VSU Hosts Science Saturday March 4

VALDOSTA — The College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Mathematics, and Department of Computer Science at Valdosta State University will present Science Saturday: Adventures in Mathematics and Computer Science from 9 a.m. to noon on March 4 in Nevins Hall.

Science Saturday: Adventures in Mathematics and Computer Science is ideal for students in the middle grades. However, all ages are invited to take advantage of this fun-filled and educational opportunity, which will include such activities as origami folding and mathematics, music and mathematics, learning programming through games, making a robot move, using Weebly to design a website, constructing model airplanes and buildings from cardboard, going binary to solve the Tower of Hanoi, and doing geometry on a sphere.

Science Saturday is supported by VSU’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Initiative and is part of an ongoing effort to inspire the next generation to want to learn more about these areas. Faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences understand that the nation’s future economic prosperity is closely linked with student success in the STEM fields. 

“All young people should be prepared to think deeply and to think well so that they have the chance to become the innovators, educators, researchers, and leaders who can solve the most pressing challenges facing our nation and our world, both today and tomorrow,” according to the United States Department of Education. 

Educators across the nation and at VSU are committed to improving STEM instruction for students in preschool through 12^th grade, increasing and sustaining public and youth engagement with STEM, improving the STEM experience for undergraduate students at the college level, better serving groups historically underrepresented in the STEM fields, and designing graduate education for tomorrow’s STEM workforce.

Science Saturday activities are free of charge and open to the public. The next event will be held on April 8 and will be hosted by the Department of Physics, Astronomy, and Geosciences.

Contact the College of Arts and Sciences at (229) 333-5699; Dr. Haiquan Chen, associate professor in the Department of Computer Science, at hachen@valdosta.edu; or  Dr. Iwan Elstak, assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics, at irelstack@valdosta.edu to learn more.