CENI Newsletter — October 2022
October 3, 2022
There are lots of educational outreach happenings to celebrate this month! In addition to calls for exhibitors for the upcoming Nov. 12 Virginia Tech Science Festival and currently underway weekly Hokie for a Day fifth grade field trips, Hokie BugFest and Roanoke STEAM Day are coming up! Congratulations to Amy Price Azano and the newly announced Center for Rural Eduation and our friends with Hip Hop Studies at Virginia Tech and Digging at the Crates for being recognized at the Engagement Scholarship Consortium!
-Chelsea and Phyllis
Call for 2022 Virginia Tech Science Festival Exhibitors!
CENI invites faculty, students, student organizations, community members, and community organizations to be part of the Virginia Tech Science Festival. The Virginia Tech Science Festival is back and in-person Saturday, Nov. 12, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., at the Moss Arts Center and Newman Library. Science is bigger than you think. Science is a way of thinking and includes social sciences, the art of science, the science of arts, humanities based on data, business based on data, and much more. This is an opportunity to show our community the breadth and depth of the work we do at Virginia Tech.
Bring your enthusiasm, your experience, and your willingness to have two-way conversations with young learners. Sign up by Oct. 6, 2022. Questions? Email us at ceni@vt.edu.
Call for 2022 Hokie for A Day Exhibitors!
CENI invites Virginia Tech faculty, students, and student organizations to participate in a Hokie for a Day Expo. Hokie for a Day offers fifth-grade students a unique opportunity to experience college life. The visit includes a discussion of college majors, a conversation about how to get to college, an expo with hands-on academic experiences from Virginia Tech faculty and students, lunch at an on-campus dining hall, and a chat with a student-athlete. CLICK HERE (and scroll down to Hokie for a Day Exhibitor info) for more information about when and how to participate.
Meet the Campus Engagement Network
We are thrilled to announce the 2022-23 Campus Engagement Network members. These faculty and staff partners work in the preK-12 sphere and work to make interactions between Virginia Tech and our preK-12 partners positive experiences. Convened by the Center for Educational Networks and Impacts (CENI), the Campus Engagement Network is composed of representatives from colleges, research institutes, and other on-campus organizations who provide educational outreach opportunities to preK-12 and adult learners on campus and off. Dr. Phyllis Newbill, Associate Director of Educational Networks, convenes monthly meetings of the Network to share collaborations, best practices, networks, marketing, and events. The Network focuses on infrastructure, research, policies, safety, equity, and relationships that support our mission.
- Shara Appanaitis, Moss Arts Center
- Amy Price Azano, School of Education
- Brian Bond, College of Natural Resources and Environment
- Brent Bowden, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC
- Kristy Collins, Fralin Life Sciences Institute
- Vicki Corbin, College of Science
- Daniel Frank, Hokie Bugfest
- Pamela Gilchrist, Alexandria - Innovation Campus
- Glen Holmes College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences
- Benjamin Knapp, Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology
- Carrie Kroehler, College of Architecture, Arts, and Design
- Meghan Weyrens Kuhn, VT Engage: The Center for Leadership and Service Learning
- Kim Lester, College of Engineering
- Kayla McNabb, University Libraries
- Tim Miles, Office of Youth Protection
- Barry Miller, Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science
- Ron Poff, Pamplin College of Business
- Courtney Powell, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
- Karen Eley Sanders, College Access Collaborative
- Hannah Scherer, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
- Cathy Sutphin, Cooperative Extension
- Sara Sweeney, Maker Camp
- Scott Weimer, Virginia Tech Roanoke Center
- Sarah Wray, Reynolds Center
Welcoming a New CENI Student Employee
Hi! My name is Baitong Liu, and I am a senior majoring in Clinical Neuroscience. I am excited to join CENI working on the funded project (RETTL: Facilitating interactive, shared learning through a cross-device virtual reality system in science museums) as an evaluation assistant! I am passionate about science education so I hope to contribute meaningful work. I look forward to working with the team as well as getting to know the patrons at the Science Museum of Western Virginia. In my free time I enjoy listening to music, creating art, and spending time with friends and family.
CENI and CENI Partners in the News
- Hip-hop community engagement project, autism center win national awards - read more here.
- New Center for Rural Education to focus on educational equity - read more here.
- Eminent researchers around the country help launch the new Center for Rural Education - read more here.
- Enrichment experience for students rom rural communities - watch more here.
- Virginia is for bug lovers with Virginia Tech’s five bug-centric events across the state this fall - read more here.
Broader Impacts
- Chelsea Haines and Brandon Senior, PhD Student in Higher Education, presented a poster at the Engagement Scholarship Consortium on Sept. 22, 2022 titled “What do we mean by service learning in undergraduate education? A scoping review.”
- Phyllis Newbill presented at the Association of Science and Technology Centers annual conference on Sept. 18, 2022 about partnering with museums.
- CENI's faculty grant partners generated $3,000 for the 2022 Virginia Tech Science Festival through their Broader Impacts efforts.
CENI Educator Liaison Corner
Montgomery County Public Schools
Students from Montgomery County Public Schools have been busy visiting the Virginia Tech Roanoke Center this past month. Middle school students from Auburn and Shawsville Middle Schools traveled to Roanoke for a full day of learning and discovery with The Qualcomm® Thinkabit™ Lab at the Virginia Tech Roanoke Center. Students investigated and analyzed their strengths, interests, and values; learned how to program Arduino microcontrollers; and engaged in the Engineering Design Process to create an original invention to help solve a real-life issue. My favorite student quote from the trip was, “I really like programming these, I want to do this as a career!”
Interested in partnering with MCPS? Contact me!
Amy Guerin (amyguerin@mcps.org)
CENI Educator Liaison Corner
Virginia Tech Roanoke Center
Roanoke STEAM Day is coming on Friday, Oct. 28, 2022! Roanoke STEAM Day is hosted by partners that include the Virginia Tech Roanoke Center, Virginia Tech Ware Lab, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, Science Museum of Western Virginia, Taubman Museum of Art, Virginia Museum of Transportation, Radford University Carilion, Clean Valley Council, and Virginia Western Community College. Registration is open now for exhibitors and those who wish to attend.
Science Museum of Western Virginia
- The LAB Jr. will be returning to SMWV- this preschool based STEM programming will provide our youngest scientists with the fundamentals to computer sciences and other STEM topics.
- The SMWV Education Department has new leadership! The Education Department welcomed Katie Brooks as Director of Education and Lesley St. Clair as Assistant Director. Danielle Murray has transitioned out of her role as Education Director and accepted a new position as Director of Development.
- In addition to partnering with area school systems, SMWV and Virginia Tech Roanoke Center are partnering to ensure a wider community has access to the programming being offered.
- SMWV will resume our monthly WDBJ7 visits. These program spots will offer short STEM activities to viewers during the 4:00pm time frame.
Highlights from the Campus Engagement Network
Wonder Universe
Wonder Universe is hosting its first annual "wonderRUNiverse" 5K and all-ages Family Fun Run on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022 on the Huckleberry Trail behind the Uptown Christiansburg Mall. They are raising funds to support the mission of their museum to educate, amuse, and inspire children and their families in our region through playful learning. For more information and to register, visit wonderuniverse.org/run.
Wonder Universe also continues to seek STEM Saturday volunteers for the Fall and beyond. Please email hello@wonderuniverse.org if interested in volunteering to host a Saturday morning STEM exploration activity at the museum.
Congratulations Hip Hop Studies!
Hip Hop Studies at Virginia Tech accepted the Excellence in Student Community Engagement Award at Engagement Scholarship Consortium on Sept. 22, 2022 in Athens, Georgia.
Upcoming Deadlines and Events
10/7: Fall Break (No Classes - University Offices Open)
10/8: Hokie BugFest (located at Squires Student Center)
10/28: Roanoke STEAM Day
11/5: Optimize Your Makerspace
11/12: Virginia Tech Science Festival
Please submit items to Chelsea (clyles@vt.edu) for CENI newsletters.