Maddie (a FORSE student) and her mentor are studying how to compost natural fabrics

FORSE Mentoring Teams Dive into Experiments

Science Fair experiments are underway for students and mentors participating in our FORSE program at Bdote Learning Center. Students came up with a wide range of creative research ideas this year! Student-mentor teams are meticulously sorting water samples, conducting surveys of their peers, carefully feeding insect larvae, preparing their rockets for test launches, and more! Teams will work together to summarize their research in preparation for their upcoming Science Fair.

How did they think of that?!: The beginning of students' Science Fair journeys

If you've ever stood in the midst of hundreds of unique Minnesota State Science and Engineering Fair (MSSEF) projects, you've probably caught yourself wondering how students come up with so many creative ideas. We asked our 2019 participants where inspiration for their projects came from, and discovered that 'aha moments' are often connected to five main areas: school, community issues, personal interests, the environment, and health.

Many students embarked on their projects in a bid to make a difference in their family, community, or world. One 2019 MSSEF student said that the idea for their project came because "my grandmother has diabetes so I wanted to better understand the subject. I knew pancreases and glucose had to do with diabetes so I decided to test that. I made my artificial pancreas and then created my tests." Another 2019 student told us "whenever I go up to my lakehouse I see all this damaging salt on the roadways, so I thought about what I could do about this."

SSEF provides an unparalleled opportunity for students to gain skills related to conducting independent research. In fact, of our 2019 SSEF participants, 94% reported increased research skills and 86% noted their capability to work independently had improved! And it all begins with that moment of inspiration for a great project. To learn more about project inspiration from our 2019 participants, read our complete story.

Minnesota Diversity in STEM Events

This winter is bringing a blizzard of opportunity to celebrate diversity within Minnesota's STEM communities. Here are some highlights:

Science Fusion: Connect with the diverse community of scientific professionals from the Twin Cities through hands-on science experiments and activities at the Science Museum of Minnesota. Look for MAS at:

African Americans in Science on Saturday, January 18
Latinx Americans in Science on Saturday, January 25
Native Americans in Science on Saturday, February 1
Asian Americans in Science on Saturday, February 8

Minnesota African Americans in STEM Hall of Fame: Explore an exhibition of African Americans who made their mark on STEM in Minnesota at the Minnesota African American Heritage Museum in Minneapolis. Ongoing.

STEM Voices Book Launch: Hear stories of Minnesota immigrants and refugees working in STEM while networking and participating in a conversation about the meaning of leadership. February 15 at the Science Museum of Minnesota.

In 1920, Warren Upham published Minnesota Place Names — In 1920, Warren Upham published *Minnesota Place Names*

From the Archives: Excerpt from A Recent Visit to Lake Itaska, by Warren Upham (1889)

"Besides the generally crooked course of the road, detours from it must be made in many places to pass around large fallen trees, some of which were lordly white pines that rose to a height of one hundred feet and had withstood the storms of a century. Stumps and boulders, the latter occasionally very abundant, projecting six to eighteen inches in the wheel ruts, jounce and jolt the wagon merrily... A shaky bridge, the uppermost on the Mississippi, built of tamarack poles, carried us safely over Craig's Crossing, seven miles due north of the mouth of Itasca, the stream there being about about twenty feet wide and twelve to eighteen inches deep." - Published in the Bulletins of the Minnesota Academy of Natural Sciences, Bulletin I, Volume III

Read the full text of A Recent Visit to Lake Itaska and browse the full journal. Learn more about the history of the Minnesota Academy of Science.

180 Minnesota High School Students to Compete in State Science Bowl

On January 25th, 36 teams from across Minnesota will demonstrate their science and math skills during the Minnesota Academy of Science's High School Science Bowl. The 180 students compete head-to-head in five-person teams to solve technical problems and answer questions in all branches of science and math. The tournament runs in a fast-paced, Q&A format where students race to ring in with their answers first. Each team plays multiple games in a round robin tournament, competing to advance to a double-elimination championship. As a regional competition of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the winning team will receive an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C. to compete in the DOE's National Science Bowl. Last year, Minnesota's regional champions from Wayzata High School won the National Science Bowl!

Science Bowl competitions offer students who excel in math and science a chance to go beyond classroom learning and strengthen their teamwork skills. "I'm able to learn stuff I wouldn't learn in class," said Geoffrey Chen, a member of the winning 2019 Wayzata team. STEM competitions like Science Bowl provide recognition and encouragement to the next generation of STEM students, opening the door to STEM majors and careers. Learn more about the 2020 High School School Science Bowl schedule and location.

The Time is Always Right to Donate!

Our volunteers and donors enable us to create opportunities for Minnesota students to pursue questions they care about, share their knowledge, network with like-minded peers, and connect with STEM professionals. When students take their learning beyond the classroom and receive recognition for their efforts, they gain conﬁdence and begin to envision a future in STEM. MAS seeks to expand opportunities and open doors to STEM majors and careers for all Minnesotan students. To do so, we need your support.

Visit our website to donate!

Volunteer and Judge Registration Opens for State Science and Engineering Fair and JSHS

Did you know that 450 volunteers and judges are needed to make the Minnesota State Science and Engineering Fair (MSSEF) and the North Central Regional Junior Science & Humanities Symposium (JSHS) successful? The MSSEF and JSHS provide opportunities for Minnesota students to expand their scientific thinking, educational pathways, and connections. The projects and explorations of our participants will inspire you - many of our young scientists spend hundreds of hours researching their projects and papers to prepare for these events. We need your help to make it happen. Register to volunteer or judge at the MSSEF here. Register to volunteer or judge at the JSHS here.

MSSEF and JSHS judges are typically university faculty, industrial engineers and scientists, representatives of private and federal research centers, medical practitioners, researchers, and graduate students. Undergraduate students in the STEM fields are welcome to judge at the middle school level.

Judging shifts for JSHS: Thursday, March 26

7:30 am - 2:00 pm (1st round judging)
1:00 pm - 10:00 pm (callbacks judging)

Judging shift for MSSEF: Friday, March 27
8:30 am - 4:00 pm

If you have questions regarding judging for JSHS or MSSEF please contact Ally Milenkovic.

We also need 120 general volunteers who are passionate about STEM education and can offer skills ranging from organization, data entry, registration, photography, chaperoning, time-keeping and other administrative and general tasks. Shifts are available in 3-8 hour ranges before the events and throughout the duration of the events.

If you have questions regarding volunteering for JSHS or MSSEF please contact Sara Gomez.

Minnesota STEM News

Astronomy: UMN-Twin Cities professor studies magnetic field of spiral galaxy 47 million light-years from Earth

Ecology: DNR captures first invasive silver carp

Biomedical Engineering: Interdisciplinary team at UMN-Twin Cities works to develop a 'smart bandage'

Ecology: Citizen scientists across Minnesota fight buckthorn

Medicine: UMN-Twin Cities professors investigate how secondhand smoke impacts cardiovascular health in children

Computer Science: St. Thomas launches Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence

Chemistry: UMN professors explain the hazards of household cleaners and how to protect your family

Physics: MSU-Moorhead professor studies sodium glasses as potential energy storage devices for renewable energy

Genetics: Researchers at UMN-Twin Cities present a new method of delivering gene editing reagents to plants

Public Health: UMN-Twin Cities study finds that teen obesity, unhealthy eating habits and less physical activity are linked to low amounts of sleep

Biology: Team including UMN-Duluth professor finds that eutrophication in worldwide lakes will significantly increase methane emissions within the next century