FREE “Magic of Chemistry Show” Tuesday October 20
Calling all STEM students! Members of the American Chemical Society (ACS) nationwide will be celebrating National Chemistry Week October 19-24. During this week, ACS members will have the opportunity to present the positive aspects of chemistry, promote science education, and to heighten the public awareness of the contributions chemistry has made to society and to everyday life.
One of the activities planned by the East Tennessee Section of ACS is the annual chemistry show at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. So mark your calendars for “ THE MAGIC OF CHEMISTRY SHOW “ which will be held on Tuesday, October 20 at 7:00 p.m. in 555 Dabney-Buehler Hall at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. The one-hour show will feature Dr. Al Hazari & Company.
Everyone (ages 2-102) is invited to attend this FREE admission show. No show reservations are necessary and questions may be addressed to Dr. Al Hazari at (865) 974-1065 or firstname.lastname@example.org.
FREE PARKING (6-9 p.m.) at the UTK 11th Street / White Ave Garage.
More Fun Science Stuff!
October 22-24 2015 is designated as Nuclear Science Week.
The Nuclear Science Week Big Event is being held in Knoxville Oct. 22-24. Hosted events will be held in and around the Knoxville Convention Center, and will include interactive sessions with local elementary and middle school kids, public panel discussions on various Nuclear related topics, workshops for teachers and boy/girl scout merit badges, and various informational/exposition booths.
Additional information concerning the 2015 Nuclear Science Week Big Event can be found on the official website http://www.nuclearscienceweek.org/ . An online Volunteer signup sheet with activities, dates, and times may be found at http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0844AFAB23A1F85-nuclear.
This is a great opportunity to reach out to the local community and help educate and inform about the benefits and current issues of Nuclear Technology.
Tate’s School Partners with UTK to bring Engineering to the Classroom
This fall, thanks to a generous grant from the America Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), engineers from the University of Tennessee’s Bredesen Center will host a series of classes at Tate’s School designed to generate enthusiasm for the sciences.
As the first elementary school in the state of Tennessee to provide a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) curriculum, Tate’s School believes it is vital to the future of our country to attract young minds to the sciences. “Children are natural scientists and problem solvers”, said Lou L. Tate, Founder of Tate’s School. “They observe the world around them and generate conclusions their way: building, touching, creating, and discovering. We need to ensure students enjoy science at an early age.“
On Friday, October 9th Andrew Kaminsky, Mechanical Engineer and President of the Graduate Association for Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineers (GAME) at the University of Tennessee, and a team of 6 engineers worked with Tate’s 5th graders to visualize and interact with various states of matter. Students worked in small groups to investigate the many properties of plasma and explore polymers. Hand-on activities include creating polymer bouncy balls, wirelessly powering neon tubes using a plasma globe, and glassification of elastic polymers.
“This is a wonderful way to develop the students’ analytical thinking skills and build their enjoyment of science,” said Kaye Simmons, Tate’s Principal. Simmons was selected in 2014 to join the Tennessee STEM Innovative Leaders Institute designed to promote and expand the teaching of STEM subjects in schools across Tennessee.
This 6-part engineering series offers additional topics such as non-Newtonian fluids, electricity and magnetism. Future modules may include renewable energy, programming and control methodology.
The University of Tennessee and Tate’s School are STEMspark Hub Partners, a regional partnership of educational, business, scientific, and research institutions. supporting high quality STEM education in the East Tennessee region.
Tate’s now serves students age 3 – 6th grade, but Lou L Tate confirmed that Tate’s School will be expanding with the addition of 7th Grade in the fall of 2016. Tate’s will be hosting Open Houses on Oct. 21 and 28 (9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.); Nov. 2 (5 – 7:30 p.m.); Nov. 4 (9 a.m. – 3 p.m.); and Nov. 11 (9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.). Call 865-693-3021 or go to www.TATESSCHOOL.com for more information.
West High School to Host Community Meeting on TNReady Assessments
Katherine Banner, Principal at West High School, notified parents of West High School students that the school will host a Community Meeting on Tuesday, October 20 from 6-7 in the Main Auditorium. The topic is how the new TNReady Assessment for Math and English/Language Arts will affect West High students. This assessment replaces the “TCAP” test and will be given to students in grades 3-11 beginning this year.
The state Department of Education notified districts last month that the scoring of the TNReady tests would not be completed in time to calculate the scores into student grades. Earlier this month the School Board voted unanimously to accept the Waiver offered by the state, so TNReady scores for grades 3-11 will NOT be included in student grades this year.