Virtual Programs
How to sign up
Our Ask A Scientist virtual programs let you virtually bring a scientist into your classroom for exciting talks and discussion. To sign up, reach out to the presenter directly to arrange a date and time. Presentations will take place over zoom unless otherwise stated on the program description or by presenter arrangement.
ABeeC's of Beekeeping with Bees in the D
This is a virtual self-guided program you can explore here
Join Brian Peterson-Roest, founder of the non-profit Bees in the D, for a virtual Honeybee hive tour at the DNR's Outdoor Adventure Center in Detroit. You will explore an active hive and learn about the parts of a Honeybee hive, cast of bees, behaviors of bees, the life cycle of Honeybees, pollination and maybe even see royalty!
Backyard Birds (Elementary/Middle/High)
Lindsay Cain
lcain@michiganaudubon.org
Learn more about the birds in your backyard. This program covers the basics of birding in your backyard and includes tips and tricks for identifying the birds you see. We'll cover the importance of birds and ways to enjoy them in this interactive presentation. This is a great introduction to birds and is suitable for participants of any skill level or background.
Build-a-Fish! (Elementary, Middle, High)
Jamily Lorena
ramosdel@msu.edu
Have you ever wondered what makes a fish? Fish are made of a head, body, and tail. They have fins, scales, and teeth. They’re made in many shapes, colors and sizes. Explore fish diversity through a presentation where you’ll learn about fish with awesome colors and shapes and fish that live in places you’d never expect! In this activity you’ll design your own fish with any size, shape, or color you want and choose a home for your fish in any place you can imagine!
How Can Students Play an Effective Societal Role Now and in the Future Related to Plastics? (Elementary/Middle/High)
Cimberly Weir
cimberly@msu.edu
We will present to students the importance of recycling and how to sort their waste for recycling. We also show them how recycling works.
Learning About Machine Learning (Middle)
Ekaterina Rapinchuk
merkurje@msu.edu
What is machine learning? Join us for an introduction to fundamental concepts of machine learning, a study that has created a "fourth industrial revolution" in the world. We will guide you through the main ideas of machine learning and will participate in a machine learning activity that will help you understand the fundamental concepts.
Physician Assistant Science (Middle/High)
Alexandra Lillie
lillieal@msu.edu
As Michigan State University's first PA cohort, we are looking to spread the message on how physician assistants are integral to the healthcare system. Our graduate students would present foundational information about the profession via Powerpoint, explain the anatomy of select bodily systems (heart, lungs, or ears), then transition to how we evaluate each respective organ system as clinicians. From here, we would take an interactive approach and allow all the students to have a hands-on experience with our medical equipment (stethoscopes, otoscopes, and more) to apply what they have learned. We hope curate an educational, yet exciting experience for your students. Our goal would be to spark interest in the study of medicine as a whole while promoting awareness about the Physician Assistant career path.
The Day in the Life of a Veterinary Nurse (Elementary/Middle/High)
Sarah Machniak
machnisa@msu.edu
What is a veterinary nurse? What do they do? How do they fit into the healthcare team? I am here to talk to you about veterinary nursing, the pathway to get there and so much more!
What is a Packaging Engineer?(Middle/High)
Euihark Lee
leeeuiha@msu.edu
MSU School of Packaging is the No. 1 packaging program in the US, and about half of the packaging professionals in the US are our alumni. This presentation focuses on career opportunities as a packaging engineer, and how the school of packaging at MSU helps students to become well-rounded packaging engineers.
Who Will Solve the Problems? and other thoughts on research science careers (Elementary/Middle/High)
Zachary Constan
constan@frib.msu.edu
MSU’s Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) leads the world at making and studying radioactive nuclei. Inside, researchers regularly smash nuclei together at half the speed of light. To make new discoveries, it takes a team of 800+ physicists, chemists, mathematicians, plumbers, welders, machinists, computer scientists, and many more. Find out what kinds of jobs are needed to make cutting-edge science work!
Why are difficult conversations difficult? (Middle/High)
J.M.Monica van de Ridder, PhD, MSc
vanderid@msu.edu
Exploring our thoughts and feelings. In our daily life we all come across difficult conversations. You have to tell somebody that they did something you don't like. You collaborated with somebody on a project and they really did not do their fare share. A friend has the habit to copy you in your clothing style, and you don't like that. Ideally, you need to sit down and have a conversation about it. You have to give your friend 'feedback'. Because your feedback message is not only about something that goes well ("positive" feedback), but will also points out to behavior that needs to be improved, that needs to be change, we call this "negative" feedback. Many people are afraid of giving negative feedback in daily life. We are afraid that it will harm the relationship wiht other people, that it will backfire on us, or that our feedback message gets challenged. In today's session we would like to further explore difficult conversations. The aim for this session is to help learners to develop their language and insigths to talk about difficult conversations, by learning them to distinguish (a) the content (what is said) and (b) the form (how it is said) of a feedback message. We would like to meet thee goals. At the end of the session students can: 1) explain the definition of feedback, 2) can infer what aspects of a feedback conversation belong to the content of feedback (gift: what is said) and what aspects belong to the form of feedback (wrapping paper/packaging: how it said), and 3) illustrate these concepts based on their own drawings of a difficult feedback conversation. In a short introduction (15-20') I would like to a) explain the definition of feedback (content, form), b) explain why giving feedback is important (points out blind spots, it is a "gift" that can help to make us, friends, society better) and c) explore why giving feedback can be difficult. In a practical exercise (20-25') we apply the concepts from the introduction. We ask students to reflect on a situation in which they would have liked to give feedback, but did not do it. We ask them to imagine the message they would have given, and how they would have packaged (framed) the feedback. Secondly we ask students to draw their feedback gift and the packaging that is around it as well. We ask them to pay specific attention to the content of the feedback (gift) and how they are going to frame it (wrapping paper). Students pair up in duo's and they explain their drawing to each other and they also ask questions about each other's work. This exercise closes by asking the students to write down the meaning of their drawing and to reflect on what they learned from it. We finish with a debrief (15-20'). We ask volunteers to show their image and share their explanation. In this debrief we will highlight how we can soften or strenghten our feedback message with the content (gift) and form (wrapping paper; frame) that we are using. If time is left we will explain the "Pendleton's Rules" an model that can be used for feebdack conversations. In this structured activity we probably need extra support from the teacher to create the 'psychological safety' in the class room, since the activity will benefit from it. We will provide a strucutred hand-out that explains the activity step by step and will guide the learners and teachers through this activity. This hand-out is developed in collaboration with Educational Experts experts from the Arts and Culture Edcuation (ARTez, Zwolle). Currently, I am looking for a medical or art students who will be joining me in this session. I would like to acknowledge Astrid Rass who has given feedback on the earlier versions of this proposal.
Wildlife Encounters (Elementary/Middle)
Kati Adams
kadams@meridian.mi.us
Enjoy a pre-recorded presentation from the Harris Nature Center Naturalists as they introduce your class to some of the Center's resident wildlife! The video presentation is 20 minutes long and includes encounters with a variety of Michigan native birds, reptiles, and amphibians. When signing up to receive the video presentation, you'll also schedule a 15 minute time block with the naturalists for a live virtual Q & A, so please have your class ready with questions after watching the presentation.