Category: Educational Outreach

NSF RET pays dividends through Sydney Hope’s high school outreach

Post author By jcoker
Post date November 7, 2016

Sydney Hope, a Ph.D. student in the Hopkins Lab, visited Franklin County High School on Friday, November 4, 2016 to speak about her research and experience as a scientist as part of the school’s “Moment of Science” program. The “Moment of Science” takes place during the activity period on select days and the school brings speakers in to talk about different aspects of science. All students from grades 9-12 are invited to attend.

Sydney spoke about her research on how incubation temperature affects the behavior of Wood Duck ducklings. She talked about how environmental changes and human disturbances, such as scaring birds off of their nests, may lead to lower egg incubation temperatures. Then, she explained how her results showed that ducklings incubated at lower temperatures are less successful at performing the ‘nest exodus’ behavior. Wood Ducks nest in trees and the duckling must climb up out of the nest and jump down to their mother once they hatch; this is called ‘nest exodus’. Watching the videos of ducklings jumping out of nest boxes was one of the highlights of the presentation for the students.

Students were asked to write down at least one thing that they learned. Some responses included “Ducklings get out better when they’re warmer incubated” and “I didn’t know ducks could be adapted for such a far fall.” Sydney also spoke about her experiences as a graduate student and answered questions about how she made it to the point she is now. Another great lesson learned: “A good reason to be a scientist is that there are many unanswered questions in the world.” Agreed!

Sydney was invited to visit Franklin County High School by Alicia Lowe, a teacher who participated in the NSF funded Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program at Virginia Tech. Alicia worked with Sydney to carry out an independent research project studying how incubation temperature affected Wood Duck duckling calling behavior. Sydney was excited to visit Alicia after their great RET experience, and hopes that she can visit again!

Educational Outreach

Ignacio Moore and Bill Hopkins lead a study abroad trip to Ecuador

Post author By jcoker
Post date May 17, 2016

From VT News

Ten Virginia Tech undergraduate students better hold onto their hats this summer as they plunge down Amazonian river systems into the heart of Ecuador. At the helm of their canoes will be Global Change Center researchers Ignacio Moore and Bill Hopkins.

As part of a university-wide effort to promote study abroad, experiential learning, and undergraduate research, the students will witness the politics, history, culture, biology, and conservation issues in the South American country from May 16 to June 7 .

airport_800 — Ten undergraduates and two faculty members from Virginia Tech pose at the airport before boarding a flight to Ecuador. From left to right: Emily Reasor, Christy Nelson, Justin Matias, Elizabeth Zadnic, Alex Flevarakis, Caman Skelton, Lennon Ross, Caroline Tribble, Dr. Ignacio Moore, Matt Lacey, and Dr. Bill Hopkins.

Ecuador is chock full of Andean peaks, rain and cloud forests, and striking wildlife such as jaguars, poison dart frogs, toucans, and pink river dolphins. Follow the students’ adventures at the Global Change Center’s website.

For the course, students had to work in groups to design their own research projects to be carried out during the trip.

Students will use camera traps to investigate the prevalence of large cats, including jaguars and pumas, in the rainforest and cloud forest sites. These cats are often hunted by poachers and ranchers and are rarely seen. Camera traps will let researchers document their presence and behavior.

Working with Brook Kennedy, an associate professor of industrial design, the students will investigate the microscopic world using Macronauts, a macro lens that can be mounted on the camera of a smart phone camera.

In addition, the itinerary includes visits to the Sani Isla community run by the Quichua and the Shiripuno community of the Waorani. Both of these indigenous groups live in much the same way as they have done for hundreds of years.

The trip was organized by Moore as part of the Tropical Biology and Conservation in Ecuador course, cross listed through the departments of biological sciences in the College of Science and fisheries and wildlife conservation in the College of Natural Resources and the Environment.

“The students will visit one of the most biodiverse, but also threatened, areas on earth. These types of study abroad experiences give students the chance to see in the real world what they have read about it books,” said Moore. “Our aim is not just to be tourists but to conduct research and learn about how conservation efforts rely on interactions between scientists, local peoples, multinational corporations, and governments.”

Students team with Ecuadorean tribes to learn most effective plants for treating infection

Educational Outreach Interfaces of Global Change IGEP Outreach Schools and science fairs

IGC Fellows sponsor social media campaign and booth at the Virginia Science Festival in Blacksburg

Post author By jcoker
Post date September 28, 2015

The Virginia Science Festival features a full month dedicated to STEM events happening around Virginia. The goal is to “provide families with hands-on experiences, live performances, interactive demonstrations and techno entertainment that will inspire a wonder in science for all ages.” On Saturday, September 26th, the Interfaces of Global Change IGEP at Virginia Tech sponsored a booth at the Blacksburg Science Festival called “Why I Care For Nature.”

According to IGC Fellow, Tamara Fetters, ‪#‎whyIcare4nature‬ is an outreach campaign started by the Interfaces of Global Change program at Virginia Tech intended to remind us of all the reasons why we value nature – even though we might have different social, economic, political or religious views. Weeks before the Science Festival, IGC Fellows started a social media campaign on Twitter and Facebook. Participants were asked to “show/tell us why you care, using the hashtag #‎whyIcare4nature‬“. On the day of the Science Festival, children and adults were asked to fill out and wear a sticker boasting why they care for nature. Additional prizes were given to those who joined the social media campaign while they were at the IGC booth.

Below is a sampling of Tweets and Facebook posts from the event:

#whyIcare4nature– because so many amazing species are already extinct. #VTPaleo @vtgeosciences pic.twitter.com/bXSTK5snXj

— VT Paleobiology (@VTechmeetsPaleo) September 21, 2015

Because a view like this beats a strip mall any day #whyIcare4nature pic.twitter.com/dso9QzlVKz — Christine Lattin (@c_lattin) September 22, 2015

Liam: I care about nature because I love amphibians. ❤🌳🌲🌱🍃🐲🐉🐊🐍🐸 ‪#‎whyIcare4nature‬

Noah: Because if animals all died we’d have no food

Sammy: Because it helps our environment

Amanda: Because I want my nieces and nephews to see and touch a real glacier! (photo post)

Asia: Because getting a great pic of a wild animal is like catching a shiny Pokemon. #whyIcare4Nature #GottaCatchEmAll (photo post)

Joel: Since we all have a common ancestor, we’re all related – fish, bird, bacterium, plant, human. Take care of your relatives! #whyIcare4nature (photo post)

Anne: This view of #Serengeti is one of my favorites in the world and brings me great joy and peace. (photo post)

Tamara: I want my children to experience wonder- that’s ‪#‎whyIcare4nature‬. (photo post)

Ben: Some things you just can’t find in the store (photo post of locally-picked wild mushrooms)

Cathy: 2ft long salamanders make life more interesting! That’s #whyIcare4nature. Tell/show why you care! (photo post)

Angie: Because I want to see Panamanian Golden Frogs back in the wild that is ‪#‎whyIcare4nature‬

Julie: Nature is AMAZING! #whyIcare4nature

Climate Change Distinguished Lecture Series Educational Outreach Global Change Interfaces of Global Change IGEP News Outreach Seminars, Workshops, Lectures Special Events

Dr. Naomi Oreskes, Harvard historian and author, to give 2015 Distinguished Lecture

Post author By jcoker
Post date August 25, 2015

From VT News:

BLACKSBURG, Va., Aug. 25, 2015 – Naomi Oreskes, a world-renowned science historian who focuses on understanding scientific consensus and dissent in relation to environmental science, will visit Virginia Tech on Wednesday, Sept. 2.

She will give a 4 p.m. distinguished lecture entitled “Should We Trust Science? Perspectives from the History and Philosophy of Science” at the Lyric Theatre, followed by a question and answer period and book signing.

The event, coordinated by the Global Change Center at Virginia Tech and the Interfaces of Global Change Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Program, is free and open to the public.

Oreskes is a professor of the history of science at Harvard University. She has received international acclaim for her 2010 book, “Merchants of Doubt, How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco to Global Warming,” co-authored with Erik M. Conway, which was shortlisted for the Los Angeles Times Book Priced, received the 2011 Watson-Davis Prize from the History of Science Society, and was recently adapted into a documentary film.

Her 2014 book, The Collapse of Western Civilization: A View from the Future, also co-written with Conway, looks back at the present from the year 2093.

For her 2004 essay in the journal Science, “The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change,” Oreskes analyzed nearly 1,000 scientific journals to assess the level of consensus around climate change. The paper has been widely cited, both in the United States and abroad, including in the Royal Society’s publication, “A Guide to Facts and Factors about Climate Change,” in the Academy-award winning film, An Inconvenient Truth, and in Ian McEwan’s novel, Solar.

Oreskes’ visit represents the second in a public Distinguished Lecture Series sponsored by the Global Change Center at Virginia Tech. The lecture series brings some of the world’s leading scholars to the Blacksburg community to discuss critical environmental and societal issues in an open forum.

”We are extremely excited to welcome such an outstanding and respected scholar to the Blacksburg community,” said William A. Hopkins, director of the Global Change Center at Virginia Tech and professor of fish and wildlife conservation in the College of Natural Resources and Environment. “Dr. Oreskes’ work emphasizes the critical role that science plays in maintaining our quality of life, and reveals the disparity that sometimes exists between the state of the science and public perceptions about critical scientific issues. Her lecture will discuss why these disparities exist, and demystify the process of scientific debate that can lead to scientific consensus.”

View the lecture and see photos from the Oreskes event here.

[hr]

[one_half]

[/one_half]

[one_half_last]
[/one_half_last]

[one_half]
[/one_half]

[one_half_last]

[hr]

[top_link]TOP[/top_link]

Educational Outreach Interfaces of Global Change IGEP News Outreach Schools and science fairs

“Science Girls!”: IGC Fellows host K-5 summer campers

Post author By jcoker
Post date August 6, 2015

August 6, 2015

IGC Fellows Tamara Fetters and Heather Govenor recently hosted a research tour in Derring Hall for a group of summer campers from the Science Museum of Western Virginia (SMWV). The K-5 summer camp, called “Science Girls!”, featured women working in STEM-related fields, and included field trips and presentations from women who currently work in those fields.

Tamara and Heather showed the girls around the Derring Hall “lizard room”, a brown anole colony, and talked about anole ecology and the scientific method. Tamara studies the brown anole and the effects that threats such as disease, climate change, and introduction have on the anole’s physiology and ecology.

Click on any photo to open the gallery.

Educational Outreach GSO Interfaces of Global Change IGEP Outreach Schools and science fairs

Passport to Discovery: An IGC IGEP outreach day

Post author By jcoker
Post date April 1, 2014

Saturday, April 12, 2014:

Interfaces of Global Change Graduate Student Organization hosted a science outreach day at the SEEDS Nature Center* in Blacksburg, VA. The day of outdoor activities was titled “Passport to Discovery: a hands-on journey through the world of biological science and nature for children of all ages.”

Volunteers participating in this event included Interfaces of Global Change fellows, graduate and undergraduate students from the Hopkins and Belden labs, NRV Master Naturalists, and staff members from the SEEDS Nature Center. More than 200 participants were in attendance, including many local families as well as visitors who were in town for the weekend.

“Passport to Discovery” activity stations included:

Owl pellet dissection
Field techniques for young field biologists
A live demonstration of the adaptations of anoles
A live demonstration of native turtles and their local habitats
Pond life: a plankton demonstration with dissecting scopes
A touch tank of stream invertebrates: how to use a key to determine healthy vs. degraded streams
A live demonstration of frog and salamander diversity
A “passport” photo booth for young scientists

Mike Rosenzweig, director of the SEEDS* Nature Center in Blacksburg, had this to say:

“It was a wonderful day and I hope this can be the start of more collaboration with the Interfaces of Global Change Program… It’s a great opportunity for everyone to connect and reach out to the public.”

*Seek Education, Explore, DiScover – SEEDS®

Since 1995, SEEDS mission has been inspiring a natural curiosity and love for the environment in children and the young at heart through discovery learning, nature education, teacher support, and civic awareness.

Related story

Below is a sampling of Tweets and Facebook posts from the event:

More:

Event co-sponsors include:

[one_half_last]

[top_link]TOP[/top_link]

Saturday, April 12, 2014: