Guest Blog Post by Lara Hernandez, Math and Science Educator, St. Francis de Asis School Congratulations to San Francisco de Asís Catholic School 6th grade student Robert Zavala. Robert earned a 3rd place Bronze medal at the Arizona State Science and Engineering Fair. Robert qualified to compete at the state level by winning first place at his school competition with his project “How much Pure Aluminum is in the Average Soda Can?” Robert constructed a homemade foundry and reached temperatures of over 1200 degrees F to melt 30 aluminum cans. He separated the pure aluminum from the “dross” or non-aluminum material and determined how much aluminum is in the average soda can. At the State Fair Robert competed in the 5th and 6th grade Engineering category with 47 other students from across Arizona. Robert was interviewed by four judges during a three and a half hour exhibition at the Phoenix Convention Center to earn his bronze medal. In total, over 900 students and 700 projects were registered for the state fair. Only
students who place first at their school fair may compete at the Arizona State Science and Engineering Fair. Congratulations to Robert!
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Guest Blog Post by Nick Siskonen, AmeriCorps STEM VISTA, CAVIAT Every student enrolled in our CAVIAT programs has the opportunity to participate in a Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO). These organizations provide scholarships, competitions, leadership opportunities and so much more that enriches the life and learning of our students. Some of our students are traveling to the Arizona state competition hosted by the CTSO, HOSA - Future Health Professionals. HOSA is an international organization focused on developing character and technical skill competencies for members, to uplift current and future people in the health professions. Our students are there to compete in a variety of subject matters. Madison Stump, of the Medical Professions program, is competing in the Behavioral Health event. Cylie John, also in the Medical Professions program, is taking the Medical Law and Ethics test. Dakota Palmer, of the Veterinary Assistant program, is doing the Veterinary Science skills test. Zachary Ashland and Elizabeth Strones, from the Bioscience program, are both taking part in the Medical Innovation event, and their classmate Antonia Green is taking the Biomedical Laboratory Sciences test. To qualify for this week's state competition, students took an online test which covered a wide variety of topics from their program's curriculum. Only top scoring students are allowed to attend the state competition and earn the chance to move on to the international competition at the International Leadership Conference, which takes place at the end of June.
The state competition this year is taking place in Tucson, from April 2nd through April 4th. Let's cheer them all on to victory! And not to be left out of the fun, this week our Fashion Design and Merchandising program is headed off to Los Angeles! They're going to visit the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising and the LA fashion district. They've been fundraising for this trip all year, and all the hard work has finally paid off. The Navajo Nation, Marshall Elementary and STAR School are all in need of Science Fair Judges! From the Navajo Nation: Red Rock State Park, Gallup, NM The Navajo Nation Science Fair is at Red Rock State Park in Gallup, NM on February 27, 28 and March 1st. Judging is from 9 am to 12 pm each day. They are also looking for presentations or demonstrations for the same time period so that the teachers, parents, and bus drivers are engaged with something STEM-related out of the judging area while the students are getting their posters critiqued. Please contact Allan Blacksheep at allanblacksheep@nndode.org for more information and/or to volunteer! From Marshall: 850 N Bonito St, Flagstaff, AZ 86001 Dear STEM Volunteers, Would you like to be a part of history? This is your opportunity to be a judge at Flagstaff’s longest running science fair! Please consider being a judge for Marshall Magnet Elementary School's 31st Annual Science Fair on Monday, February 26th. There are two ways to be involved: 1. You can judge projects in the Marshall gym, using a provided rubric, for the length of time YOU have available, anytime between 9:30am and 5:00pm on Monday, February 26th. 2. You can interview 5th grade students about their science projects in the Marshall Science Lab from 9:00 - 11:00am on Monday, February 26th. Your time is valuable and we greatly appreciate your consideration in judging. Please forward this message to anyone you feel would make an excellent judge. We cannot do this without you! Thank you, Janelle Reasor, Art & Science Integration Specialist jreasor@fusd1.org From STAR School: 145 Leupp Rd, Flagstaff, AZ 86004; (928) 415-4157
Contact: STEM VISTA Member mallory.schaefer@starschool.org Guest Blog Post by Larrea Cottingham, AmeriCorps VISTA, City Sustainabilty Section To prepare Flagstaff for the changing climate, the City of Flagstaff is in the process of developing a community-wide Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (Climate Plan). City staff and the Climate Plan Steering Committee are prioritizing community engagement and input throughout the planning process to create a plan that fits Flagstaff and meets community needs. To support this process and increase climate action and preparedness in Flagstaff, AmeriCorps VISTA Larrea Cottingham has been developing youth and community engagement opportunities for climate action since she began her service with City’s Sustainability Program in August. Larrea has created a new opportunity for students to get involved in climate action through the Student Climate Action Challenge. To participate, during the spring semester student groups of two or more must plan and begin implementing a project related to climate change in Flagstaff, northern Arizona, or the Colorado Plateau that serves their school, community, or the environment. All student groups will present their work at the first ever Flagstaff Youth Climate Summit. Larrea is inviting City Staff, City Leadership, and the press to the Summit to see the important climate action work accomplished by Flagstaff students. Additionally, the City will award the top three student groups up to $1,000 to continue climate action next year. To aid students in their climate action work, Larrea has also written the Student Climate Action Toolkit: a planning guide for taking climate action. This guide is designed to help students develop leadership and project management skills as they plan and implement climate action projects. In addition, Larrea has also made herself available to mentor student groups interested in participating in the Challenge. If you, or students you know are interested in forming an Action Team or environmental club, let Larrea know how she can help. Visit the website to learn more and sign-up for the Student Climate Action Challenge, the Flagstaff Youth Climate Summit, and download the Toolkit. Please contact Larrea Cottingham at lcottingham@flagstaffaz.gov or 928-213-2156 if you have any questions. Students are not the only ones who get to participate in climate action this year! Larrea and City staff have organized several opportunities for all community members to get involed Flagstaff’s first Climate Action and Adaptation Plan: Join your friends and neighbors at the first Climate Action and Adaptation Plan Community Open House:
Wednesday, January 24th
5:30 - 8:00 pm Flagstaff Aquaplex 1702 N Fourth St, Flagstaff, AZ 86004 Childcare, Spanish translation and light refreshments will be provided. If you can’t make the Open House, you can still provide your input for the Plan through this Community Forum. Guest Blog Post by Tessa Palazzolo, Mechanical Engineering at NAU On November 13th, three schools competed in the second ever KidWind Challenge wind turbine design competition. Little Singer Community School, Coconino High School and Northland Preparatory Academy arrived with a total of 14 teams eager and ready to compete. The students were scored based on their wind turbine power output and their overall knowledge on wind energy, along with real life applications of the wind farm industry. The event consisted of other ongoing challenges such as sail car designs, energy principle questions in jeopardy, and testing out the Human Powered Vehicle (HVP) designed by NAU’s American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). The NAU ASME volunteers were also present at the competition to engage in questions related to college and the guidelines of becoming an engineer with the students. The overall experience of the KidWind Challenge provides a learning experience in hands-on creativity and allowing the students to be inspired with science, engineering and renewable energy. The Little Singer 5th and 6th grade students were led by teacher Tom Tomas, and were doing an entire unit that incorporated literacy as well as engineering. Students are reading The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope, by William Kamkwamba (with Bryan Mealer) that shares the remarkable story of his youth in Malawi, Africa—a nation crippled by intense poverty - and how, with tenacity and imagination, he built a better life for himself, his family, and his village. The students are also studying biomimicry, an approach to innovation that seeks sustainable solutions to human challenges by emulating nature's time-tested patterns and strategies. You can see the biologic patterns in their blade designs above and below. A big STEM City Thank you to Project Director Karin Wadsack, Lead Organizer Tessa Palazzolo and all the ASME students at NAU that came out to help! Also, thank you to the Boys and Girls Club of Flagstaff for hosting the KidWind Challenge again! Guest Blog Post by Karin Wadsack and Todd Traen, with an update from Jenna Samora On Friday, April 28th, nearly 100 middle and high school students competed in the first Arizona KidWind Challenge wind turbine design competition. 20 teams of students came from Sinagua Middle School, Mount Elden Middle School, STAR School, Winslow High, Coconino High, and Northland Preparatory Academy. The teams brought a wind turbine they had designed and built ahead of time to test in a wind tunnel, determining whose turbine made the most electricity over a 30-second test period. The teams also competed based on their turbine design, technical presentation, technical design knowledge, and general wind energy knowledge. The teams each met with a group of judges from the wind industry, giving a presentation about their project and answering specific design and knowledge questions. The teams also competed in “instant challenges,” building sail cars, windmills for weight lifting, and playing wind energy Jeopardy. Throughout the day, students got to interact with other students from different schools and grade levels, and explain their own projects to peers, teachers, coaches, and visiting guests.Turbines at the competition included vertical and horizontal axis turbines, systems with and without gears, and some turbines for which the students had wound their own generators. Frequently heard: “This is AWESOME!” “Check out that design!” “I’m having SO MUCH fun!” “Next year we’re going to do _____!” The Wind for Schools project staff of eight was supported by an additional eight amazing volunteers from the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals and the Climate Science and Solutions professional master’s program at NAU. The Expert Judges also volunteered their day to the event. The Boys & Girls Club of Flagstaff generously donated its facilities for the day. Update from Jenna Samora on the MITe Team's trip to Nationals: The Mustang Gust Runners ended up taking 1st in the Vertical Axis Insta-Challenge, but did not score high on the original wind turbine design. After the first competition in Flagstaff, the students 3D-printed their own gears and created their own generator. However, they were unable to get the energy output that they hoped for, so they went back to using the KidWind generator. Even through their turbine was not the best design, the boys still learned a lot and had a great time! Thank you to our dedicated judges! Ross Taylor, Wind Subject Matter Expert Ken Kotalik, Primus Wind Power Jim Corning, Prometheus Renewables Daniel Snyder, Westwind Solar Inc Darrin Russell, Wind Subject Matter Expert Guest Blog Post by Larry Hendricks, PR and Publications Coordinator, Coconino Community College CCC CAVIAT Students Focus on Health Professions
They’re taking college classes, but they’re still in high school. Not only that, but they’ve proved their mettle in problem solving in the health occupations, and they’re on their way to a statewide competition in April. Twelve students in Coconino Community College’s Dual Enrollment/CAVIAT BIO 298 class took exams on Creative Problem Solving through Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA). This class is taught by CCC Science Faculty and Bridges to Baccalaureate Principal Investigator Dr. Aaron Tabor, NAU Graduate Students and CCC Instructors Christina Baze and Bobby Woodruff. “Four of the students qualified to go to the state level,” Tabor said, adding that all of the students are equally intelligent and deserving of accolades. The team placed ninth overall. The four students, all 10th graders, are Cate Cole and Ethan Perelstein from Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy; and Kaleb Herrelko and Jacqueline Slack from Coconino High School. According to information from HOSA, its mission is to “promote career opportunities in the health care industry and to enhance the deliver of quality health care to all people.” The focus is on health science education and biomedical science programs to promote interest in pursuing careers in the health professions. To prepare for the exams, Slack said that the team began by reading books on creative problem solving and by researching various health-related problems in the community. Cole added that the team tested one another with problems as well as timing the testing for solutions. During testing, the team had 30 minutes to prepare and had 8 minutes to present their case in front of a panel to judge. They made the grade, and now they’re heading to Tucson for the statewide competition. “I personally am excited to meet other students like us, who are science minded,” Perelstein said. Herrelko added, “That could be fun.” Slack said, “I’m very excited to compete.” Cole said, “I’m really excited to see what we can come up with – real-world problems that affect millions across the globe.” The team members are part of the iCREATE High School Bioscience program. The class offers six credit hours from CCC to apply to a college degree. The students meet five days a week at the Center for Teaching and Learning at Northern Arizona University for lectures and labs. The program is offered through the Coconino Association for Vocations, Industry and Technology. “I love coming here and getting a taste of what college and medical school will offer,” Cole said. Perelstein said, “For me, this class is challenging, it’s engaging, and that’s what I really love.” Herrelko said, “I like the challenge and it requires more persistence.” Slack said, “I’m excited that every day after school, I get to be around science-oriented, like-minded people.” For Tabor, he said he thoroughly enjoys being the instructor for the class. “Frankly, it’s the students,” he said. “I never in a thousand years anticipated teaching K-12 students at all, but this group of students is one of the best I’ve ever encountered.” Tabor added that his job is to educate the students on the translational sciences and the epidemiology field, but he also is to assist them with their professional growth – creating curriculum vitaes, attending conferences, performing public speaking, seeking publication, and more. As for the state competition in April, Tabor said the students can go to the national level in the event if they are rank high enough for it. So, the journey may not be over for one or several of them after the state competition. And as for the future, all four team members have plans. Cole’s goal is to become a physician, an obstetrician. Perelstein is interested in mechanical engineering, particularly “biomimicry,” or solving problems through evolutionary processes. Herrelko is still exploring, but he knows he wants to be an engineer of some sort. Slack is dedicated to becoming a neurosurgeon. “We challenge one another and work to put our best foot forward as a team,” Perelstein said. The iCREATE HS Bioscience program is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation. Community partners include CCC, CAVIAT, NAU, TGen North, North Country HealthCare, Coconino County Public Health Services District, and Flagstaff STEM City. Guest Blog Post by Janelle Reasor, Art and Science Integration Specialist Marshall Magnet Elementary School has the longest running science fair of all 28 schools in Flagstaff! They had 199 projects from grades 1 through 5 in the categories of Earth, Life and Physical Science. There were also many student demonstrations. The 5th grade students were all interviewed by their projects, and then all the projects were displayed in the gymnasium. Twenty of the student projects will advance to the Regional Science Fair in Prescott, Arizona. Thank You to all 28 of our Judges and our 7 interviewers!
From Coconino Community College: Melinda McKinney, Alejandra Cardoza, Jay Patel, Brandon Hankins, Sun Jeon, Justin Lovett, Ambrielle Begay, Jenille Montelongo Rodriguez, Zachary Thomason, and Lexia Henderson From Northern Arizona University - Carissa Miyano, Dr. John Tingerthal, Jill Hager Cocking, Dr. Brendan Russo, Hanako Ueda, Chris Wirth, and Melissa Dimas From W.L. Gore & Assoc. - Mike Heinzer, Justine Roberts, and Alex Leonard From The Museum of Northern Arizona - Courtney McDaniel, Florence Borgeson, and Jennifer Glennon From the Rocky Mountain Research Station, USFS - Grace Sorenson and Roy Lopez From FUSD, Retired - Sue Holiday From The Arboretum - Coreen Walsh 5th Grade Interviews Conducted By: Dr. G. Kent Colbath, Geoff Kie, Dr. Jamie Sanderlin, Judy LeFevre, Moragan Guild, Cindy Foubert, and Heather Overton Girls Take Center Stage at the Flagstaff All Girls Chess Championships Guest Blog Post by William Cheney, Originally published in the Arizona Daily Sun The 2017 All Girls City Chess Championships were held on Saturday, January 28, at Lowell Observatory. The tournament was moved one week after the scheduled date due to all of the snow Flagstaff received the weekend before. This was the third annual all-girls tournament and three sections were a USCF rated tournament, run by Northern Arizona Chess Center. This is the first year the event was hosted by Lowell Observatory and it attracted over 50 participants. Besides the K-3, K-5 and K-12 sections, there was also an unrated women’s section. Lowell Observatory, STEM City, Northern Arizona University and Flagstaff Film Festival all hosted the event. In between rounds, students and families were able to explore the visitor’s center, look through telescopes and interact with the hands-on experiments at the site. They also met a female astronomer and heard her interesting presentation during the lunch time break. Dr. Deidre Hunter, an astronomer at Lowell Observatory, gave a presentation on women in science and her work with dwarf constellations. The Flagstaff Film Festival gave out two tickets to each of the first-place winners in each section. NAU gave out three scholarships to the first- through third-place winners in the K-12 section good for any STEM related field at NAU. Thank you to Provost Dan Kain for giving out the scholarships! Domino’s Pizza and Chick-Fil-A also contributed to the event. The girls and their families really enjoyed the Spaceguard Academy at the Observatory! In the K-12 section, the winners of the tournament were as follows: first place, Emma Tennyson, Phoenix area; second place, Mia Osmonbekov, Northland Preparatory Academy; third place, Barbara Senff, Blue Ridge High School. In the K-5 section, the city champ was Adrianna Long, 5th grade, Killip; second place went to Imola Seiben, 4th grade, BASIS Flagstaff; and third place went to Christian Begay, 4th grade Killip. In the K-3 section, first place was for Natasha Vasquez, second place went to Alexa Cardenas and third place was for Kayleigh Smith. All three girls are in third grade at Killip. The women were led by Lecretia Ashley. In second place was Sarah Martinet and third place went to Vicki Uthe. Some of the top national and state girls in chess were at this tournament. In the 8-year-old USCF national all girls’ list was Natasha Vasquez, who is 91st in the nation and 6th in the state. In the 10-year-old group was Imola Sieben, who is 78th in the nation and first in the state. Also in the 10-year-old group is Adrianna Long, who is 93rd in the nation and second in the state. Emma Tennyson, who is 71st in the nation and first in the state, was there as well. The 3rd Annual All Girls Chess Tournament Champions!
Guest Blog post by Christine Sapio, CocoNuts Coach and CHS Educator On December 3, 2016 the Coconino High School “CocoNuts” FIRST Robotics Competition Team hosted 400+ FIRST Robotics students at the 9th Annual High Altitude Robotics Extravaganza. The Extravaganza featured two FIRST events happening simultaneously at Coconino High School: The Flagstaff FIRST Lego League Qualifying Tournament and the Northern Arizona FIRST Tech Challenge Qualifying Tournament. Thirty-six teams will compete in the two events.
The Flagstaff FIRST Lego League Qualifying Tournament featured 26 teams from Flagstaff, Kingman, Cottonwood, Heber, Holbrook, Phoenix, Camp Verde, Glendale, Cibecue and Sedona. The teams competed in this year’s challenge ANIMAL ALLIES for a chance to advance to the Arizona FIRST Lego League Championship January 14-15, 2017 at Arizona State University. The ANIMAL ALLIES Challenge calls for teams of 9 to 14 year-old children worldwide to research and present their original ideas that explore the interactions between humans and animals. Teams will also build, test, and program an autonomous robot using LEGO® MINDSTORMS® technology to solve a series of wisdom-gathering missions which include: pushing a lever to open a door to learning, moving an idea outside of the box, loading a model with knowledge and skill loops, and more. The cornerstones of the experience are the FLL Core Values, which emphasize contributions of others, friendly competition, learning, and community involvement. The Flagstaff FIRST Tech Challenge Qualifying Tournament featured 10 teams from Flagstaff, Laveen, Winslow, Buckeye, Gilbert, Heber, St. Michaels, Eager, and Joseph City. The teams are competed in this year’s challenge VELOCITY VORTEX. The teams were competing for a chance to advance to the Arizona/New Mexico Championship February 25, 2017 at Northern Arizona University. The 2016-2017 Game: VELOCITY VORTEXSM presented by Qualcomm® is played on a 3.7m × 3.7m (12 ft. × 12 ft.) square field with approximately 0.3m (1 ft.) high walls and a soft foam mat floor. The field is divided diagonally into a “red” and a “blue” side corresponding to the two alliances. In the center of the field are two goals on a rotatable stand called the Center Vortex. Two ramps, each with a goal, called the Corner Vortex, are placed in opposite sides of the field. The Center Vortex Goals and Corner Vortexes are alliance specific. There are also four alliance neutral Beacons, two placed on each front wall next to the Corner Vortex. There are floor markings as well as Vision Targets placed on the field walls as reference points for robot navigation. The top teams in the tournament were: FIRST Lego League Champion’s Award: FALA Llamabots, Flagstaff Arts & Leadership Academy, Flagstaff FIRST Tech Challenge Inspire Award: Navajo Code Writers, St. Michael’s Indian School, St. Michael’s FIRST Tech Challenge Winning Alliance: Mogollon Rim Jaegers (Mogollon High School in Heber) and elkSPLOSION (Round Valley High School in Eager) Nine FIRST Lego League teams and three FIRST Tech Challenge Teams advanced to their respective Championship Tournaments. |