Download SVSU Regional Mathematics and Science Center “The Newsletter

SVSU Regional Mathematics and Science Center
“The Newsletter for the Kids in us All”
Spring 2010
Summer SMEK 2010 is in the near future!
Make your summer more extravagant with Science
and Mathematics fun!
The annual Science & Mathematics Extravaganza for
Kids day camp is full of Science and Math hands-on
activities. Join us and not only will your summer
brighten, but you will also receive a t-shirt, various
take home projects, a mid-morning snack, buffet
style lunch, and an end of the day recreation period.
Junior Camp (Grades 2-4)
July 13-15, 2010
Senior Camp (Grades 5-8)
July 26-30, 2010
*See inside for more SMEK camp descriptions!
REMEMBER: Space is limited! Register early to ensure your seat in this summer’s camps!!
For more information and
pictures of previous camps, visit our website:
www.svsu.edu/mathsci-center
What you need:
Fun Space Fact
A car traveling 100 mph would take
more than 29 million years to reach
the nearest star (to our solar system).
What to do:
CAUTION:
Film canister with lid
that snaps on the inside
Fill the film canister about 3/4 full of room
temperature water.
This activity is best done
outside in an open area.
Alka-Seltzer tablet
Take about 1/3 of an Alka-Seltzer tablet
and drop into the canister. QUICKLY snap
the lid on and place on the ground, lid-side
down.
Be patient. Some rockets
take longer than others to
“pop.”
Water
Safety goggles
Step back and wait for your rocket to
launch!
Do not stand over rockets.
Our annual SMEK Saturday flew by with tons of
success!! Sixty-one Junior campers and fifty-one
Senior campers showed up for an exciting time
full of science and math activities. The day consisted of a trip to the green house, the building of
propeller cars, creating tornados, and even some
homemade ice cream. Balls bounced and bubbles popped!
Have you ever seen the Big Dipper?
The constellation Ursa Major contains the group of
stars commonly called the Big Dipper. The handle of
the Dipper is the Great Bear's tail and the Dipper's cup
is the Bear's flank. The Big Dipper is not a constellation
itself, but an asterism, which is a distinctive group of
stars. Another famous asterism is the Little Dipper in
the constellation Ursa Minor.
Also, if you draw an imaginary line from Merak
through Dubhe out of the cup of the dipper (see the
picture above) and continue five times as far as
Dubhe is from Merak, you will arrive at Polaris, the
North Star.
A big thanks to all of the campers who attended SMEK Saturday 2010! We hope to see
all of you at Summer SMEK this coming July!
Hey campers!
Check out the SMEK Saturday PowerPoint on our website!
Included are pictures of every session.
Visit: www.svsu.edu/mathsci-center
Fun Space Facts:
It takes eight and a half minutes for light to get
from the sun to earth.
More than 20 million meteoroids enter Earth's
atmosphere every day.
Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise.
A 100-pound person on Earth would weigh 38
pounds on Mars.
Jupiter's moon Ganymede, is larger than the
planet
The big dipper can be seen all year long so keep an
eye out for it!!!
Big Dipper facts and picture retrieved from:
http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/
Ursa_Major.html
Can you find these space
related terms in the puzzle?
ALIEN
ASTEROID
ASTRONOMY
JUPITER
ORBIT
SPACE
ASTRONAUT
COMET
METEOR
PLANETS
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2010 Science and M athematics Extravaganza for Kids (SM EK) Camps
The m onth of July signals the start of our Science and Mathem atics Extravaganza for Kids sum m er
program s. W e are once again looking forward to hosting both new and returning students to our cam pus.
The cam ps are broken up into two age brackets. The Junior cam ps are designed for students in grades
2-4 (fall 2010 enrollm ent) and involves active student participation in science and m athem atics awareness
projects. The Senior cam p is geared toward students who will be entering grades 5-8 (m iddle school). All
cam ps, in addition to several daily sessions of hands-on involvem ent, include a m id-m orning snack, a
daily cafeteria-style lunch and an end of the day recreation period which m ay include one or m ore of the
following activities: basketball, racquetball, swim m ing, or tennis at SVSU’s Ryder Center.
Junior Cam p Grades 2-4
July 13-15, 2010
$130
Senior Cam p Grades 5-8
July 26-30, 2010
$180
Each year the Junior SMEK cam p attem pts to join
science and m ath with what kids enjoy doing and
that’s using their hands and m inds together
creating and m astering a challenge. This year’s
cam p is no exception. Cam pers can expect
activities which center around a wide variety of
topics and interests. This year’s agenda includes
the following: glow worm s, invisible beads, floating
and sinking, ups and downs of gravity, craterm aker, clouds in jars, UV beads, m aking a
rainbow, hom em ade light sources, laser sound
detection, creative m usical instrum ents, and m uch
m uch m ore. All in all, we have lots to explore in
m ultiple areas of study. Students will have lots to
share over this three-day cam p. A recreation
period ends each cam p day. Snacks and lunch
are included each day. Pool facilities, racquetball
courts and other available spaces m ay be used by
students wishing to stay for a Session 5.
This year’s cam p prom ises to include a m ix of
som e of the old with som e of the new. Several of
our m ost popular activities will return. Look to see
a return of the annual Cardboard Boats: The Race
to the Finish, our traditional cardboard boat races
in the Ryder pool. Cam pers will be constructing a
trebuchet, that m ost ancient of weapons (Google
to see pictures) and testing their accuracy skills
launching various soft objects, the slip ‘n slide will
find a place in the schedule, as will Slim eology
and the always disgusting “vom it m eat.” Plan to
participate in our annual them e days. Crazy
hair/hat day, SMEK t-shirt day, Mad
scientist/m athem atician day, favorite color day,
etc. Snacks and lunch are included each day. A
recreation period ends each cam p day. Pool
facilities, racquetball courts and other available
space m ay be used by students wishing to stay for
a Session 4.
SMEK Junior Daily Schedule
SMEK Senior Daily Schedule
Arrival
8:30 a.m.
Arrival
8:15 a.m.
Session 1
8:45 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Session 1
8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
Session 2
9:35 a.m. - 10:20 a.m.
Session 2
10:05 a.m. - 11:35 a.m.
Session 3
10:25 a.m. - 11:10 a.m.
Lunch
11:40 a.m. - 12:05 p.m.
Lunch
11:25 a.m. - 11:55 a.m.
Session 3
12:10 p.m. - 1:40 p.m.
Session 4
12:10 noon - 12:55 p.m.
Session 4
(Recreation)
1:50 p.m. - 2:55 p.m.
Session 5
(Recreation)
1:15 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.
End of Day
3:00 p.m.
End of Day
2:30 p.m.
The Hubble Space Telescope is one of the most famous telescopes ever
known. It is a space-based telescope. It is a giant observatory and is capable
of providing lots of information back to us on earth. Many recent observations
in the sky have been made with the help of the Hubble Telescope. The mirror
located in the heart of the Hubble Space Telescope has a length of 2.4 meters.
There are various cameras, spectrographs and other optical devices that are
responsible for the images that we see from this telescope. Apart from these
cameras and spectrographs, there are various sensors as well that are
responsible for guiding the Hubble. The design of the Telescope was made in a
way that could assure its survival in the space.
Galileo Galilei, the famous Italian scientist who discovered Jupiter's four closest
moons, did not invent the telescope that he used to see those moons. In fact, he
just made the telescope better. Galileo is often thought to have invented the
telescope because he made so many important discoveries with it. Galilei invented
many other things, including the microscope but the credit for inventing the
telescope goes to Holland's Hans Lippershey.
SVSU Regional Mathematics and Science Center
7400 Bay Rd.
University Center, MI 48710
To add or remove your
name from this mailing
list, contact Maryann at
(989) 964-4114
Register Early! Space is Limited!
Sum
Info
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Insi
SME
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