OSU K-12 Outreach Programs in Engineering, Science, and
Math (Summer 2004)
Compiled by Skip Rochefort, Director, OSU Precollege Programs (skip@engr.orst.edu) and
Alicia Lyman-Holt, Coordinator, OSU Precollege Programs
July, 2004
Elementery, Middle and High School Programs
Adventures in Learning
Middle School Students
June 21 - July 2, 2004
Judy Michael and Sarah Tuttle, Co-Directors 100 Education Hall 541-737-1289
http://oregonstate.edu/precollege/ail/ and http://che.oregonstate.edu/gallery/AIL
Adventures in Learning combines stimulating academic and social opportunities in a fun-filled
ten-day experience that exposes participants to exciting and sophisticated areas of interest not
usually found during the regular school year. The program is designed for gifted, talented and
creative learners who are interested in fast-paced, challenging opportunities.
Fees: $385 tuition
Application deadline: March 12, 2004
Expeditions
Entering 4th or 5th Grade
June 21 – July 2, 2004
Carol Brown, Coordinator 100 Education Hall 541-737-2670
http://oregonstate.edu/precollege/expeditions/
Expeditions provides gifted, talented, and creative youth who have completed grades 3 or 4 a
two-week, half-day educational experience with courses taught by experts in a variety of topics.
Students are introduced to engaging, intriguing subjects in an enjoyable and nurturing
environment. Fees: $195 tuition
Application deadline: March 12, 2004
Winter Wonderings
3rd-5th Graders
Winter
Anne Flannery 541-737-1289 winter@peak.org
http://oregonstate.edu/precollege/winter
Winter Wonderings offers a variety of challenging Saturday courses designed specifically for
gifted, talented, and creative 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. Participants discover new and exciting
areas of study in a fast-paced learning environment with their social and intellectual peers.
SMILE (Science and Math Investigation Learning Experiences Program)
K-12 (School Year)
Eda Davis-Butts 541-737-2388 davisbue@smile.orst.edu
http://oregonstate.edu/precollege/TheSMILE/
SMILE is a precollege program for Historically Under represented and other educationally
disadvantaged students in Oregon. This program focuses on science and math enrichment. This
program presents science and engineering challenges, teacher training, outdoor science camp and
elementary science clubs to students thought out Oregon.
Saturday Academy
5th -12th grades (year-round)
Nancy Wortman, Director
Science and Math Education 239 Weniger Hall 541-737-1822 or 541-737-8139
http://oregonstate.edu/precollege/academy/
Saturday Academy is a nonprofit community-based program, offering enriched educational
opportunities, especially in science, math, and technology. Saturday Academy offers in-depth,
motivating, real-world classes and workshops that supplement regular school curriculum. Classes
are taught by experts in the community and held at the host business, college, or agency. Classes
are small, hands-on, informal, and project-oriented. Saturday Academy is open to all motivated
students. Summer tuition is usually $20-$30 per class; assistance is available, and no student
will be turned away due to financial need. Summer fliers will be available in May.
Saturday Academy’s ASE Program
High School Students
Saturday Academy's Apprenticeships in Science and Engineering (ASE) Program offers high
school freshmen through juniors a chance to work with an engineer or scientist for eight weeks
during the summer. Students also attend workshops, seminars, lectures, and leadership classes
at the Mid-Summer Conference on July 23 and 24, 2004. At a symposium in August, students
will present their work in a poster session and during oral presentations at Portland State
University. The public is invited. Please call 541-737-1822 for more information.
Saturday Academy Summer Computer Workshop
Middle School Students August 9 – 16, 2004
Saturday Academy will host computer workshops. The two workshops will provide
opportunities to learn computer basics, Web page design and Internet searches, multimedia
presentations, and animation. Plan to take any or all of the workshops. For more information,
call 541-737-8139
Saturday Academy Engineering Camp
Middles School Students
July 19 – 23, 2004
http://che.oregonstate.edu/gallery/ECamp
Saturday Academy and the College of Engineering will host an engineering camp for middle
school students. Students will receive hands-on instruction in several engineering disciplines
Saturday Academy Lego Robotics Workshops
Middle School (boys) 9 - 12 noon, Middle School (girls) 1- 4pm. July 26-30, 2004
Saturday Academy and Keith Levien from the Chemical Engineering Department will host
activities using the LEGO Robotics platform to introduce students to programming and design
in engineering.
OSU KidSpirit Summer Youth Programs
Coordinators: Karen Swanger/Katie Ekstam (541)737-KIDS
http://kidspirit.oregonstate.edu/
Grades: k-8th
June 14 – August 27, 2004
Learn, grow, play and have fun this summer at KidSpirit! All campers are on a daily activity
schedule including sports, arts, drama, science and engineering. Junior Beavers (grades K-2)
and Dam Builders (grades 3-8) have an established daily programs with variations in class
offerings which include: archery, art, basketball, bowling, ceramics, gymnastics, rock climbing,
soccer, swim lessons, andscience and engineering (SKIES). The camp staff emphasizes skill
development, group cooperation and socialization, safety, and fun.
SKIES- Spirited Kids In Engineering and Science
Grades: K-5th (contact: skip.rochefort@oregonstate.edu)
http://che.oregonstate.edu/gallery/SKIES
Coordinators: Skip Rochefort (ChE Dept), Karen Swanger and Ellen Ford
SKIES is offered through collaboration by Chemical Engineering, Saturday Academy, and
KidSpirit funded through a grant from the Hewlett Foundation to the OSU College of
Engineering
Science and engineering activities for grades K-5 where kids will explore chemistry, physics,
math, life sciences, ecology and engineering in a fun, interactive and learning environment.
Science activities will be mixed with physical activities throughout the AM or PM session.
Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis and enrollment is limited. For registration
forms, SKIES fees, and other information, contact KidSpirit, (541) 737-KIDS.
Science Education Partnerships (SEPS)
K-12 Teachers School Year
Dan Arp, 6-12 Committee Chair 541-737-1294 arpd@science.oregonstate.edu
http://www.seps.org/
The Science Education Partnerships (SEPS) program is committed to using community scientists
to help teachers provide a quality science education for all students. SEPS maintains a database
of scientists, currently about 150 volunteers, who are eager to give presentations, arrange field
trips, mentor individual students, and help teachers with classroom science activities. In response
to shrinking education resources, teachers from the Corvallis School District and a group of
scientists from Oregon State University and Hewlett-Packard developed SEPS. At the
elementary level, scientist-partners have been active in classrooms with students and in helping
teachers pilot new classroom materials. Middle school and high school teachers use SEPS
scientists to expose students to current research and to scientific careers. Both short-term job
shadows and longer mentorships with scientists provide hands-on work experience for students.
In the summer of 2003 SEPS expanded its efforts to provide state of the art teacher instruction on
GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and GPS (Global Positioning System). GIS For Middle
and High School Teachers was offered through a collaborative effort between SEPS, the
Conservation Biology Institute and Global Mapping Technology and ESRI.
Science Connections
K-12 School Year
Margie Haak, 541-737-6716 margie.haak@oregonstate.edu
http://science.orst.edu/connections.html
The Science Connections program is a partnership between the College of Science (COS) at
Oregon State University (OSU) and Portland Public Schools (PPS). Our goal is to enhance
science education in the public schools by forging connections between working scientists
(faculty, researchers, and students at OSU) and PPS teachers and students. We reach this goal
through activities such as classroom visits, lectures, email connections, and workshops.
Discovery Days
K-8th
February 24-25 and April 20-21
Margie Haak, 541-737-6716 margie.haak@oregonstate.edu
http://www.science.oregonstate.edu/DiscoveryDays/
Natural History Discovery Days provide an outreach program for the Science Departments at
OSU to share collections both live and preserved. Displays offer information about natural
history, life cycles, and importance to humans. There are many things to examine and touch:
snakes, amphibians, and plants to mention a few. Volunteers will help with hands on experience
as well as share their knowledge about the displays, departments, and their area of expertise.
Displays will offer something for all ages. There is a lot to see and enjoy.
NSF GK-12 Rural Science Education Programs
K-12 School Year
Sujaya Rao 541-737-9038 sujaya@oregonstate.edu
http://cropandsoil.oregonstate.edu/gk12/
The Rural Science Education Program is a partnership between Oregon State University and
local rural K-12 schools. The program places OSU students in rural schools to enrich the science
curriculum with hands-on science activities. The curricula includes simple and innovative
experiments that integrate advances in biotechnology and ecology to encourage critical thinking
about the impacts of agriculture on the environment, and the implications of advanced scientific
research on human lives.
Wave Research Laboratory Tours
K-12 (year round)
Daniel Cox 541-737-8057 dtc@engr.orst.edu
http://wave.oregonstate.edu/Education/K12_Outreach/
The O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory strives to expose students of all ages to
engineering and research with programs such as guided tours though the wave lab. These tours,
guided by knowledgeable WRL researchers, faculty, and graduate students, include an
introduction to basic wave mechanics, demonstrations of the wave lab equipment and
experiments being conducted in the laboratory. Tours can range from 20-45 min and the WRL
will work with teachers to develop meaningful and exciting lesson plans for the tour.
High School Only Programs
Summer Experience in Science and Engineering for Youth (SESEY)
High School Students and HS Science Teachers
July 11-16, 2004
Skip Rochefort (Skip@engr.orst.edu) and Michelle Bothwell, co-directors, Chemical
Engineering
http;//che.oregonstate.edu/SESEY and http://che.oregonstate.edu/gallery/SESEY
SESEY is primarily for high school girls and ethnic minorities traditionally underrepresented in
science and engineering, and for science, math, or physics teachers who are interested in
developing curricular materials to promote engineering activities in their classrooms.
Students come to the OSU campus for a one-week residential summer camp and are paired with
a faculty mentor in engineering for a mini-research project in areas such as microscale
technologies, plastics recycling, drug formulation and delivery, bioprocessing, microelectronics,
and environmental engineering. There are also group learning activities (computer instruction,
communication skills, field trips) and social activities. Students are exposed to science and
engineering as viable and interesting career paths. Career counseling is provided by faculty
mentors and OSU graduate and undergraduate students who work with the students throughout
the week as research project advisors and friends. Students live in OSU housing, so they receive
a complete college experience. The main goal for science teachers during the week is the
development of engineering modules, which they create with a faculty mentor and take back to
their high schools to present in science classes
Hydroville
9th-12th grades School Year
Kendra Mingo 541-737-8892 kendra.mingo@orst.edu http://www.hydroville.org/This project
provides hands on problem solving team-based units for scientific inquiry. Using the fictional
town of "Hydroville" students solve public health problems. The curricula feature real-world
scenarios, based on actual occurrences and real data. The Hydroville Challenge Problems deal
with a pesticide spill, a mysterious illness outbreak, an indoor air quality problem, and a water
quality problem. Solving the problems requires an integration of skills in several disciplines:
physical science, biological science, environmental health, mathematics, social studies, and
language arts. Students assume the roles of professionals on a team brought in to solve these
problems. They must develop a solution based on data collected through laboratory experiments,
interviews, research, and interaction with experts. The teams then formally present their
solutions to the problem. Scenarios are structured to help students understand the complexity of
environmental health issues and to emphasize that many real-world issues have no single correct
answer.
OSU K-12 On-line
9th -12th grades (year-round)
Tryna Luton 800-235-6559 tryna.luton@oregonstate.edu http://k12online.oregonstate.edu
OSU K-12 Online is a flexible learning program that currently includes almost 30 high school
classes. Curriculum includes subject areas like English, math, science, social science, arts,
technology and career learning.