STEM Pride

Hello World!

Did you know that famous and significant STEM professionals such as Alan Turing, Josephine Baker, and others were LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender)? It is true! Many important people are part of a minority group. It is important to share the history of all populations, both majority and minority. It is important because if we don't see what different groups contribute we might be tempted to believe that they didn't. This would be a shame for there are many contributions! From national security to mathematics to the lowest infant mortality worldwide, we can be grateful for the contributions of diverse people. To read more check out 

http://www.noglstp.org/

:)

Coupon Class

Hello World!

The other day I went to a coupon class! You might think, "a class on coupons?" (I did) but it was really cool! It lasted several hours & I learned many things about coupons, including a little coupon STEM!

Here are some interesting things I learned:

- you may not think you have time to coupon but consider that a couple hours can save you $100, that is like getting paid  $50 an hour which isn't too bad. The class leader believed that saving is just as valuable as earning.

- to get the most from coupons, you should stack them, which means using a manufacture & store coupon together, when you do that when the item is on sale, you come out Way ahead on the savings.

- putting aside the money saved can pay for trips, bills, and more! It adds up to a significant amount every year.

-you can get manufacture & store coupons from fliers, newspapers, store ads & even by complementing the product manufacture directly! (For smaller companies). You can also trade coupons with friends (you give baby product coupons in your paper, they give you their pet product coupons).

- you can save yourself the effort of searching for the best deals by going to

http://www.couponersunited.com where they do the work for you!

- you can get up to 6 newspapers delivered to you to get the max coupons possible for most places. Place the coupon fliers in a folder divided by each week & when you need to make a purchase you will be ready with coupons!

- if you use a coupon on the free item of a but one get one free deal, you save on the one that isn't free! You can arrange your coupons so well that the store pays you for the item! Or transfers the savings to other products, making your bill lower (who knew?!)

- if you shop solely from coupons, they Will work for you! The instructor said that he replenishes his pantry & plans meals based on the sakes/coupons. 

-Stocking up is good (hoarding is not good), it allows you to get the stuff (dry goods that don't go bad) you always use cheaper! Who could argue with that?

-Do you get stuff you don't want with your deals? Save it for donation! One of the things I like about this group is that they deliver extra unwanted items to people in need. Did you know that coupons are used mostly by people in a high income bracket? The savings don't always reach those who need it most, so this group offers education classes to try to change that. 

- as you can see there is a lot more to coupons than meets the eye!

I hope this was helpful & you get a good deal on what you are looking for. Be sure to check out the couponers united site for more info, recipes, coupons & more!

:)

Make STEM

Hello World!

Here is a cool STEM program announcement!

CNCS Expands STEM AmeriCorps Maker Education to Five Cities

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, President Obama is hosting the first-ever White House Maker Faire to celebrate a nation of makers, and to help empower America’s students and entrepreneurs to invent the future.  In response to the President’s call to action, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is expanding its Maker Education Initiative to provide this educational opportunity to more than 22,000 students and families in these cities. The agency is deploying 12 AmeriCorps members in Baltimore, MD; Detroit, MI; Pittsburgh, PA; Miami, FL; and San Antonio, TX.  These new efforts will build on those of the 10 AmeriCorps members currently serving in California to engage students from low-income communities in STEM-related activities, the arts, and other learning opportunities.   “Maker education creates an opportunity for students to learn about careers that inspire them to dream new dreams,” said Wendy Spencer, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. “Our AmeriCorps members’ enthusiasm will help these students explore the wonders of math and science in an exciting way and spark greater interest that can create new avenues of opportunity for them.” In addition to the Maker Faire at the White House, June 18 is also a National Day of Making. For more information, visit www.whitehouse.gov/makerfaire and follow #NationOfMakerson Twitter. The Maker movement promotes key values such as creativity, problem solving, collaboration, and self-expression, and has the potential to get more girls and boys excited about STEM. Through STEM programming associated with the Maker movement, AmeriCorps members will provide the foundations and make connections that can increase interest in these fields and expand economic opportunity for the participating students. With a focus on students in under-served urban and rural communities, this programming intends to expand the pool of Americans prepared to perform the jobs of the future and create a STEM workforce that can address the challenges of the 21st century. STEM education has been the focus of several CNCS education programs as the agency supports the goals of the President’s STEM AmeriCorps initiative first announced at the 2013 White House Science Fair. The initiative is a multi-year effort to place hundreds of AmeriCorps members in nonprofits across the country and mobilize STEM professionals to inspire young people to excel in STEM education. By following the guidance of the President’s Task Force on Expanding National Service, CNCS has been able to demonstrate the power of public-private partnerships. Current STEM AmeriCorps initiatives include partnerships with FIRST, Maker Education Initiative, Citizen Schools, Teach for America, and other organizations – efforts collectively engaging tens of thousands of students in STEM learning and building new avenues for the growth of these programs. CNCS recently expanded its STEM education efforts to a summer program that is placing 256 AmeriCorps VISTA members in six Southern states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and West Virginia. These AmeriCorps members – serving through community groups, educational institutions, and corporate sponsors – are connecting approximately 18,000 at-risk students in low-performing schools to STEM opportunities. The agency also just announced a new partnership with US2020 and Citizen Schools, committing 25 AmeriCorps VISTA members to support US2020’s goal of mobilizing 1 million STEM mentors by the year 2020.  Fifteen AmeriCorps VISTA members will serve in seven cities – Allentown, PA; Chicago, IL; Indianapolis, IN; Research Triangle Park, NC; Philadelphia, PA; San Francisco, CA; and Wichita, KS – while 10 will support efforts nationwide. # The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service and champions community solutions through its AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, Social Innovation Fund, and Volunteer Generation Fund programs, and leads the President's national call to service initiative, United We Serve. For more information, visit NationalService.gov.

An eclectic mix of STEM

Hello World!

Nearly every day one can finds articles that relate to diversity, science, fashion or all three! From talented students to printing your own cosmetics, there has been plenty to read about lately, here is a handful of things that have caught my eye, enjoy!

http://news.msn.com/us/florida-girl-graduates-college-and-high-school-a-week-apart

http://t.living.msn.com/style-beauty/makeup-skin-care-hair-tips/very-soon-you-will-be-able-to-print-makeup-instead-of-buying-it

https://shine.yahoo.com/shine-beauty/blogger-experiments-with-wearing-different-levels-of-makeup--then-tests-how-people-respond-to-her-162033647.html

https://shine.yahoo.com/shine-beauty/study-reveals-makeup-says-174800608.html

https://www.yahoo.com/shine/fashion/how-a-new-group-called-alda-is-changing-the-modeling-industry-from-within-195023862.html

http://t.living.msn.com/style-beauty/fashion/the-worlds-most-comfortable-high-heel-shoes-come-with-a-1000-year-guarantee

https://shine.yahoo.com/photos/teenager-travels-through-fashion-history-in-super-cool-photo-series-slideshow/2010s-photo-1399060200593.html

:) 

Meteor Shower!

Hello World!

Tonight begins a meteor shower! 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/05/22/meteor-shower-camelopardalid/9434097/

If you decide to check out this starry night, be sure to let your eyes adapt to the dark for at least 20 minutes, it will appear as if there are more stars then when you first looked up at the sky, but in reality it is a phenomenon known as adaptation! Your visual systems "switches" from its less sensitive color broadband to the more sensitive luminance channel, for more on that check out this fun link http://www.optics4kids.org/getattachment/13cb7b00-117a-4e69-9d5d-35ad7d949199/Optical-Illusions.aspx

Or this on line text book 

http://webvision.med.utah.edu/book/part-viii-gabac-receptors/light-and-dark-adaptation/

Why should you eat tonight's falling stars? Because they are "meteor" (meatier), :) a joke created by my dad, brought to you by me, in all seriousness, please enjoy the night sky and the beauty of many falling stars, if I make any wishes, it will be for world peace and STEM for all who desire it. 

:)

Rocket stars & Red Carpets (part 2)

Hello World!

Here is part 2 from my experience on the red carpet with rocket stars. I will share with you new STEM programs I learned of and the amazing STEM projects lead by the youth of today interspersed with displays that I found inspiring!

First, cool new programs- I have blogged about Mavericks before but in case you did not see their nifty video where they launch payloads into high altitude check outhttp://science.kqed.org/quest/video/amateur-rocketeers-reach-for-the-stars/

You can also find scholarship opportunities with the astronaut foundation (the reason for this fabulous gala!) at http://astronautscholarship.org

As far as cool projects, they covered a wide spectrum of degrees (mechanical engineering to aeronautics to acoustics) and areas of application, from the human body to hospitals, here is where our future is headed! One young lady is working on "human body on a chip: producing micro fluidic tissue scaffolds" with the goal of replicating human physiological systems for safer drug and vaccine testing. 

Another women is studying the Kirkendell effect. This is where gaps in bonded materials occur, traction ally, this means less efficiency in the materials desired purpose but she is looking at these gaps  in a new way, using this phenomenon to create 3D hollow woven structures, these micro structures may aid structure and heating, which is pretty cool (or hot).

Another women is studying the mechanical design of the InSight Mars lander to reveal the mysteries of terrestrial planet evolution by studying seismology, heat flux, and meteorite impacts. Pretty impressive! What is amazing is that all those women were young students, showing your ideas, knowledge and passions can be noticed and make a difference today as well as in shaping our future. 

There was another woman who served on the board of the astronaut scholars, she has her own engineering consultant company http://www.quietlymakingnoise.com where she helps literally design a better world, such as hospitals with reduced noise so patients will heal faster. 

Highlighting the importance of diversity was one guy studying diversity platforms, creating tools from reliability engineering to assist decision-makers in tracing the impact of force diversity on risk and reliability. I was very impressed with these great projects and the people behind them, I am excited for the future and convinced that we must harness diversity, girl power, math, and more for the incredible journey of life.

Whatever you study or do, let us go forward and err on the side of awesome!

:)

Red Carpets and Rocket Stars (part 1)

Hello World! 

I have returned from a glamorous evening walking down the red carpet and mingling with rocket stars, it was such a blast and so far out ;) 

Red carpet and the dreamy Saturn 5

I socialized with politicians, astronauts, and all types of people who support STEM, as we celebrated new astronaut hall of fame inductees and raised money for the next generation of star scientists, engineers, and allied supporters. 

STEM celebrity sightings included Charlie Bolden, Winston Scott, Kathy Thornton, inductee Shannon Lucid and more! To read their bios and amazing accomplishments check out http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/

It was really cool to meet women who were pioneers, explorers, scientists, pilots, executive officers, and more, but also cool to hang out with male advocates and supporters, too. I believe we are all in this together-making one part of a system better has an influence on all parts of a system, be it a beautiful rocket, a fancy gala, or social relations. 

I am grateful for the opportunity to be in this crowd, doing my part for STEM, meeting other educators and leaders, learning about technology on the horizon, and honoring past STEM culture. It was inspiring and fun! And even fashionable! One astronaut auctioned off his special made tartan pattern tie, others wore the little black dress with star themed accessories, many sharp looking gowns and tuxes... I decided to go with my work suit, but it Was designed by Calvin Klien. From the red carpet to the rockets and the STEM stars, it was as glamorous as it gets! I will share specific new STEM program information I learned and other educational or inspirational items from the weekend in the next post. But I leave you with this quote and encourage You to dream big and reach for the stars :)