to get through as many levels as possible.
Math Game: Fly through space and experience a math game created by Gunther Fox, one of our own Champlain College students.
As the emphasis on the importance of science, math and technology grows in primary and secondary schools Champlain is proud to host this annual event. It is the college's hope that these students are intrigued by the these potential career areas and are inspired to pursue a dream they might not have realized was even an option.
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