Author: College of Engineering

The beauty and bounty of Lake Superior will be celebrated Sunday at the Third Annual Lake Superior Day in Copper Harbor. Community volunteers, along with the Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative, are organizing the festival with lots of special activities at the 6th Street Dock along the Copper Harbor Boardwalk. Activities include:

• Community picnic ($5 donation suggested)
• Canoe races and kayak demonstrations
• Interactive art (paint the model freighter)
• Remotely-Operated-Vehicle demonstrations by Tech’s Great Lakes Research Center
• Presentation on the health of Lake Superior by Great Lakes scientist Martin Auer (CEE)
• Live music, poetry and more

From 1-4 p.m. a special highlight is the opportunity for festival attendees to find out how scientists study the Great Lakes by taking a 40-minute scientific excursion aboard Michigan Tech’s research vessel, Agassiz. The excursions are part of the Ride the Waves Program funded by a grant from General Motors. The Agassiz will depart every 45 minutes from the Isle Royale Queen dock beginning at 1 p.m. Participants must be at least seven years old, and children must be accompanied by an adult. All participants should wear closed-toe shoes. Space is limited and those interested may pre-register by calling 7-3341 or email Lloyd Wescoat at lwescoat@mtu.edu. Lake Superior Day is celebrated throughout the Lake Superior basin on or close to the third Sunday in July in many communities around Lake Superior. Learn more about Lake Superior Day events around the lake.

From Tech Today, by Joan Chadde.

Copper Harbor to celebrate 2015 Lake Superior Day with fun for all July 26

COPPER HARBOR — Celebrate Lake Superior Day in Copper Harbor from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, July 26, 2015. Celebrate the beauty and bounty of Lake Superior! Copper Harbor community volunteers, along with the Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative, are organizing the 3rd annual Lake Superior Day Festival with lots of special activities at the 6th Street Dock along the Copper Harbor Boardwalk (near Isle Royale Queen boat dock).

Read more at Keweenaw Now

People celebrate Lake Superior Day

COPPER HARBOR – Some people were listening to science talks. Some were paddling in canoes. Others were simply eating grilled corn and looking out over the water.

Read more at the Mining Gazette, by Garrett Neese (subscription required).

The Michigan Tech Center for Science & Environmental Outreach will conduct a family engineering event from noon-3 p.m. August 6 at Houghton’s Kestner Waterfront Park. The event is part of the Keweenaw Science and Engineering Festival. A total of 15 volunteers are needed to help. No prior experience is necessary It is hands on and will be fun for all ages, but targets elementary students and their parents. However, many of the engineering challenges work for middle/high school ages and beyond.

The volunteers will monitor and encourage participants in ten to 12 short, self-directed activities of three to five minutes each. Also needed are one or two volunteers for each of the engineering challenges, about four or five. A 40 by 60-foot tent will be set up for the activities.

An optional practice session will be held at the Great Lakes Research Center the day before the family event. To sign up, email your name, cell phone number and academic major or department to jchadde@mtu.edu. Learn more about the Keweenaw Science and Engineering Festival.

From Tech Today, by Joan Chadde.

Sun, sand, science
Festival intended to spark STEM interest

Read more at the Mining Gazette, by Meghan Marquardt (subscription required).

“How scientists assess the health of Lake Superior” is the focus of free scientific excursions that will be offered at the Chassell Strawberry Festival from 1-5 p.m., Saturday departing from the marina.

The public is invited to sign up for free scientific excursions aboard Michigan Tech’s research vessel Agassiz by calling the Center for Science, Math & Environmental Education at 7-3341 or coming to the Chassell Marina dock on Saturday between 12:30 and 4 p.m. Spaces go quickly. On-site sign-ups begin at 12:30 p.m. with first departure at 1 pm. Half of spaces will be saved for onsite participants.

On each scientific excursion, Martin Auer (CEE) will demonstrate the use of sampling equipment to collect plankton and sediment, evaluate water clarity, temperature and turbidity that tell us about the health of the lake, i.e. Chassell Bay. Participants will investigate the connection between land uses and the health of the Great Lakes.

Scientific excursions will depart from the Chassell marina dock approximately every half hour. Space is limited to 15 persons per excursion (children must be at least 7 years of age and accompanied by an adult). Life jackets are available for all passengers.

Remotely-Operated-Vehicle (ROV) demonstrations will also be conducted from the Chassell Marina dock throughout the afternoon. “Copper Country residents and visitors are encouraged to learn how scientists study the Great Lakes and what factors contribute to a healthy lake,” explains Joan Chadde, education program director. “These scientific excursions for the public have been offered at the Strawberry Festival since 2006 and have been extremely popular. Youth and adults enjoy the opportunity to interact with Great Lakes scientists and get their questions answered.”

The event is coordinated by the Western U.P. Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education and Michigan Tech’s Great Lakes Research Center. This year, the program is funded by the GM Ride the Waves Program putting more than 500 Copper Country youth and adults on the water each year to learn about the Great Lakes and promote STEM careers, along with support from the Michigan Tech Center for Water & Society and the Chassell Lions Club.

From Tech Today, by Joan Chadde.

Baraga Students Explore the Great Lakes

12 students from Baraga were on the Michigan Tech campus this week participating in a KBOCC (Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College) STEM outreach-funded Great Lakes Science & Engineering Camp at the Great Lakes Research Center. The event was coordinated by Joan Chadde at the Center for Science & Environmental Outreach. The KBOCC program provides free science and math enrichment opportunities to middle and high school students in Baraga County. During the school year the KBOCC department provides after-school and Saturday workshops in music, science, math and engineering.

On campus this week the students participated in a variety of programs with Tech faculty and GLRC personnel.

From Tech Today, by Joan Chadde.

Monday began an adventure for twenty Detroit high school students, exploring careers in natural resources, environmental science and engineering, forestry, environmental, civil and mechanical engineering and more. Thanks to donations from numerous Michigan Tech departments and offices, students have received free transportation, food and lodging in Wadsworth Residence Hall and an exciting program.

The students are in grades 9-12 and come from eight different Detroit high schools. They successfully applied for this program (first of its kind), which was made possible by the efforts of many people—from help with recruitment in Detroit, to the multiple experts volunteering their time to present to these youth.

Students arrived eager to visit Michigan Tech’s campus, explore future careers and gain new experiences. They began their week participating in a Great Lakes investigation aboard Michigan Tech’s Agassiz research vessel in Lake Superior. They have a full schedule for the rest of the week with various activities including identifying trees, measuring forest plots, inventorying invasive earthworms, visiting the underground rhyzotron, assessing the health of local streams, manipulating underwater autonomous remotely operated vehicles, visiting labs, conducting insect and wetland inventories and exploring nearby state and county parks in the beautiful Keweenaw and Upper Peninsula.

This program was coordinated by Joan Chadde, director of the Michigan Center for Science & Environmental Outreach in collaboration with Detroit colleagues at the Belle Isle Nature Zoo and US Forest Service Urban Connections Program.

The program was made possible with funding from the Michigan Tech School of Forest Resources & Environmental Science, Michigan Tech College of Engineering, Michigan Tech Housing & Residence Life, Michigan Tech Admissions, Department of Civil & Engineering, Pre-College Outreach Initiative, Michigan Tech Transportation Institute and the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics.

From Tech Today.

Tech tour
Detroit students explore high-tech careers

HOUGHTON – Twenty high school students from Detroit are at Michigan Technological University this week to learn about careers in natural resources, environmental science and engineering.

Read more at the Mining Gazette, by Garrett Neese (subscription required).