On our first adventure, students came to JMU to attend a workshop entitled "Putting the Puzzle Together" facilitated by JMU social work students with the support of P&G mentors that focused on planning for after high school. This activity coincided with JMU's Open House event allowing students to explore many possible majors including looking through a powerful telescope at sun flares for astronomy; exploring worms under a microscope for biology; hands on experiences with simulation bodies for nursing; talking with pre-professional health advisors for those interested in becoming occupational therapists, doctors, pharmacist, or dentist; and many more experiences.
The next experience was being introduced to IPADs and learning how to work them. In preparation for a trip to the JMU Planetarium students started by exploring an "app" Astronomy Picture of the Day where they were able to see the picture for that day and to seek the picture on their day of birth. Other apps explored black holes and games that illustrated the properties of black holes. Saturday's trip to the Planetarium allowed students illustrated student's preparation as they started with the picture of the day, which they were knowledgable about and was able to later explore another picture of Kepler-22B the newest planet discovered.
Picture courtesy of Astronomy Picture of the Day
Students learned why there may be life on Kepler 22B. They also learned about the many constellations in the sky and how to find them. The planetarium has a huge dome that allows nearly 360 projections (see behind students). It finds the current position of the planetarium and then positions aspects of the sky accordingly.
In January and February students will be participating in Saturday Morning Physics! Come join us! Find out more at http://csma31.csm.jmu.edu/physics/Banula/SMP2012webpage/index.html
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