Jessica's blog

Warm winter disturbs hibernating animals

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:10:28 +0000

You might not know this about me but I have a Black Labrador Retriever named Ninja. One of his most favorite things to do is chase squirrels in the park on his daily walks. Usually at this time of year he starts to get fat because there aren't many squirrels to chase, but since this winter has had such mild temperatures he's been getting thisclose to catching himself quite a few furry friends. So yesterday morning I started thinking about what these mild temperatures might mean for all the hibernating, or dormant, species come spring time. Will Ninja have more squirrel friends to chase because they'll start mating earlier? What if it gets really cold again and there's another frost? The squirrels' food sources might die and then they could starve to death...or start dining alfresco more often from the dumpsters in the alleys.

Climatologists, scientists who study weather patterns and their effect on the ecosystem, say that this warmer weather trend is likely to continue into April and it could very well effect food sources and hibernation patterns. In fact, Black Bears are expected to come out of hibernation in a few weeks, earlier than when their internal alarm tends to go off in March. When they wake up their fat reserves will have been depleted and they'll be really hungry. Most of their diet is plant based, so since there isn't a ton growing right now (as there would be more in March) they'll be searching around human generated food sources, like bird feeders or garbage bins.

Project groups announced in Energy and Biofuels

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:37:14 +0000

As I've mentioned this semester in Energy and Biofuels we're working on building our own devices. The stipulations given are that they must utilize a free source of fuel to boil water. we chose boil water as a standard for being successful at cooking a product. Each group needed to come up with a name, logo, and mission statement. After those were solidified we needed to brainstorm three fuel ideas. This week we'll be researching those three concepts and choosing the one that we'll be developing in our final project. We'll have all of our team's progress updated on the windows by the Wet Lab so be sure to stop by and check in. I'd like to introduce our new project teams! (drum roll......) Our new teen groups are: Stove/In/Outs, Cookers on the Move, Free to Shine, Inc., and BioBuddies. We also have a supervisor and volunteer team called Fenix Fuels. (ta da!)

Biofuel boats

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:31:39 +0000

This past weekend at the Minority Scientists Showcase we brought our biofuel boats to showcase some of the work our teens have been doing in our component. These boats are made out of recycled materials and run on the biodiesel the teens made a few sessions ago. We discovered that using a paper towel remnant worked better than the string wick we started with. Look for photos of our experience at our flickr site soon. Thanks!

Trim your waistline and your wallet?

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 22:12:21 +0000

A Washington based company is unveiling a new kind of workout machine at a time when New Year's resolutions to trim waistlines and wallets are high. Imagine going to the gym and generating electrical energy (watts) as you burn calories! Right now the watts you generate on a treadmill are inverted at the gym and go back into the grid, helping the gym pay for the energy used to power lights and air conditioning for example. The system is capable of storing 2,000 watts, that's enough energy to power a television for 17 hours! In the future, a Canadian based company, Eco-Fit, hopes to translate those watts earned while working out into credits you can use at coffee shops and retail stores. You'd be able to shop with the energy you used from working out at the gym!

Would that be an incentive for you to work out more? What other ways can you imagine we could harness our "human power" to cut back on energy costs?

A new year, a new you

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 16:03:09 +0000

Around this time each year many people start making plans for new year resolutions. Resolutions are often things we vow to do or to quit doing to make ourselves feel like better people. Popular resolutions are "to save money" or "to lose weight".

According to an article on Forbes.com forty-four percent of Americans make new year's resolutions. How many people do you think stick to their resolutions each year? ,A new year is a great time to make a fresh start and think about what goals you want to set for yourself in the coming months. Long term goals can help you define who you want to be, while short term goals can give you something more immediate to push toward and seeing positive results sooner helps us stay on the path to success right. This spring we'll be talking more about goal setting and planning for your future during our college prep time.

If you're thinking about making goals for 2012 I recommend you make sure they're SMART.

S-Specific (clear, answers the who, what, where, why, and which of it all)

How to make a stove...or...what to do with last night's dinner cans

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:25:00 +0000

The teens are wrapping up their first semester exploring the uses and potential of biofuels. Next semester we will be splitting into teams to work on developing our own projects around biofuels and cooking, so I'm glad we had this opportunity to first learn what biofuels even are, practice making bioethanol, and now making our own stoves! Matt and I always practice the lab first so we have a better idea of timing and conflicts that may arise, so when we made our own stove we had to test it. It only took us three tries to get delicious popcorn using biodiesel! Last week teens tested their stoves just to make sure they maintained the flame. Stay tuned this week to see how they'll use their stoves. (stoves are made from recycled cans and screws, with wire gauge for a handle) See flickr set for more photos.

Community Partner Opportunity

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 15:56:52 +0000

An opportunity for youth through one of our Community Partners, the Missouri History Museum. Please contact them if you have any interested youth!

The Missouri History Museum seeks teens in their sophomore, junior, and senior year of high school for positions in the Teens Make History Academy

The Teens Make History Academy is an eight week intensive workshop allowing those with an interest in history and the humanities to explore varying types of museum careers such as exhibit development, museum education, marketing, digital media, museum theatre, and research. Those who successfully complete the program will be considered for a limited number of paid apprenticeships with the museum.

When?

The Academy will run from Friday February 4th through Saturday March 24th. It will be held Fridays from 3:30 to 5:30 and Saturdays from 10:00 to 2:00.

Where?

The Missouri History Museum is located at 5700 Lindell Boulevard. The Missouri History Museum is in Forest Park at Lindell and DeBaliviere and is located one block from the Forest Park/DeBaliviere Metro link station.

Chip dip anyone?

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 20:30:57 +0000

So these past two weeks I've been out celebrating my wedding and honeymoon. While I was gone, basking on the beach, the Energy and Biofuels component had a chip and dip party. But this wasn't your average social hour get together. YES teens had to heat their own dips using bioethanol they created and they had to change variables in the recipes they found online. Eating and experimental procedure. Woo hoo! At least this was the plan. Let's see some write ups and photos Energy and Biofuels YES teens and Matt. :)

Remember, no Lab this Saturday. Enjoy your Thanksgiving break and we'll see you in December!

Biofuels and Energy: Fall update

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 21:37:31 +0000

Energy and Biofuels teens have been working hard on completing their first project. They created bioethanol from apples they picked right off the tree at Eckert's farm. After waiting for their apple cultures to ferment they distilled their cultures extracting the bioethanol. Then they made bioethanol tuna can stoves which they will use to cook next week. Anyone have a better name for those cooking apparatuses? Check out our flickr set for more photos, and be sure to click on the notes for information! (we're experiencing difficulties posting more than one photo...okay Jessica is experiencing difficulties). Check out the cooking event on November 12th, there's going to be a taste test competition!

SciFest: International Science Festival

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 20:41:43 +0000

This week begins the annual presentation of SCIFEST: International Science Festival programming. For the third year in a row we've been asked to participate as presenters for Design Challenge. Staff have led school programming for over 300 students in two days! Tomorrow we wrap up with two more sessions where we'll be discussing the science principles behind roller coasters. Our first challenge is to have students build a "ski jump" where the marble must travel down the track and land in a can. Teams try to beat their distance before advancing to the next challenge. Over the last two years the distance to beat was 71 inches, but today a group completed a jump 84 inches away!

On Saturday YES teens will be attending a variety of sessions at Scifest where we'll be hearing about the science in everyday life. Scifest is open to the public so stop in Saturday or Sunday to learn more!

October Community Partner Announcements

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 21:00:16 +0000

In case you missed this month's community partner meeting here are the announcements:

The YES Program is looking for volunteers. If you are interested in mentoring our teens on STEM related projects on Saturdays please contact Mia Harsley for more information! (289.1414)

NPASS monthly workshops begin in October. Please contact Colin Wilson (289.1427) for more information. Workshops include materials and training for after school programming.

New Life Community Church will be hosting Summit of Hope Thursday, October 13th in East St. Louis. There will be representatives from free community resources and domestic violence awareness programs for youth.

Youth Learning Center (YLC) is hosting a superman fundraising Gala at the Sheldon Hall on October 27, 2011.

The Saint Louis Science Center invites you to this year's SciFest: International Science Festival - The Changing Face of Science. Special programs and events will kick off this Friday, October 15th. Please visit scifeststl.org for more information!

October's Community Partner meeting

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 20:30:21 +0000

Today's Community Partners meeting was led by Senior Educators Lynette, Lady Gywanna, and Shon supervisors in the Plant Biochemistry component. We had two labs to choose from. Both labs have been performed by our YES teens. The lab my table did was called the Traffic Light Chemistry lab. We measured and mixed sodium hydroxide (NaOH), dextrose, and water. The chemical reaction causes the colors to change from yellow to red to green. While mixing we talked about what dextrose is (sugar) and how it's different than kitchen sugar, or granulated sugar. This wasn't related to the lab but did you know that you can make your own powdered (or confectioner's) sugar? I tried it at home. I'll never buy it in a special container from the store ever again! I shared with my group that all you need to do is blend your kitchen sugar in a blender or food processor until it is powdered! I had it on banana bread and it was delicious.

Join us next month for another Community Partner meeting, Wednesday November 9th from 11:00am-1:00pm.

Financial Aid for College Planning

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 22:00:14 +0000

Free Financial Aid Workshops...Are You Ready for College?

Pulaski Bank is hosting two free Financial Aid workshops in October but register NOW.

Wednesday, October 5th 7:00pm, International House, 3654 S. Grand Blvd, and Thursday, October 27 7:00pm, Pulaski Bank, 1700 O'Fallon Road, St. Charles, MO. Register by calling 314-317-7904. You could win a gift card to Best Buy for attending!

Orientation Saturday-What you Missed....

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 14:56:31 +0000

Welcome back Fall!

This past Saturday we welcomed back over 120 YES teens to the Saturday Learning Labs. After a powerpoint presentation of what some of the changes were we all rotated through each component. It was the supervisors' chance to sell their stuff and entice the YES teens to sign up with them. One of the big changes discussed is that we're going to have a more consistent programming schedule. For the next three years (maybe even including summer) we're going to cover the same content areas. So if you sign up with a component you're committing to that component for the next few years! Another big change, because of our growing numbers we're going to have a morning and afternoon shift. This is a good deal for those of you who like to sleep in. :)

Introducing our new components:

Agriscience

Astronomy

Energy and Biofuels

Neuroscience

Plant Biochemistry

Robotics

SciJourn

We can't wait to show you all we have in store for you! Supervisors have been working hard on developing some really exciting projects and learning opportunities. Stay tuned!

If you couldn't make it to Orientation please come this Saturday at 8:30am for the morning session or 11:30am for the afternoon session so you can catch up and choose your component.

Community Partner Announcements

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 14:03:15 +0000

For everyone who couldn't make it to our monthly community partner meeting here are the announcements you missed:

The YES Program is looking for volunteers. If you are interested in mentoring our teens on STEM related projects on Saturdays please contact Siinya Williams or Mia Harsley for more information! (Siinya: 289.1417; Mia: 289.1414)

ACOPP (Assisting Children of Prison Parents) is hosting a toy drive this holiday season and a special town hall meeting in November to learn more about what it can do to assist the community. Please contact Executive Director, Hakee Mitchell for more information.

NPASS monthly workshops begin in October. Please contact Tim Mulhall (289.4676) or Colin Wilson (289.1427) for more information. Workshops include materials and training for after school programming.

Free math tutoring is available for students who qualify through 1 to 1 Tutor, LLC. Tutoring is online and all tutors have a bachelors or masters degree in math. Students who qualify are eligible to receive free computer/tablet. Please contact Carolyn Ikpeama (Area Manager), cdsikpeama@gmail.com for more information.

Annie Malone Children's Services would like to let you know that they offer children's programming, emergency services, alternative school education, and transitioning services. They are more than a parade! Please join them in their efforts for St. Louis youth!