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DPP Winter 2000 Newsletter | Table of Contents | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page 5 | Page 6 | Page 7 | Page 8 | Teachers Day/Expo Activities TEACHER'S DAY Seattle, Washington-November 16, Westin Hotel. 114 teachers attended Teachers Day. Registration was streamlined by prearranging workshops. Each teacher's check-in folder included workshop descriptions, Westin floor plans, a certificate of participation, Plasma Expo information, and a special acknowledgement of support from local vendors. David Newman's, U. of Alaska, plasma and fusion overview was extremely well received, and started the day off with a high energy level. The 6 education workshops had no more than about 20 participants in each session:
Washington State teachers attending education workshops that enhance their performance ratings were eligible to receive credits for Teachers Day activities. These credits were arranged through the local school districts. APS officers, DPP executive committee members, and program committee members had lunch with the teachers. Seattle Councilman Richard Conlin attended and greeted the teachers. Guest speaker Bo Hammer, AIP, discussed "Careers in Physics." Total attendance at the lunch was 170. Special Awards were presented to a small group of Seattle Educators that helped us plan our activities. The awards were presented at lunch. EDUCATION POSTER SESSION Each year, teachers are encouraged to attend the Education and Outreach poster session after their last workshop. A significantly larger percent of teachers attended this year's poster session, most likely because of the convenience of the two sessions. PLASMA SCIENCES EXPO: SEATTLE CENTER Thursday, November 18: 1,526 students Thursday Evening: Approximately 80 students (mostly middle school) attended, plus one to two parents per student. Some visitors had seen the publicity poster at libraries and in local weekly newspapers. Teachers Day/Expo Activities Friday, November 19: 1,480 students Expo ATTENDANCE: Total 3,086 students representing 57 schools (25 high schools and 32 middle schools) and 70 teachers (46 attended Teachers Day). Only four schools didn't show. The Plasma Expo had 22 exhibitors. Local exhibitors included Bellevue Community College and University of Washington. International exhibitors were EURATOM and Novosibirsk State University. Novosibirsk's exhibit was based on the first US-Russian Olympiad. It was refreshing to hear comments from a "first-time" exhibitor. Gary DeLeo of Lehigh University wrote: "... Lisa Regalla and I had the experience of a lifetime. By the end, we were physically and emotionally exhausted, but filled with pride and joy by the opportunity we had to do so much good--an opportunity that you so thoughtfully provided! We also found ourselves learning a great deal about the expression of complex scientific concepts to young audiences. Never in our outreach programs have we had such opportunities to repeat presentations so frequently. We were able to refine our ways of expressing these concepts throughout the two-day period, a learning experience that cannot be reproduced by sitting at a desk, or by infrequent presentations to young audiences. ...my sincerest thanks for organizing this stellar outreach expo, and for including Lehigh among the participants." In addition to the support that APS and DPP members give to Education Activities, this year DOE Fusion Energy Sciences provided funds to support ground transportation costs for students to attend the Plasma Expo. Teachers from Evergreen Middle School wrote: "The Expo, with its many hands-on learning activities and experiences, was rewarding for the students who attended. Due to budget limitations, our students do not have many opportunities to engage in educational activities beyond the normal school experience. Your generous contribution to cover our transportation costs allowed us to participate in an event that otherwise would not have been an option for us." Expo exhibitors submitted questions to teachers for student homework, or extra credit work. This approach produces more involvement between students and scientists. Plans for the future are to revise the questions/answer format requiring the students to spend more time focusing on the experiments and not be so intense on "just getting the answers." The number of "interactive, hands-on demo-type" exhibits is very popular and continues to increase to near 100%. Four years ago, about 50% of the exhibits were interactive. The number of volunteer technical staff that help "man" the exhibits has increased. New volunteers are always amazed and excited by the energy level the Expo creates. 3rd INTERNATIONAL OUTREACH COLLABORATION was held on Monday evening and attended by approximately forty (40) representatives of the national and international communities. International attendees present were Jef Ongena (EURATOM), Boris Knyazev (Novosibirsk State University, Siberia); and Andrea Blondin, Quebec Teachers Association. The 2nd US-Russian Internet Physics Olympiad was announced. Plans for the next Olympiad are progressing and will be expanded to four sites, two American (San Diego and Seattle) and two Russian sites. PUBLICITY: Featuring a presentation by Roger Feeley, University of Wisconsin, "Wonders of Physics" at the Seattle Center House on Saturday, November 13. It was well attended by over 100 students and parents. Roger also visited 4 local elementary schools and exhibited at the Expo. Donald Correll,
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