Summer Science Opportunities for Your Students:

National Youth Science Camp Accepting Applications

The 2012 National Youth Science Camp competition is now open to Alaskan seniors who will graduate by June 30, 2012. The National Youth Science Camp is a residential science education program that honors and challenges two graduating high school science students from each state and others from selected countries around the world.

Scientists from across the nation present lectures and hands-on science seminars and linger to interact informally with student delegates. Delegates are challenged to explore new areas in the biological and physical sciences, art, and music with resident staff members. Opportunities are provided for delegates to present seminars covering their own areas of interest and research.

The National Youth Science Camp is offered at NO COST to its participants so that selected delegates may attend regardless of their financial status. All educational and recreational programming, as well as meals, lodging, and round-trip air passage on scheduled airlines are provided free of charge to the delegates.

A visit to Washington, D.C., permits delegates to visit some of the nation's premier scientific, governmental, and cultural facilities. The NYSC experience includes overnight excursions into the Monongahela National Forest, featuring backpacking, rock-climbing, caving, mountain biking, and kayaking opportunities. Delegates are required to participate in the camp program for its entirety, as the fast-paced activities and remote location make travel to and from the NYSC very difficult. More information is available online at www.nysc.org

Mail or electronically deliver your complete application directly to your selection coordinator (bjorn.wolter@alaska.gov) so that it is received no later than February 17, 2012. Contact information for your selection coordinator is available online at www.nysc.org

Delegates must be able to attend the entire NYSC program. Delegates arrive in Charleston, West Virginia, on Wednesday, June 27, 2012, and depart on Saturday, July 21, 2012.

This is the link to our webpage which has our summer engineering camp.

One of the modules is on FTC robotics with LabVIEW. The module is in two parts, one for the educators and one for students. There is a $25 application fee. For the Alaska educators, we will pay travel costs and provide room and board on campus at UAF. For educators outside of Alaska, we will reimburse up to $1000 of travel expenses.

So if you know some educators that would like to enter the FIRST Tech Challenge , you can get people trained this summer to be ready in the fall for the season kick off.

The other module is an energy module. Wind, solar, geothermal and water will all be covered. One of the components is the KidWind project. This a national competition and there are contests held here in Alaska.This would also be a fun project to do with the kids. Again, there is a $25 application fee. For the Alaska educators, we will pay travel costs and provide room and board on campus at UAF. For educators outside of Alaska, we will reimburse up to $1000 of travel expenses.
Both of these modules have CE (continuing education credits) available from UAF. If a educator chooses to register for the Professional Development credits, they would have to pay for that themselves.

For the second week with the students, if an educator chooses to repeat the first week now with students to practice what they learned, the educator will be paid a stipend for that week, plus room and board. Only one teacher will be allowed to move on to the second week with the students.

The students week (6 days) is residential at UAF, with the students staying in the dorms and eating in the student union. There is a $25 application fee. The cost to students is $720 for the week. Students must pay their own transportation costs.

Thanks Robert

Robert A. Parsons
Special Projects Coordinator
Alaska Space Grant Program
907-457-9032
raparsons@alaska.edu

2011 INSPIRE Project for High School Students
U.S. high school students are invited to participate in NASA's Interdisciplinary National Science Program Incorporating Research Experience, or INSPIRE, through an online learning community. INSPIRE is designed to encourage students in 9-12 grade to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Students and parents will participate in an online learning community with opportunities to interact with peers, NASA engineers and scientists. The community also provides appropriate grade level educational activities, discussion boards and chat rooms for participants to gain exposure to opportunities available at NASA. Students selected for the program will also have the option to compete for unique grade-appropriate experiences during the summer of 2012 at NASA facilities and participating universities. Applications are being accepted through June 30.

ANSEP Middle School Academy - Residential Summer
For the second consecutive year, the Alaska Native Science & Engineering Program (ANSEP) will be hosting a Middle School Academy, otherwise known as the ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp (EMBHSSC). We are one of 25 higher education institutions to be hosting this prestigious event and are excited about reaching dozens of underrepresented and underserved students from across Alaska. Here is a brief summary about the EMBHSSC:
 
WHAT: A two-week, academic, residential camp that emphasizes increasing students' mathematics and science skills while introducing them to college life and stimulating their interest in science and engineering as a potential career path through various STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) activities.
 
The camp is FREE to all selected students! *Note: All applicants will be responsible
for their own transportation costs/ arrangements to and from camp.
 
WHEN: July 10 - 22, 2011
APPLICATION DEADLINE: April 15th, 2011 (Postmark)
WHERE: University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA), 3211
Providence Dr, ANSEP 200D1, Anchorage, AK 99508
WHO:
· Members of a traditionally underserved and underrepresented population;
· Entering 6th, 7th or 8th grade in the fall of 2011;
· Have a GPA of at least "B" overall in mathematics and science;
· Score at the median to superior level in standardized mathematics and science tests;
· Interested in mathematics and science.
HOW TO APPLY: Download the application directly from our website.
All applications must be postmarked by April 15, 2011.
 
Michael Bourdukofsky, P.E.
Executive Camp Director, EMBHSSC
Regional Director, ANSEP Pre-College
Alaska Native Science & Engineering Program (ANSEP)
University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA)
Ph: 907-786-6362 Fax: 907-786-1899
mikeb@uaa.alaska.edu

ASRA: Alaska Research Summer Academy - http://www.uaf.edu/asra/

Denali Science Camp - http://www.northstar.k12.ak.us/schools/dnl/dscamp/dsc.html

National Youth Science Camp - http://www.nysc.org/

Yosemite Science Camps - http://www.yni.org/main/

ALASKA SUMMER RESEARCH ACADEMY (ASRA)
We are pleased to announce the new summer schedule for the 11th season of the Alaska Summer Research Academy (ASRA) at the College of Natural Science and Mathematics, University of Alaska Fairbanks.
 
ASRA provides hands-on, experiential learning in STEM fields for students in junior high and high school. Students attend one module (subject) for the entire two weeks. Classes are small, with an average of eight students and two instructors. Our staff includes UAF faculty, MIT instructors, and industry professionals. Younger students are invited to attend our newest program, ASRA Jr.
 
Highlights this year:
 
June - ASRA Advanced at the Kasitsna Bay Lab near Homer, Alaska.
 
June - A new partnership with the Discover Design Research program at UAS provides an additional three modules.
 
June - ASRA Jr., a new day program for students entering 7th and 8th grades. Financial assistance for students with need from many Alaskan organizations and individuals.
 
July - 17 modules in ranging from Biomedicine to Paleontology to Sounds of Science.
 
Ten full tuition and travel scholarships will be paid courtesy of New York Life for students in rural Alaska.
 
Applications are accepted from February 14 to February 28, 2011 only.
 
For more information, please contact Kate Pendleton, ASRA Coordinator
at klpendleton@alaska.edu

Applications Now Available for the Girls on Ice 2011 Expedition!
Girls on Ice is a unique, FREE, wilderness science education program for high school girls. Each year a team of 9 teenage girls and 3 instructors spend 11 days exploring and learning about mountain glaciers and alpine landscapes through scientific field studies with professional glaciologists and mountaineers.
 
The 2011 Expedition will take place July 25 to August 4, 2010 on Mount
Baker, Washington State. All girls age 15-18 are eligible to apply.
 Applications are due February 15, 2011.

We are able to provide this program TUITION FREE to the girls through small grants and gifts from individuals and support from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
 
For more information, please contact:
Erin Pettit
Assistant Professor, Glaciology
Department of Geology and Geophysics
University of Alaska Fairbanks
907-474-5389 (office)
206-619-1752 (cell)

INSPIRE- NASA's Interdisciplinary National Science Program Incorporating

High school students throughout the United States are invited to participate in INSPIRE, through the program’s Online Learning Community.

Applications are being accepted through June 30, 2010. NASA will make selections for the program in September.
Selectees will participate in an online learning community in which students and parents have the opportunity to interact with their peers and NASA engineers and scientists. The online community also provides appropriate grade-level educational activities, discussion boards and chat rooms. Participants and their families also gain exposure to the many careers and opportunities at NASA.
Students selected for the program will have the option to compete for unique grade-appropriate experiences during the summer of 2011 at NASA facilities and participating universities throughout the nation. INSPIRE is designed to encourage ninth- through 12th-grade students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math. The summer experience provides students a hands-on opportunity to investigate education and careers in those disciplines.
INSPIRE is part of NASA's education strategy to attract and retain students in the science, technology, engineering and math disciplines critical to NASA's missions.
For more information about this opportunity, visit http://www.nasa.gov/education/INSPIRE.
If you have questions about this opportunity, please e-mail your inquiries to INSPIRE Project Manager Steve Chance at steven.h.chance@nasa.gov.

K-12:  Great American Backyard Campout

http://www.backyardcampout.org
Remember summer evenings catching fireflies, star-gazing and sharing campfire stories? Create lasting memories and happier, healthier children by connecting with family and friends in the great outdoors. Join the National Wildlife Federation’s Great American Backyard Campout.  You can encourage your students and their families to participate too. Here are three ways you can get involved in this year's Great American Backyard Campout:
• Campout with your own family and friends.
• Encourage your students and their families to participate. Download this special event flyer for them to take home. Or you can post it on your bulleting board at school.
• Consider organizing a school-wide campout over the summer. Regster online to receive a campout planning guide to help create a fun event for students & their families.

Kids today spend half as much time outside as their parents did, missing out on the simple pleasures of daily outdoor time. The National Wildlife Federation knows that kids are healthier and happier when they spend time outside every day. Last year, 90,000 people across the country gathered to spend the night under the stars. Don’t miss out.

Join in on Saturday, June 26, for a night of fun, friendship, family, fresh air and fundraising.

Wildlife Society Conference Native Student Grant

The Wildlife Society offers a native student grant program for students to attend the national Wildlife Society Conference, October 2-6, 2010 in Snowbird, Utah.  Any Tribal, Native (Alaska, Hawaii, US Territories), or First Nations students enrolled in a wildlife/natural resources program at an accredited college or university is eligible.  The deadline for application is August 6, 2010.
Contact Heather Stricker at hstricker.wildlife@gmail.com

Students in Grades 10-12 Offered Summer Field Science

The University of Alaska Southeast in partnership with the Juneau Economic Development Council’s SpringBoard program invites Alaska's high schoolers to apply for twelve days of instruction, fun and outdoor adventure in this coming summer’s Discover Design & Research@ UAS.

Now in its second year, DDR offers five modules to choose from, each involving extraordinary campus- and field-based opportunities for students in grades 10-12 to
develop interests in and to learn about science, technology, engineering and math from Southeast Alaska’s finest instructors and scientsts. Four of the modules offer experiences in exceptional Southeast Alaska places that are especially well
suited for active field research.

Two modules delve into different areas and ecological aspects of Glacier Bay. Glacier Dynamics and Biologic Succession takes place in upper Glacier Bay aboard the 72-foot M/V Glacier Seal, with Mike Hekkers and Clay Good of UAS and Riley Woodford of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game as instructors. Landscape Ecology in Motion focuses on lower Glacier Bay and is based in the Gustavus area, with UAS’s Dr. Cathy Connor as instructor. In another module -- Climate Change: How can you tell? -- students gather real-world climate change data from a variety of locations near the terminus of
Davidson Glacier south of Haines, led by Tim Shields and Pam Randles of the Takshanuk Watershed Council. In the fourth field-based module, operated in partnership with the Cape Decision Institute of the Cape Decision Lighthouse Society at the southern tip of Kuiu Island, students will accompany renowned Southeast author, artist and GIS expert Richard Carstensen and NOAA’s ShoreZone aerial mapping team on a GIS mapping
project. This module also includes time aboard the M/V Georgia Lee studying marine mammals under the tutelage of the Alaska Whale Foundation’s Dr. Fred
Sharpe. The fifth module is a residential college campus experience in which the students will explore the mathematical universe of logic, theory, systems, geometry, probability and statistics with UAS faculty members Andrzej Piotrowski and Brian Blitz.
All modules begin on June 13 at the UAS campus, and conclude at UAS’s Egan Lecture Hall on June 25 with presentations of findings by all participating students.

The field modules depart on June 16 for their respective destinations by boat, ferry or floatplane. With just 48 spaces among the five modules, students are encouraged to register early. Competition in the application process heats up with a required teacher reference and an essay that describes why each student wants to participate. To learn more or to apply, visit http://uas.alaska.edu/ddr or call Becca Parks at 907- 523-2334.
To learn more about the Juneau Economic Development Council and its SpringBoard programs, visit www.jedc.org/springboard or contact Larry West at 907-523-2328, lwest@jedc.org.