Sit Down and Hold On: USU Science Week March 20-24

Utah State University’s student-led Science Council hosts Science Week March 20-24 with a variety of activities for campus and community to increase awareness of scientific study and research opportunities at the university.

“As you ease back into campus life after spring break, enjoy some entertaining, fun activities that share information about our college and the impact of our research,” says Tim Peterson, College of Science senator and a junior biology major.

 

The week kicks off with the “The Great Egg Drop Competition” outside the north entrance (TSC Patio) of the Eccles Science Learning Center at noon. “What better way to start the week than with a classic experiment that demonstrates the physics of motion, gravity, force and velocity?” says Peterson.

 

Teams from each department in the College of Science will have to think outside the egg carton to come up with ways to drop eggs from the roof of the ESLC without breaking them. Will the heavily favored physicists succeed? Will the mathematicians and computer scientists come up with algorithms that best the biologists? The geologists will have to use fresh eggs – not prehistoric fossils – and the chemists are sure to cook up an entertaining formula.

 

“We’ll see who can avoid egg drop soup,” says Peterson. “It’ll be a lot of fun to watch.”

 

Not to be missed is Science Week Comedy Night, co-sponsored by the council and the Student Activity Board, at 7 p.m. in the Taggart Student Center Evan N. Stevenson Ballroom. Featured entertainers are Denver comic and Paralympic soccer player Josh Blue and Comedy Central’s Megan Mooney. The gathering is free.

 

The ever-popular Science Quiz Bowl returns with student teams from each College of Science department vying for a coveted traveling trophy to prove their scientific prowess. (No doubt some of the teams will be licking their wounds from Monday’s egg drop and eager for a comeback.)

 

The competition begins at 12:30 p.m. in the TSC Stevenson Ballroom and features a display of posters recently presented by science undergraduate researchers at the annual Posters on the Hill gathering at the Utah State Capitol building in Salt Lake City. Learn about the Bluetongue virus, Triassic-era armored reptiles, earthquakes simmering beneath the earth’s surface, ancient microbial communities and more.

 

Also on Wednesday, hear Sara Ryan, campus and youth organizer for Washington D.C.-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State, speak at 3:30 p.m. in the TSC Stevenson Ballroom.

 

“My talk will be about the ways in which the Religious Right is attempting to impose one religious belief on the American people and government through science-related public policies,” says Ryan, a 2005 graduate of The Pennsylvania State University. “They work to prevent the passage and implementation of the most factual scientific policies related to pharmacists, science education and the right to life.”

 

“We really want to encourage everyone to attend this lecture and participate in the question and answer session that follows,” says Peterson.

 

Wednesday evening, rock out with your fellow Aggies at the Science of Sound Songwriting Competition at 7 p.m. in the TSC Stevenson Ballroom. Enjoy performances by student musicians as they present their original compositions for a panel of judges.

 

Songs will be judged using a point system based on such criteria as lyrics, technique, presentation, clarity, and rhythm along with audience response – so show up and cheer for your buddies!

 

“This competition is a fun way to get students from the whole university involved and showcases some serious talent while we’re at it,” says Peterson. “Plus, KSM Guitars of Logan has hooked us up with a sweet guitar as the grand prize, so the evening’s winner will be lugging that bad boy home.”

 

Science Week concludes Friday with a marathon LAN party and ultimate Starcraft computer game tournament in the Engineering building’s third-floor computer lab from 6 p.m. to midnight. (Thanks, Engineers!) This activity is open to USU students only.

 

Utah State’s College of Science includes the academic departments of chemistry/biochemistry, biology, computer science, geology, mathematics and statistics and physics. More than 1,400 undergraduates and more than 270 graduate and doctoral students are currently enrolled in degree programs administered by the college.

 

Parking for Science Week activities is available in the university parking terrace at 850 E. 700 North. The Taggart Student Center and Eccles Science Learning Center are a short walk from the parking terrace and the Logan Transit District Route 1 and 4 bus stop at the Veterinary Science building on 700 North.