Studying shadows in February

There's not much scientific about Groundhog Day, except that there is a strong correlation with an increase in  non-productive behaviors and consumption not typically associated with weekday mornings.

But there are ways to use Groundhogs and their shadows to study some interesting relationships between objects, their shadows with useful outcomes.

See www.goo.gl/Zvt7iB   for more.

Real STEAM: making your own art supplies

I'm a snob when I read about STEAM (mostly it only qualifies as Art but not STEM), but making your own art supplies certainly exemplifies STEAM.

8 art supplies you can make at home

credit: jspad

www.treehugger.com/slideshows/green-home/8-art-supplies-you-can-make-home

Underwater ROV based on cuttlefish

As we enter SeaPerch competition season, there's this:

Make better mistakes tomorrow

STEAM activity: Analyzing country music

One way to integrate science and music is a comparative analysis of the "formulas" by which songs are assembled.



The danger of this particular analysis is, of course, that researchers can lose a whole IQ point for each five minutes of exposure to country music.

More here:

http://www.npr.org/2015/01/09/376145745/you-know-exactly-what-these-six-country-songs-have-in-common?
    or here
http://dangerousminds.net/comments/video_demonstrates_how_mind-numbingly_formulaic_and_shitty_country_pop_musi

President Obama proposes free Community College

POLITICO Pro

Obama to propose two free years of community college for students

By Allie Grasgreen

1/8/15 6:48 PM EST

Updated 1/8/15 8:12 PM EST

President Barack Obama on Friday will propose making two years of community college free for students.

In a White House video posted Thursday evening, Obama said he wanted to offer “a little preview” of his plans for the Jan. 20 State of the Union address.

“What I’d like to do is to see the first two years of community college free for everybody who’s willing to work for it,” Obama said. “It’s something we can accomplish, and it’s something that will train our workforce so that we can compete with anybody in the world.”

The proposal would make two years of community college free for students with a C+ average who attend school at least half-time and who are making “steady progress” toward their degree.

Obama will visit Pellissippi Community College in Tennessee on Friday. Beginning this year, any state high school graduate is eligible for two years of free community college tuition under the Tennessee Promise.

Federal funding would cover three-quarters of the average cost of community college, and Obama is asking states to pick up the rest of the tab — assuming Congress agrees to the plan in the first

NVTC Workforce and Education - Cloud Data

The NVTC Workforce and Education Committee is collaborating with the NVTC Data Center Committee on the following event.

January 23, 2015

8:00 AM - 9:30 AM
Dominion Virginia Power
Herndon , VA 

Chief Information Officer Panel:

• Darren Ash, CIO of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• Brian Cobb, Managing Vice President, Technology at Capital One
• Steve Cooper, CIO of the U.S. Department of Commerce
• Michael Willis, Vice President and Business Information Officer at Kaiser Permanente
• Renee Wynn, Acting Assistant Administrator and Acting Chief Information Officer of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

- See more at: http://www.nvtc.org/community/datacenter.php#sthash.NaeThvlk.dpuf

 http://www.nvtc.org/community/datacenter.php


Please remember to register at the following site and please take note of the location of the event: Dominion Virginia Power, Herndon, VA.

REGISTER HERE:

http://info.ragingwire.com/NVTC-Workforce-and-Education-Committee.html

More VSGC scholarships / fellowships

For grad students doing STEM research: http://www.vsgc.odu.edu/sf/gradfellow/

For current  underrepresented minority freshmen: http://vsgc.odu.edu/sf/Bridge/

For undergrad students that will be juniors or senior next year and plan to do research:  http://vsgc.odu.edu/sf/undergrad/

Each year VGSC awards 80 – 100 scholarships and fellowships 

Concerning Legos for girls