IN THIS ISSUE: Interview with Rawan Hamade, 2020 Mentoring Award Winner | 1911 MAS Archives: Eloise Butler  New Science Bowl and Winchell Program Manager | Currently Recruiting Virtual STEM Mentors   STEM from Home Resources | MN STEM News and Events | MAS 2021 Program Updates

MAS Welcomes Our New Science Bowl and Winchell Symposium Program Manager

We are thrilled to announce that Kris Fowler will now be at the helm of two of our major programs, Science Bowl and the Winchell Undergraduate Research Symposium. "I'm very excited to welcome Kris to our team, not only because of her extensive background running quiz bowls and collaborating with faculty and students at the university level, but also because of her expertise in STEM education and research," said Lara Maupin, MAS Executive Director. "I'm grateful to be able to put two programs close to my heart - our Regional Science Bowls and Winchell Symposium - into her experienced hands at a time of historic challenges in education." 

Kris has served as the Mathematics Librarian at the UMN since 1997. Prior to becoming a librarian, she taught math and physics. She is an experienced quiz bowl coach and director and has served as a MAS Science Bowl volunteer. Kris holds two master's degrees, one in physics and one in library science, and is a graduate of Carleton College and the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Kris is excited about using her new role to further motivate Minnesota students to engage with STEM, adding "Science Bowl and the Winchell Undergraduate Research Symposium are great ways to energize all types of young people about science, and I'm looking forward to continuing that good work!" We're very glad to welcome Kris to the MAS team. Keep posted for further updates on our fast-approaching 2021 High School and Middle School Science Bowls!

Rawan Hamade: Award Shows Students that "Science Mentoring is Valued in our Society"

This spring, the Minnesota Academy of Science was honored to present Rawan Hamade, a science teacher at the Al-Amal School in Fridley, with a Seagate Excellence in Science Mentoring Award. In her eleven years of teaching, Ms. Hamade has motivated students to pursue excellence in STEM and has guided numerous students in developing Minnesota State Science and Engineering Fair projects. We caught up (virtually) with Ms. Hamade to learn about why she became a science teacher, how she motivates her students, the role that independent research plays in her students' STEM learning, and more. Read the full interview here. 

How does winning the Seagate Excellence in Science Mentoring Award prize inspire your work?
It means a lot to me for my students to see that science mentoring is valued in our society. Some of my students are, in fact, interested in being teachers themselves in the future. It makes me happy that they know the value that is placed on their coveted profession. They understand this primarily from the benefit they derive from their teachers, but also from the recognition their teachers receive in society. 

MAS: What aspects of STEM education are you particularly interested in?
Ms. Hamade: My greatest pleasure in teaching comes from encouraging my students to discuss with one another. I love listening to them explain concepts to one another, brainstorm ideas for each other's projects, or give helpful feedback about presentation materials. Systems that facilitate such interaction are built into the very foundation of scientific research, and this is, by far, what I love most about STEM education and research.

What aspects of Science Fair projects do you think best reflect what students would experience if they decide to pursue STEM in higher education or as a career?
First, students who try their hand at pre-collegiate research seem to feel more empowered and inspired to pursue college research opportunities. They have gained skills and confidence that enable them to initiate contact with researchers and collaborate with them on projects. Some students even discover, from science fair, interests in science that become lifelong goals. This also makes it easier for them to seek out the right resources and projects in college. Second, students who I have heard from are primarily grateful for their acquired skills in writing research proposals and papers. I have also noticed that students do not have a hard time carrying the confidence they gain from learning particular research methods into other learning. Research is so versatile that students who are involved in it, especially after some years, seem to know better how they learn. The list of skills potentially gained from pre-collegiate research is long, but I would like to point out one last obvious skill - communication of findings. Students are great at learning from experience how to communicate their work, and how to deliver and receive feedback. Through science fair, they get a headstart in understanding the importance of peer review.

Many thanks to Ms. Hamade for her inspiring responses and commitment to excellence in Minnesota STEM education. Looking forward to seeing amazing projects by your students at the 2021 Minnesota State Science and Engineering Fair!

Currently Recruiting Virtual STEM Mentors

We are excited to begin the fourth year of our FORSE program (Fostering Opportunities & Relationships in Science Education)! This dynamic program works with student populations traditionally underrepresented in STEM and strives to find pathways for them to acquire experience in STEM research and exposure to STEM fields/professionals. We do this by creating partnerships with Title I schools and providing them with the mentors, resources, and curriculum that will best support their students.

MAS is currently seeking FORSE volunteers to mentor Minnesota students this fall and support their STEM achievement during this time of challenging distance learning. We expect to have mentorship opportunities available for both science fair project mentoring and STEM content tutoring, all in a safe virtual format.

Complete our brief volunteer form to express your interest in mentoring/tutoring with FORSE. We will be in touch with interested volunteers soon, once we have more information from our schools regarding student/educator needs and scheduling.

From the 1911 MAS Archives: Eloise Butler

"To the older residents of Minneapolis most of their favorite haunts in 'the deep, tangled wildwood' exist only in memory... hence the students of botany and the lovers or wild nature have been forced to go farther and farther afield, as to the shores of White Bear and Minnetonka; but even there the land has been platted into building lots and ruthlessly stripped of those exquisite features that Nature, the greatest landscape gardener, has for so many years been perfecting.   Therefore, to preserve intact and within easy reach some or our vanishing wild land; to maintain a depot of plant supplies for the schools; to afford an opportunity to study the problems of forestry and ecology at first hand; and to represent, as far as it can be represented in a limited space, the flora of Minnesota - for the benefit of students of botany and lovers of nature - the teachers of botany in Minneapolis and other interested citizens petitioned the park board to set aside a tract of land for a wild botanic garden...  

A wild garden is beautiful at all seasons. After the heavy frosts and before the kindly snow covers up in the cultivated gardens the unsightly, bare earth - suggestive of newly-made graves, - and the dead bodies of herbs, and the tender exotics, stiffly swathed in winding sheets of burlap or of straw, awaiting the spring resurrection, I turn with pride and relief to the wild garden, whose frozen ruins are graciously hidden by the shrubs, which then enliven the landscape with their glowing stems and fruits. And how lovely are the waving plumes of the grasses, how endless the varieties of seed-pods, how marvelous the modes or seed dispersion! The eye, no longer distracted by the brilliant flower-mosaics, sees the less flaunting beauty and rediscovers 'the commonplace of miracle'."   

- Excerpt of "The Wild Botanic Garden In Glenwood Park, Minneapolis", from  The Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science, Volume 5, Number 1. The garden Ms. Butler describes beginning is now know as the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary.

STEM from Home Resources

Keep engaged in STEM this Fall! Here are some new ideas from our continually updated STEM from Home resources page:

• Take your pick out of dozens of coloring books from NASA for all ages covering astrophysics, the solar system, the sun, and earth science.

• The 'Wild Inside' program archive through Dakota County Parks has videos about creating nature journals, birdwatching, tree identification, and much more.

• Volunteer with the Auburn Squirrel Project to watch gray squirrels and collect data on what they are doing.

• Visit PBS Kids' Plum Landing site to play games like 'mountain scramble', or watch a short video with a linked DIY nature activity targeted to preschool and elementary school kids. 

• Join the Minnesota Valley Refuge Friends for a video series that includes virtual storytimes, facepainting tutorials, sing-a-longs, pond insect identification, fishing trips, and birding tips.  

• Browse the USDA's Discover the Forest project for guides about rock, tree and fossil ID, cloudgazing, tracking wildlife, and stargazing. 

Check out our website, facebook, and twitter for many more ways to incorporate STEM into your life!

Minnesota STEM News

Technology: Cameroonian-American builds software in Minnesota to fight COVID-19 back home.

Wildlife Biology: Researchers from Voyageurs Wolf Project find that wolves frequently prey on beavers.

Pharmacogenomics: UMN-Twin Cities researchers study how genetics affect COVID-19 treatments and outcomes.

Biosystems Engineering: Professors from UMN-Twin Cities research converting organic waste into heat, energy, and fertilizer.

Archaeology: Dig uncovers thousands of years of human history on the St. Croix River.

Mechanical Engineering: UMN-Twin Cities professors analyze how the coronavirus spreads indoors. 

Public Health: Team including UMN-Twin Cities researchers find that Black newborns' survival rate increases when cared for by Black physicians.

Chemistry: USDA Northern Research Station scientists investigate porewater chemistry in bogs and fens in northern Minnesota.

Limnology: UMN-Twin Cities researchers study nitrogen released by Upper Midwest lakes.

Invasive Species: Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center solicits public input about aquatic invasive species.

Chemistry: UMN-Twin Cities professor receives grant to fund phenonium ion projects. 

Environmental Science: Team of researchers finds widespread traces of pharmaceuticals and other chemicals in remote Minnesota lakes.

Biomedical Science: UMN-Duluth professor searches for COVID-19 at eight Lake Superior Beaches.  

Public Health: UMN-Twin Cities research team begins a trial of synthetic versions of natural human antibodies as a treatment for COVID-19.

MAS Program Updates

Science Bowl
Registration opens October 1
2021 High School Science Bowl: Saturday, January 23 (Register by December 15)
2021 Middle School Science Bowl: Saturday, February 13 (Register by January 15)
Science Bowl will be held virtually in 2021 - watch an example of the event's format from the 2020 virtual National Science Bowl competition.

FORSE
Now recruiting for virtual STEM research and subject-specific mentors

STEM Events (Mostly Virtual!)

Emerald Ash Borer Lecture, Sustainable Forests Education Cooperative, September 15

Clinical and Translational Science Institute Virtual Poster Session, University of Minnesota, September 16

Indigenous Star Knowledge Symposia, Ingenium - Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation, September 21

Lawns to Legumes: Policy in Place to Help Pollinators, The Monarch Joint Venture, September 22

Fall for Wolves, International Wolf Center, September 22

Virtual Nature Trivia, River Bend Nature Center, September 22

Research and Management Showcase, Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center, September 22-24

Minnesota Tech Connect Virtual Conference, Minnesota Technology Association, September 23

Volunteer Stewardship Project: Seed Collection, Lost Prairie Scientific and Natural Area, September 26  

Seed Squad, Wakan Tipi/Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary, St. Paul Parks and Recreation, September 26 

Chroma Conference, Black and Brown Founders, September 28 - October 2

Bird Hike, Carpenter Nature Center, October 3

Global Health Day, UMN Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility, October 3  

Seed Squad, Trout Brook Nature Sanctuary, St. Paul Parks and Recreation, October 3

Curiosity Drives Progress Lecture Series, UMN College of Science and Engineering, October 8

Small Mammal Lecture, Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve, October 13

Deadline for Fifth Congressional District App Challenge, October 19

We Are Water Exhibit at UMN-Morris through October 19

Practical Applications of an Indigenous Model of Sustainability,  Sustainable Forests Education Cooperative, October 20  

Minnesota Water Resources Virtual Conference, UMN Water Resources Center, October 20-21  

MN Health Education Summit, MN Society for Public Health Education, October 22

Election Day, November 3

MN Conference on Science Education, Minnesota Science Teachers Association, November 12-17    

Leadership for Midwestern Watersheds Virtual Conference, Sand County Foundation, November 17-18