News Archives | Page 19 of 61 | Psychology and Human Factors News

Robot Theatre Play

Published April 13, 2016

Kids at Dollar Bay Elementary School are putting on performances this week using two robots. The students have been working with Michigan Tech graduate students as part of the school’s Great Explorations program.

The graduate students are supervised by Assistant Professor Philart Jeon, who coordinates the Mind Music Machine Lab. The group is giving children exposure to technology and the arts.

The theatrical performance is taking place after National Robotics Week.

Watch the interview in Michigan Tech Unscripted: Science and Research.

Celebrate Lake Superior

Published April 12, 2016

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The Lake Superior Celebration is from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 26 at the Great Lakes Research Center.

This event is to celebrate the work of the following 17 Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative (LSSI) school -community teams. Many Michigan Tech departments and faculty serve as LSSI community partners and/or advisors.

Schools involved:

Washington Elementary (Bessemer)
LL Wright High School (Ironwood)
EB Holman K-8 School (Stanton Township)
Lake Linden Hubbell Middle/High School
Jeffers High School (Adams Township)
L’Anse Middle School
Baraga Middle/High School
Houghton Middle School and High School
Hancock Middle School and Barkell Elementary
CLK Elementary and Washington Middle School (Public Schools of Calumet-Laurium-Keweenaw)
Chassell Elementary and High School
Dollar Bay Tamarack City Elementary and High School

Hands-on Recycling Activities led by Michigan Tech students:

Ride the HEET bike & lift the bridge!
Paper-Making
Garbage Pizza
No-Waste Lunch
SMOG City, water quality testing, designing pumps

Local Resources:

World Water Day art display
Copper Country Recycling Initiative
Plastic Recycling Enterprise
Alternative Energy Enterprise
Engineers Without Borders
UP Food Exchange

Celebrate

LSSI student showcase and presentations
North Woods Kids (K-12) from the Western U.P. art exhibit
Cake, lemonade, and refreshments
Live music

Sponsored by the Western U.P. Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education, Michigan Tech Center for Science and Environmental Outreach, Michigan Tech Center for Water and Society, Copper Country Recycling Initiative and Funded in part with a grant from the Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative.and Michigan STEM Partnership.

Find out more here.

Jeon Hosts Workshop at Persuasive Technology

Published April 7, 2016

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Myounghoon “Philart” Jeon (CLS/CS) successfully hosted the workshop on “Persuasion in Transport Applications” at Persuasive Technology April 5 in Salzburg, Austria. This workshop was partly supported by MTTI.

From Tech Today.

Chadde Presents on Engaging Families in STEM

Published April 5, 2016

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Chadde Presents in Nashville

Joan Chadde, director of the Center for Science & Environmental Outreach, presented “Engaging Families in STEM” at the National Science Teachers Association conference in Nashville, on April 1 with co-presenters, Tenesha Moore, Detroit Public Schools Office of Science and David Heil, Foundation for Family Science & Engineering.

Chadde shared the Family Engineering: An Activity and Event Planning Guide, the product of a National Science Foundation Informal Science Education grant received by Michigan Tech (Neil Hutzler, PI). Family Engineering actively engage parents and elementary-aged children in hands-on engineering activities in order to create the next generation of problem solvers.

From Tech Today.

After School Science Classes Start Thursday

Published April 5, 2016

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The next session of After School Sciences begins Thursday. The six-class sessions will meet from 4 to 5:30 Thursdays beginning April 7 and running through May 12, at the Great Lakes Research Center.

These hands-on explorations are taught by Michigan Tech Center for Science & Environmental Outreach education specialist, Marcy Erickson.

Physics of Motion (grades 2-5)

Explore motion in our world through investigations involving the principles of physics. Students will construct rockets, roller coasters, aqueducts, and catapults to discover the relationship between energy and motion through engaging, hands-on activities.

Cost: $75/student; pay by credit card by calling Michigan Tech Cashier 487-2247. (Your space is not reserved until payment has been received.) Register online or at wupcenter.mtu.edu. Call with questions to 7-3341 or email Joan Chadde.

Note: Houghton school bus will drop off students at the GLRC by 3:45 pm. Please email Shari Tapani or call 482-0456 to arrange for your child.

After School Programs are coordinated by the Michigan Tech Center for Science & Environmental Outreach.

From Tech Today, by Joan Chadde.

Western UP Center Educational Programming

Published March 31, 2016

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Local school districts tap Western UP Center for educational programming

HOUGHTON – Programs and events such as science nights, outdoor field trips, and etcetera, are just a very few examples of programs and activities available to schools all across the state of Michigan. In the western Upper Peninsula, they are made available through an organization called the Western Upper Peninsula Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education.

Joan Chadde, program director of the Western U.P. center, said in addition to programs for students, they also offer programs and services to educators.

“Another thing we do is we offer a teacher professional development,” she said, “so we have this resource clearing house and then the school year workshops, summer institutes. So, we just had a workshop here on Tuesday. It was on recycling. So the teachers were learning how they can integrate recycling into their science and social studies curriculum.”

Center gets grants to provide school resources

HANCOCK – The Western Upper Peninsula Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education is a valuable resource to schools throughout the five western counties of the U.P. Those counties are Baraga, Houghton, Keweenaw, Ontonagon, and Gogebic.

All of the programs and resources offered to the schools are grant-funded, Opplinger said, requiring long days and many hours of requesting grants.

“These are 12-hour days, because we’re writing grants, and you’re lucky if you get 25 percent of them,” Chadde said.

Western UP Science Fair 2016

Published March 25, 2016

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Western UP Science Fair and Festival 2016

Western UP elementary school science fair coming to Houghton

HOUGHTON – The Western Upper Peninsula Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education has scheduled the 18th Annual Western U.P. Science Fair and Engineering Festival starting at 4:30 p.m., Thursday, March 17, at Michigan Tech’s Memorial Union Building.

For more information on the Western U.P. Science Fair, visit wupcenter.mtu.edu.

Hancock Elementary School emphasizes science with fifth-grade showcase

HANCOCK – Hancock’s Barkell Elementary School recently held its annual Fifth Grade Science Night, which every year showcases that grade’s major science project for the year.

Lake Linden-Hubbell Elementary School fifth-grader Jared Hester and Michigan Technological University student Jackson Maslowski have a light saber-esque fight with Van de Graaff generators at the Western Upper Peninsula Science Fair March 17.

Students take part in Western U.P Science Fair and Festival

HOUGHTON — They’re 240 students are showing off their scientific abilities at Michigan Tech Thursday night, but they’re not Tech students.

March 17th- Western UP Science Fair

On Saint Patrick’s Day 2016, several members had the opportunity to spend time with elementary and middle school students at the Western UP Science Fair held at Michigan Tech. AEE members helped the students learn and understand alternative methods to lighting LEDs, other than using electricity from an outlet. Members were able to utilize several different experiments to illustrate the phenomena.

Students Showcase Their Science Knowledge At Western U.P. Science Fair

Director for the Western U.P. Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education Shawn Oppliger says the projects show what these students are capable of.

Young U.P. minds develop science marvels of the future

Director for the Western U.P. Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education Shawn Oppliger said, “The projects really come from the kids because they’re interviewed by judges and that really helps us know what projects are done by the kids and what projects might be done by parents, and so they know they’re going to be interviewed, so they have to know a lot about their project and they have to conduct the project.”

Read more and watch the video at ABC 10 UP News, by Rick Allen.

Recycling and Waste Management Workshop for Teachers

Published March 23, 2016

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The state of Michigan has an average recycling rate of 15% as the Western U.P stands at 5%–making it one of the lowest in the nation.

Local groups like the Copper Country Initiative Task Force are looking to mend that gap with the help of local school teachers.

“Hopefully those bags of trash are going to weigh less because students will now be using both sides of the piece of paper,” said workshop director, Joan Chadde. “Maybe they’ll actually be composing food waste out of the cafeteria.”

Chadde Presents on Designing a Sustainable Future

Published March 15, 2016

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Joan Chadde, director of the Center for Science and Environmental Outreach and Lauri Davis, a Houghton High School science teacher presented, “Designing a Sustainable Future” at the Michigan Science Teachers Association Conference in Lansing, March 4-5, 2016.

Chadde also presented a Michigan Environmental Education Curriculum Support Water Quality Unit teacher workshop and Davis presented “Engaging Your Students in Authentic Science Research.”

From Tech Today.

After School Science Classes

Published March 15, 2016

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The next session of after school sciences classes for elementary school children begins Thursday, March 17.

The sessions are from 4 to 5:30 p.m. the next six Thursdays at Michigan Tech’s Great Lakes Research Center. The hands-on science explorations are taught by Michigan Tech science and engineering students and staff. The sessions are as follows:

Spring Nature Explorations, Grades 1 and 2—As the snow melts and the days lengthen, it’s time to investigate birds and spring migration, growing plants, frog life cycles and incredible insects that may bite us, but provide dinner for so many other organisms.
Physics of Motion, Grades 3 through 5—Explore motion in our world through investigations involving the principles of physics. Students will construct rockets, roller coaters, aqueducts and catapults to discover the relationship between energy and motion through engaging, hands-ons activities.

The cost is $75 per student. You can pay by credit card by calling the Michigan Tech Cashier at 7-2247 (Space is not reserved until your payment is received).

Register by tomorrow (March 16) online, or on the website of the Western UP Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education.

Anyone with questions can email Joan Chadde or call 7-3341.

From Tech Today, by Joan Chadde.

Category: News