Nature is full of smells and scents that share information between animals, plants, and humans. In part 1 of this activity, you will trap scents from different sources—plants, animals, or food—using small film strips or tubes (provided) and then send them to the Tholl lab to be identified. You will learn how to carry out simple field or kitchen experiments to capture small molecules and the basics of small molecule analysis. In part 2, you will go over the results of your experiments and learn what those molecules “mean” to the organisms.

Part 2 will take place on Monday, July 19, 2021 at 2:00 PM

Have you ever wondered how your brain makes sense of all the things your eyes see? We will use optical illusions, brain games, and a test of your throwing skills to show you how your amazing brain can learn new things quickly and adapt to the world around you!

In this interactive session, you will learn how a bucky ball is structured and what that means in the world of nanotechnology. Particles on the nanoscale have very different properties than what you may be used to, and that can be very beneficial for our society and the world!

Learn how emotions—joy, anger, fear, sadness, and disgust—provide insights into the world around (and within) us and help us navigate the world successfully. Before the session, please watch the movie Inside Out. We will discuss how the various emotions help us thrive and survive in the world.

Explore what it takes to survive as a tiny cell in a big world. From a deck of custom cards we'll provide, you choose the strengths and weaknesses that will make your bacterium unique. We'll compete your "germs" in a simulated arena to learn about how organisms compete and adapt to challenging environments. You'll leave with knowledge about the epic struggles for survival going all around you--and maybe even the title of arena champion.

Ever wonder how scientists take observed data and make predictions? The answer is mathematics! Math allows us to model the world around us. In this session, you will get to make your own observations and collect data in order to make your own mathematical models! You will get to interact with the simulations of cell population and plant growth to make observations and investigate how to use mathematics to model the growth.

In this session, you will learn the basics of plate tectonics and how GPS stations are used to measure ground movements. The presentation will incorporate a "Graham Cracker Tectonics" activity to demonstrate types of tectonic plate boundaries. We will also use gumdrops and toothpicks to create "GPS stations" to mimic how GPS is used to track surface motions.

In this session, you will learn about game theory, the mathematical approach to understanding how people make decisions. You’ll play games like Rock-Paper-Scissors and Tic-Tac-Toe and discuss what makes a winning strategy. You’ll see how these strategies drive the pricing and location decisions of companies, the fight between streaming services, the reasons behind our inability to fight global warming, and why such things matter for us. This session will focus on the intersection of Game Theory and Economics.

Learn how plants store solar energy! The energy of the sun breaks the chemical bonds in water to release O2 and H2, which plants then use to make sugar and to power most forms of life on earth! In this session, you will use energy from a battery (as a very tiny “sun”) to replicate the same process and gain a better understanding of how chemical bonds govern our physical and biological world.

Why do helium balloons float? How can a boat made of metal weighing thousands of tons stay above water? How do submarines dive and ascend in the water? In this activity, we’ll answer these questions and more by building your own fun physics demonstration. You’ll explore concepts of buoyancy, force, and density and understand why some things sink and others float.

Both helpful and harmful microorganisms are around our food every day and the area of food microbiology allows us to explore their roles even further. During this session, we will focus on some of the helpful microorganisms that play a role in the production of our favorite foods (can anyone say yogurt??!!). You will learn the basics of microbiology and then explore the microbial process of fermentation and how it influences the taste and texture of yogurt.

Tune-in for this interactive session to learn about the biology of blood. What is blood? Why is it so important? What are blood types and how can you determine a blood type? Why is it that some blood types are more “valuable” than others? By the end of this session, you will have all the answers and… we will solve a “Murder Mystery” by using your newfound knowledge and following the clues!

In this interactive session, you will learn all about what happens to your body when you eat and digest a meal. Where do all those calories go? What happens to your blood sugar levels and what happens when your blood sugar levels get out of control? We will learn about nutrition and diabetes. You will work through a lab simulation and some interactive quiz questions. We may even go on a scavenger hunt for good measure!

In this session, you will learn the basics of how the mantle, the deep layer beneath the Earth’s crust, moves. You will have fun learning how to use computing to model and visualize what is going on more than 60 miles below the surface.

Nature is full of smells and scents that share information between animals, plants and humans. In part 1 of this activity, you will trap scents from different sources—plants, animals, or food—using small film strips or tubes (provided) and then send them to the Tholl lab to be identified. You will learn how to carry out simple field or kitchen experiments to capture small molecules and the basics of small molecule analysis. In part 2, you will go over the results of your experiments and learn what those molecules “mean” to the organisms.

DNA encodes all the instructions to make an organism—from where to put a nose during development to how we behave. In this session, we will explore what DNA looks like and relate our findings to how it does its job. First, we will use basic biochemical techniques to purify DNA from strawberries. Second, we will build models of DNA to better understand how DNA codes our traits and behaviors.