San Diego Science Festival
Poway Unified School District
Official Collaborator
--Runs through April 4, 2009April 4 - EXPO DAY see details
http://www.sdsciencefestival.com
Poway Unified students and staff comprise the largest number of participants in the San Diego Science Festival 2009. The 2009 San Diego Science Festival is the first and largest celebration of its kind on the West Coast. Celebrating this year's theme, "The Science of You," the Festival will provide 500+ free and entertaining science outreach activities to Greater San Diego County throughout the month of March.
The Festival concludes with Expo Day, a day-long celebration in Balboa Park on Saturday April 4, 2009. On Expo Day, science takes over the museums, cultural centers, and the central corridor of Balboa Park with over 300 hands-on activities, demonstrations, experiments, contests, and performances for students of all ages. San Diego Science Festival is a collaboration of over 100 leading science organizations and is facilitated by BioBridge, a program of UC San Diego. For more information, please visit the official SDSF website at: www.sdsciencefestival.com.
Major events involving PUSD students are:
Lunch with a Laureate
On March 31st at Rancho Bernardo High School, 250 middle and high school students will participate in a question and answer session with Dr. David Baltimore. Dr. Baltimore won the 1975 Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine for his discovery of reverse transcriptase –and is known for his studies and discoveries regarding the HIV virus and the prevention of AIDS.
Nifty-Fifty Program
This program brings top San Diego scientists to our schools to engage and inspire students in the field of science. We will be hosting the following scientists:
Bernardo Heights Middle School, March 18th Dr. Michael Kalichman, “Ethics of Science.”
Meadowbrook Middle School, March 12th Dr. Mihri Ozkan, University of Riverside professor, research in nanotechnology “Project Green”
Mesa Verde Middle School, March 19th, Dr. Steven Kay, Dean of the UCSD Biological Sciences. “Circadian Rhythms”
Oak Valley Middle School, March 11th, Dr. Julian Schroeder, Novartis Chair in Plant Sciences at UCSD, “California Coast/Conservation
Twin Peaks Middle School, March 24th, Dr. Fred Gage from the Salk Institute, “Stem Cells”
High Tech Faire
Student applicants from PUSD middle and high schools have been selected to attend the High Tech Fair at the Del Mar Fairgrounds on March 11. Our students will have the opportunity to visit the many exhibitors at the Fair Grounds - spanning twelve technology strands including aerospace, agriculture, biotech and other Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) industries.
Expo Day at Balboa Park
The Festival Finale will be Expo Day at Balboa Park! April 4, 2009. Poway Unified School District’s middle schools and Willow Grove Elementary School will be hosting a variety of hands on activities through out the day
Bubble oLogy by Meadowbrook Middle School 12:45 pm to 2:00 pm -
Come inquire into the unbelievable world of
bubbles. 12 different hands-on stations will be set up for you to
investigate your knowledge of bubbles. Can you make a different
shaped bubble? How about a square bubble? How can we make heavy
bubbles? Is there such a thing as a blue bubble or a red bubble? How
would you like to make a bubble that will not pop? Take home with
you a bubbleicious treat with the secret formula to making
"everlasting bubbles" and a lab write-up for making a frozen bubble.
Glug-Polymer-Putty Twin
Peaks Middle School 10:00 am to 11:30 pm
Fingerprint Analysis
Oak Valley Middle School 11:30 pm to 12:45 pm
Determining Acids and Bases
Mesa Verde Middle School 2:00 pm to 3:15 pm
DNA in a Vial Bernardo
Heights Middle School 3:15 pm to 4:30 pm
Operation Balboa – the World’s Largest Game of Operation
Meadowbrook Middle School and Twin Peaks middle School are two of 10
San Diego County Schools commissioned by the Science Festival to
design, build and display 20 instructive, electronic game
boards based on the classic Operation game from Hasbro. Game boards
produced by the students will be displayed at the April 4 Science
Expo in the Organ Providian. Select units may go on exhibit at the
Museum of Natural History following the Festival.
More from our schools:
Bernardo Heights Middle School
What would the world’s largest game of Operation look like? Are you curious about the science behind Harry Potter’s magic? How does a baseball pitcher throw a knuckleball, a pitch with no movement, to a helpless batter? Want to see the machines researchers are using to help prepare for the next big earthquake?
These are just some of the questions that will be answered at the inaugural San Diego Science Festival planned as one of the largest multicultural, multigenerational, multidisciplinary celebrations of science ever seen on the West coast. The festival is hosted by San Diego with more than 500 activities across the county in the month of March and April.
BHMS students will have several opportunities to participate in several of the planned activities. In February, seventh and eighth grade female science students attended “Women in Engineering” with Mr. Shadoan.
On Wednesday, March 11th, Mr. Shadoan, Mrs. MacMartin, and Mr. Carmichael will be taking a group of 50 students to join more than 2,000 fellow students at the 2009 High Tech Faire at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Here our BHMS Bobcats will network with scientists from cutting edge high tech and scientific institutions in San Diego. More than 50 exhibitors will be on-hand to represent numerous fields of science.
BHMS was also chosen to host an assembly for UCSD’s “Nifty-Fifty” scientist program. Join Dr. Michael Kalichman, as he discusses the up-and-coming field called the “Ethics of Science.” During Bobcat period on Wednesday, March 18th, all seventh and eighth graders will learn about decisions facing them with controversial topics from global warming to security and their privacy.
Later in March, Mrs. MacMartin, and other science teachers will be taking a selected group of BHMS Bobcats to visit with Nobel Laureate David Baltimore, known for his studies and discoveries regarding the HIV virus and the prevention of AIDS.
The Science Expo will be the grand finale of our month of science! Join BHMS and Poway Unified on Saturday, April 4th at the Science Expo in Balboa Park. Poway Unified plans to demonstrate its excellence and science and Bernardo Heights will be there showcasing what we do best—hands-on science! A few BHMS students have been selected to help run a booth demonstrating how DNA is isolated. In fact, young scientists visiting our booth will walk away with a small vial of their very own DNA and an experience they will never forget.
The months of March and April will provide everyone with lots of
science experiences. Check out the BHMS website for a list of
activities, or contact your child’s science teacher. Find out more
about the San Diego Science Festival at
www.sdsciencefestival.org.
Happy Science Month!
Meadowbrook Middle School
1) Nifty-Fifty Program, brought to us by the Invitogen Foundation
On March 12th, selected sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students
will have the opportunity to participate in a program that
brings one of San Diego's top scientists to our school to engage and
inspire kids across various field of science. Dr. Mihri Ozkan,
a noted professor at the University of Riverside who is well known
for her research in nanotechnology, will come to Meadowbrook
Middle School to discuss a favorite subject of hers, Project Green
and being an active participant in saving our planet. Please
check out the various links that she has provided for our
students to prepare for her presentation:
http://www.solarenergy.org/resources/youngkids.html
http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/sources/renewable/solar.html
http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/solar/index.html
http://www.energy.gov/forstudentsandkids.htm
http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy05osti/37322.pdf
http://www.energy.gov/energysources/solar.htm
2) Lunch with a Laureate –
On March 31st at Rancho Bernardo High School, 20 Meadowbrook eighth grade science students will participate in a question and answer session with Dr. David Baltimore. Dr. Baltimore won the 1975 Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine for his discovery of reverse transcriptase - a key component in the reproductive process of retroviruses like the HIV (AIDS) virus. Students will have the unbelievable opportunity to have lunch with and listen to Dr. Baltimore give a presentation on his research. Students then will have the chance to ask questions or seek further clarification of principles presented. Each student at Meadowbrook will have a detailed class on reading and deciphering a complex science writing prior to the lecture with Dr. Baltimore.
3) The Festival Finale will be Expo Day at Balboa Park! April 4, 2009.
Poway Unified School District will be hosting a
variety of hands on activities through out the day. Meadowbrook
Middle School Students are hosting a booth in the Rueben H. Fleet
Building in Balboa Park.
Come inquire into the unbelievable world of bubbles. Students will man over 12 hands-on stations where you can investigate BUBBLE LOGY.
Can you make a different color bubble? How about a square bubble? What could you do to make a heavy bubble? How would you like to make an everlasting bubble? Have you ever heard of a magic bubble wand that has a bubble juice reservoir?
Bubble logy will be available from 12:45 am until 2:00 pm in the Rueben H. Fleet Building. Come investigate with us and experience the amazing world of bubbles. Take home with you more Bubble logy activities to experiment with at home along with a bottle of our secret formula bubble solution.
4) Operation Balboa - The World's Largest Game of Operation
Meadowbrook Middle School is one of 10 San Diego County Schools commissioned by the Science Festival to design, build and display 20 instructive, electronic game boards based on the classic Operation game from Hasbro. Game boards produced by Meadowbrook Middle School students will be displayed at the April 4 Science Expo in the Organ Providian. Select units may go on exhibit at the Museum of Natural History following the Festival.
Mesa Verde Middle School
1) Science Expo Weekend: Every liquid you see in our world can be
categorized as either acidic or basic (alkaline). Scientists use
something called the pH scale to measure how acidic or basic a
liquid is. Although there may be many types of ions in a solution,
pH focuses on concentrations of hydrogen ions (H+) and hydroxide
ions (OH-). The scale goes from values very close to 0 through 14.
Distilled water is 7 (right in the middle). Acids are found between
a number very close to 0 and 7. Bases are from 7 to 14. Most of the
liquids you find every day have a pH near 7. Since your body is
mostly water, your saliva should be pretty close to 7....but you
will find hydrochloric acid in your stomach which is a strong acid
at #2! Although products can be helpful with a pH far from 7,
whenever you get too far from 7 on the pH scale...too high or too
low, they can also be harmful to you and the environment. Let's test
some things in our world and see where they are on the pH scale.
(Participants will take with them a data sheet of what they've
tested for acid and base strength using Hydrion Paper.)
2) Nifty-Fifty: On March 19th, Mesa Verde Middle School will host
one of the Nifty-Fifty scientists: Dr. Steven Kay, Dean of the UCSD
Biological Sciences. Dr. Kay is well known for his studies in
circadian rhythms the cellular processes which fluctuate with a
24-hour periodicity. He will be sharing his enthusiasm for his work
and science at an assembly for our eighth grade science students.
Dr. Kay specifically studies how the circadian biological clock
controls diverse events, from the sleep-wake cycle in humans to the
overall rate of photosynthesis in plants and how the information
might be used to solve problems from sleeplessness to increasing
plant production for biofuels. These most recent achievements hold
tremendous promise for solving some of the most critical issues
facing us today in the areas of global health, environment, and
economic security. Mesa Verde science students eagerly anticipate
their visit with Dr. Kay.
http://biology.ucsd.edu/labs/kay/index.htm
Mesa Verde is also participating in these Science Festival
Activities:
3) High Tech Fair - Fifty seventh and eighth grade Mesa Verde
student applicants have been selected to attend the High Tech Fair
at the Del Mar Fairgrounds on March 11. Our students will
participate in two pre-trip meetings with Mr. Russ Bird and Mr. Kyle Asmus to research and select their plan for visiting the many
exhibitors at the Fair Grounds - spanning twelve technology strands
including aerospace, agriculture, biotech and other Science,
Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) industries.
4) Lunch with a Laureate - Twenty Mesa Verde seventh and eighth
grade science students will participate in a question and answer
session with Dr. David Baltimore at Rancho Bernardo High School on
March 31. Dr. Baltimore won the 1975 Nobel Prize for
Physiology/Medicine for his discovery of reverse transcriptase - a
key component in the reproductive process of retroviruses like the
HIV (AIDS) virus.
Oak Valley Middle School
Science Expo Week: Fingerprint Analysis:
Every fingerprint is unique even though Christopher, the nephew on
The Sopranos attempt to avoid prosecution with the premises that it
can not be proven.
You would have to get every person who ever existed in one room
together at one time to compare their fingerprints!
A fingerprint is an impression of the friction ridges found on the
inner surface of a finger or a thumb. The prints can be visible, as
when our fingers are dirty or oily, or they can be latent, as when
they are made only by the sweat that is always present on our finger
ridges.
The two basic ideas scientists believe about fingerprints are:
* Fingerprints never change. Small ridges form on a person's
hands and feet before they are born and do not change for as long as
the person lives. Injuries such as burns or scrapes will not
change the ridge structure: when new skin grows in, the same pattern
will come back.
* No two fingerprints are alike. The ridges on the hands and
feet of all persons have three characteristics (ridge endings,
bifurcations and dots or sometimes refer to as loops, whorls, and
arches) which appear in combinations that are never repeated on the
hands or feet of any two persons. A ridge ending is simply the end
of a ridge. A bifurcation is a Y-shaped split of one ridge
into two. A dot is a very short ridge that looks like a "dot."
Dactyloscopy is the practice of using fingerprints to identify
someone. Participants will first examine their own
fingerprints. Afterwards, they will lift prints from a jar and
attempt to identify to whom they belong.
Nifty-Fifty:
On Wednesday, March 11th, Oak Valley Middle School will host one of
the Nifty-Fifty scientists: Dr. Julian Schroeder. Julian
Schroeder received his Ph.D. from the Max-Planck-Institute for
Biophysical Chemistry and the University of Göttingen. He is the
holder of the Novartis Chair in Plant Sciences at UCSD. His research
has uncovered central mechanisms that allow plants to reduce their
water loss during periods of drought stress. Julian and his
team are at the forefront of other key biological efforts involving
plants. Please find the attached PowerPoint introducing Dr.
Schroeder by one of our Eco-future Students.
Dr. Schroeder's website
http://www.biology.ucsd.edu/labs/schroeder/
Botany and Biotech:
What is Botany? It is the study of plant life and vegetation and can
include genetic research and molecular biology and functions and
processes of flora.
Practical Uses: By understanding plant biology, it may be possible
to create hybrids and new species. These hybrids may be immune to
certain diseases, naturally insect-proof, or drought-resistant.
Applications of genetics can further useful processes such as
purifying toxins in soil or increasing the rate at which plants
produce oxygen.
Plants have organs known as stomata, which allow for the intake of
air, release of carbon dioxide (CO 2), and transpiration (loss of
water via evaporation).
Dr. Schroeder and His Discoveries so far: Dr. Julian Schroeder leads
a team at UCSD studying genes and biological functions in plants. He
found that plants have an innate ability to reduce water loss during
drought, but only some are effective at employing it. He has
examined how plants respond to rising levels of carbon dioxide in
the atmosphere. His research may also be key to understanding how
plants can remove and break down toxins in soil.
Lunch with a Laureate:
Twenty Oak Valley science students will participate in a March 31st
question and answer session with Dr. David Baltimore at Rancho
Bernardo High School. Dr. Baltimore won the 1975 Nobel Prize
for Physiology/Medicine for his discovery of reverse transcriptase -
a key component in the reproductive process of retroviruses like HIV
(AIDS) virus.
Twin Peaks Middle School
1) Science Expo Weekend: We're planning to do "Glüg - Polymer
Putty". Visitors to the PUSD booth during Twin Peaks' participation
will explore how substances react chemically to produce new
substances with different characteristic properties. Mixtures of
borax (sodium borate) and white glue - which contains long
polyvinyl acetate molecules - produce long crosslinked polymer
chains with unusual and unexpected physical properties. It's a
liquid! It's a solid! "Glüg" can bounce! Visitors to our booth will
take home containers of "Glüg" and instructions to experiment and
play at home.
2) Nifty-Fifty: On March 24th, Twin Peaks will host one of the
Nifty-Fifty scientists: Dr. Fred Gage from the Salk Institute in La
Jolla. Dr. Gage is a world-renowned scientist who will share his
groundbreaking work and his passion for science at an assembly
for 7seventh grade life science students. He is credited with the
discovery that humans are capable of growing new nerve cells
throughout life - overturning a long-held misconception that was
widely accepted prior to his work. Dr. Gage's lab is now learning
how cells can be induced to become functioning nerve cells in the
adult brain and spinal cord. His most recent achievements offer hope
to patients suffering from ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), spinal cord
injuries and other neurodegenerative diseases. Twin Peaks science
students have studied cellular reproduction, genetics and stem cells
to prepare for Dr. Gage's visit.
Twin Peaks is also participating in these Science Festival
activities:
3) Operation Balboa - Twin Peaks is one of 10 San Diego County
schools commissioned by the Science Festival to design, build and
display twenty instructive, electronic gameboards based on the
classic Operation game from Hasbro. Gameboards produced by Twin
Peaks students will be displayed at the April 4th Science Expo, and
select units may go on exhibit at the Museum of Natural History
following the Festival. We'll be building these units in February
and March.
4) High Tech Fair - Fifty seventh and 8eighth grade Twin Peaks
student applicants have been selected to attend the High Tech Fair
at the Del Mar Fairgrounds on March 11. Our students are doing
on-line research to explore companies and institutions exhibiting at
the Fair - spanning twelve technology strands including aerospace,
agriculture, biotech and other Science, Technology, Engineering and
Math (STEM) industries.
5) Lunch with a Laureate - Twenty Twin Peaks science students will participate in a March 31 question and answer session with Dr. David Baltimore at Rancho Bernardo High School. Dr. Baltimore won the 1975 Nobel Prize for Physiology/Medicine for his discovery of reverse transcriptase - a key component in the reproductive process of retroviruses like the HIV (AIDS) virus.