Kavli Video Science Contest

James Kakalios

National Academy of Science's Science and Entertainment Exchange

http://youtu.be/h3n9AWJ092I

SPOTLIGHT ON KAVLI VIDEO CONTEST ADVISOR JOANNE BUDZIEN

carlyo — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 09:00:23 +0000

SPOTLIGHT ON KAVLI VIDEO CONTEST ADVISOR JOANNE BUDZIEN

By Stacy Jannis
Kavli Science Video Contest Manager

Dr. Joanne Budzien is an Assistant Professor of Physics at MacMurray College. Dr. Budzien's research is in materials science simulation and she has been at Frostburg State University, the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Sandia National Laboratories, and what is now the Idaho National Laboratory. In addition to teaching undergraduate physics, chemistry, engineering, and mathematics, Dr. Budzien has also taught physical science to elementary education majors. A fan of sci-fi movies, television, and, of course, science, Dr. Budzien’s current big project is a seminar series using movie clips to look at “everyday” science with general audiences.

When did you first become interested in science?

I can’t remember not being interested in science. When I was a kid, my mother took college science classes for her teaching license and would often try things out on the family. I can remember hearing about the road pushing on the car and being awoken to stand outside to look at the sky. I always had building toys and I got to go to special programs for kids. I was also lucky to attend public schools that valued science. Science has always been part of my life, even though I didn’t always plan to be a scientist when responding to polls in K-12 education.

What has been your research focus, and why did you gravitate towards it?

Most of my research has been in computational materials with polymers being the most common material. That means that I use computers (and math!) to simulate what happens under certain conditions for certain models. I was lucky enough to take a class in polymers to fill an elective slot and I was offered a research project after completing the class. I was hooked after starting on that research project.

What do you think are some of the best ways to engage students when teaching science?

I think the best way to engage students is to start from examples that resonate with the students. For example, my current job is teaching physics and chemistry to mostly biology and education majors. Starting from the typical physics examples don’t work, but starting from something that the students have experienced tends to work better.

Demonstrations also work pretty well when the demonstrations are something that everyone is qualified to watch instead of depending on knowing a model ahead of time.

How do you use movies to teach science?

Movies are one way to get examples that resonate with students. For example, many people want to know if a car can jump off a bridge and land on a transport (an early scene in The Transporter). People want to know about time travel and space travel shown in the movies. People want to know if the hero really can swing on the vine to rescue the girl. By choosing common movie scenes, people have the attention to wait through the math to discover the answer.

Movies are also good for finding “regular” people expounding on science, even when the movie is actually about something else. For example, The Mindhunters have a scene showing how water and electricity don’t mix. And Tango and Cash explains about not completing a circuit to make an escape from prison using high voltage wires. Click this link for a lesson plan suggestion using this clip for high school students.

How do you think we can better encourage and inspire the next generation to become scientists and engineers?

I think the best way to encourage more people to become scientists and engineers is to focus on the interesting things that people of all ages can do for fun, even without formally declaring oneself to be a scientist/engineer. Classes are nice, but having science be part of daily life (just one of those things we do) probably pays better results. I love the maker spaces that are popping up around the country that are places where people get together to share resources and build things. I like the idea of having something akin to scouting troops, 4-H, and Future Farmers of America where squads of kids with a student leader meet regularly to do science/engineering projects. I am heartened when I hear of outreach like regular astronomy programs, Science Saturdays, and similar efforts done by scientists at all levels.

I like science fairs and science festivals, especially regional ones that are geared towards “everyone”, not just the people who have already chosen science as a life path.

What inspires you in your work?

It’s about half the joy in doing and half the joy in talking to other people about shared interests. I love finding out the answer to a problem after spending weeks working on it. I like talking with other people about nifty things they are doing and getting more problems on which I can work.

My recent project putting together monthly programs around a common theme in the movies, like explosions, car chases, or outer space, has let me speak with all kinds of people who want to know the science, even if they themselves don’t have the energy or background to take formal classes in the relevant sciences. I am inspired frequently by how many questions people in the general public have related to science and how eager they are to ask the questions once a friendly atmosphere has been provided.

What advice can you give to science and engineering students?

Do some math every day. You get better with practice and skills deteriorate without use. Computers are nice, but you need to know the processes yourself, even if you don’t do all the steps for every lengthy problem.

Embrace frustration as a necessary part of learning. Everything worth doing has some frustrating parts and some of the greatest satisfaction is beating one’s head against the wall long enough to break through.

Put the arts and humanities in your life. The occasional afternoon at the art museum is worth your time. Take in a play. Be in a play. Read deep books that are outside your experience and think about the variety of human experiences. Music is more than just what’s new on the radio; go find some music that speaks to you from across the world and across the ages. If you’re not convinced that these things are important, then do them so that you have more access to what other people think are problems and you have more nifty problems to solve using science/engineering.

Follow Dr. Joanne Budzien on twitter at @JBudzien.

carlyo Thu, 01/02/2014 - 04:00

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Joanne Budzien

Next Generation Learning with the Kavli "Science in Fiction" Video Contest.

carlyo — Tue, 19 Nov 2013 15:06:32 +0000

Next Generation Learning with the Kavli "Science in Fiction" Video Contest.

By Stacy Jannis

Connecting bright young minds with the tools and techniques they need today is the first step towards developing our work force tomorrow. Businesses and government have issued a challenge to educators to help this next generation acquire the creative high-performance STEM skills they need to better transform the world. The evolution of learning technologies, combined with new frameworks for learning standards, will help equip and propel our students forward towards this goal.

So how could our "Science in Fiction" video contest help students practice and refine these much needed "next generation" 21st century skills?

First, we challenge students to think about science in a fresh way from a very unusual angle. The video competition gives students a unique opportunity to exercise their "4C's" , a set of gold standard 21st century skills: critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. Say a student or a class team wants to investigate the science of bionics, a sci-fi staple from the old tv series "Six Million Dollar Man" , the movie "BladeRunner" or the brand new TV series "Almost Human". The student(s) then investigate the whole range of bionics, from mechanical, electrical devices, to artificial or biological material that more closely mimics natural tissues and functions. In short order, they will be researching and learning about amazing advances in biomedicine, including sensors, implants, chips, and computer-brain interfaces.

Another student or team may choose to investigate the extra-terrestrial life forms found in the game "Halo" , the television series "Star Trek", or any number of popular sci-fi movies. They will likely dive straight into NASA's research, SETI, and along the way discover the rubrics for how planets might be candidates for carbon life forms, as well as uncover theories regarding hypothetical non-carbon life and non-carbon biochemistry. They will likely research astrobiology, exobiology as well as the history of life on earth , such as the evolution of methane bacteria. The student(s) might develop something of a hypothesis, such as a statement regarding what conditions might be needed for life to exist, or perhaps what transportation innovations (hello-- interstellar space travel physics!) will need to be invented for us to discover other life forms.

Great Mills High School
USA Science & Engineering Festival X-STEM School

Armed with data, students also evaluate the scientific innovations they have discovered, to see what is being funded, tested, prototyped, etc. We want students to learn more about how scientific discoveries become the products that help transform society, and be able to weigh the significance and potential impact of the scientific information they find. Information, media, and literacy skills are yet another gold standard 21st century skill set , and the "Science in Fiction" contest provides an excellent opportunity in which to exercise them.

Our competition is guaranteed to open up some eyes and blow some minds! Students, parents, teachers, and everyone who views the entry videos will be inspired by amazing advances being made every day by scientists and engineers all over the world. Many of these astonishing inventions are unheralded and under reported by today's mass media. President Barack Obama said that “Scientists and engineers ought to stand side by side with athletes and entertainers as role models.” As we head into the future, we not only need more scientists and engineers, we also need more science and engineering communicators, advocates, and funders than ever before. What better way to communicate amazing scientific advances than with a STEM video competition that celebrates the spirit of scientific innovation and the soaring promise of creative imagination?

The Kavli "Science in Fiction" video contest challenges students to examine the science in video games, movies, and television shows. The competition is now open to Grades 6-12 students and closes on March 21, 2014. Please check out our contest website for more information by clicking here.

To learn more about 21st century skills like the 4C's, check out P21, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, a coalition of forward thinking educators, schools, corporations, associations, and partners.

Written by Stacy Jannis

Contact Stacy at Stacy@usasciencefestival.org

carlyo Tue, 11/19/2013 - 10:06

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Stacy Jannis

engineering

Google Hangout On Air "Science of Monsters"!

carlyo — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 20:46:29 +0000

Google Hangout On Air "Science of Monsters"!

Join us TODAY- Tuesday October 29th at 5:30 EST, for our very first Google Hangout on Air! In preparation of our "Science in Fiction" Kavli Video Science Contest launch (Nov. 1) we are hosting a "Science of Monsters" Hangout! We have recruited an incredibly talented team of zombie and monster experts that have graciously dedicated their time to participate in the Hangout.

With Halloween just days away, enjoy our spirited live Hangout on Air by listening to our experts tackle questions like "Why are zombies hungry all of the time? What regions of the brain change in the fictional zombie? What's a cryptid? How important is the supernatural to a video game narrative?" and much more! You can participate by asking questions live on Google + or on twitter using the #SciVidChat hashtag. RSVP to the event here on Google +.

Get your questions ready for these participants:

Sebastian Alvarado is a postdoctoral fellow in the Dept. of Biology at Stanford, with a research focus on epigenetics, as well as co-founder of the video game science consultancy group, Thwacke! Consulting. Thwacke offers scientific insight from a diversity of disciplines to aid in narrative design, world building, and ultimately creating believable content for the video game industry. Thwacke has consulted on video games including Wasteland 2 and Outlast.

Dan Loxton is a Canadian Writer, Illustrator, and Editor of Junior Skeptic magazine. Author of children's books Evolution: How We and All Living Things Came To Be , Ankylosaur Attack (Tales of Prehistoric Life) and Co-writer of Abominable Science, Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and Other Famous Cryptids.

Steven Schlozman, M.D. is an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and a staff child and adult psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA. He is also the co-director of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry for Harvard Medical School. His first novel, The Zombie Autopsies has been optioned by George Romero for adaptation to film. Dr. Schlozman's zombie curriculum has been adapted by Texas Instruments as part of an innovative STEM educational program STEM Behind Hollywood.

Hosted by Joanne Manaster: Faculty lecturer for the Master of Science Teaching-Biology program at the School of Integrative Biology at the University of Illinois and blogger, JoanneLovesScience, and Scientific American.

Learn more here.

carlyo Mon, 10/28/2013 - 16:46

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Join the Kavli Science Video Contest "Science of Monsters" Google Hangout!

carlyo — Wed, 23 Oct 2013 13:36:01 +0000

Join the Kavli Science Video Contest "Science of Monsters" Google Hangout!

Now entering its third year, the Kavli Science Video Contest, an international middle and high school student competition that is held as part of the USA Science & Engineering Festival, will begin accepting entries for the "Science in Fiction" contest on November 1st! Our Kavli Science Video Contest Advisors, including an array of zombie and monster experts, have graciously offered their time to participate in the"Science of Monsters" Google Hangout on Tuesday, October 29th at 5:30 EST! Just in time for Halloween, our experts will dive into the science behind zombies, monsters, vampires and discuss why we are so fascinated with scary movies and video games!

And the best part- we want YOU to participate! You can join by following us on Google +, Twitter (@USAScienceFest) and visiting our Kavli Science Video Contest webpage . Using hashtag #SciVidChat, submit your questions live on twitter or Google +.

Teachers, individual students and classrooms can also submit your questions ahead of time to carly@usasciencefestival.org. Follow this link for more details.

carlyo Wed, 10/23/2013 - 09:36

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science contest

science in fiction

Science of Monsters