News Release| IMPACT LA; Cal State L.A.

August 16, 2011

Media Advisory
August 18-19, 2011; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Future engineers, scientists to build solar cookers, race cardboard boats, design DNA molecule balloon models

Summer camp to make an “IMPACT” on 80 6th- through 8th-graders at Cal State L.A.

Note to editors and news directors:  More than 80 6th- through 8th-graders from throughout the Greater Los Angeles will participate Thursday and Friday, Aug. 18-19, in the 2011 IMPACT LA Summer Camp at Cal State L.A. Led by CSULA science and engineering graduate students, the two-day camp is designed to “impact” the middle-school students by helping them see themselves as future engineers and scientists.

Sparking their interest in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields, the campers will participate in creative design challenges, innovative science activities and outdoor games. Here are some photo opportunities:

Thursday, Aug. 18:

9 to 9:30 a.m. – Warm-up demonstrations with styrofoam cup air drums (Engineering & Technology courtyard) and liquid nitrogen rockets (E&T courtyard)

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (groups of students will rotate through each activity per hour) –  Hands-on activities with marshmallow shooters (E&T courtyard), mini electric screwdrivers (E&T C249) and solar hotdog cookers (E&T C252)

Friday, Aug. 19:

9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (groups of students will rotate through each activity per hour) – Hands-on activities with water balloon DNA human molecules (La Kretz courtyard) and rats rule! race (E&T C248)

2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. – Cardboard boat design group activity begins at 2:30 p.m., followed by the boat race in the campus pool at 4 p.m.

IMPACT LA stands for Improving Minority Partnerships and Access through CISE*-related Teaching (*CISE refers to “Computer and Information Science and Engineering”).  Funded by a five-year, $3 million grant (Grant No #0742426) from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the program pairs college graduate students and local K-12 math or science teachers.  For more about the IMPACT LA NSF Graduate STEM Fellows in K-12 Education Program, go to http://impactla.calstatela.edu.   

Media representatives are welcome to observe the activities from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Organizers, teachers and students will also be available for photos and interviews. To make arrangements, call the Public Affairs office ahead of time at Cal State L.A., (323) 343-3050. 

Cal State L.A. is located at the intersection of the 10 and 710 freeway. Public permit dispenser parking is available in Lot 5 and upper level Parking Structure C. For campus map and directions, go to /univ/maps/cslamap.php.

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Working for California since 1947: The 175-acre hilltop campus of California State University, Los Angeles is at the heart of a major metropolitan city, just five miles from Los Angeles’ civic and cultural center. More than 20,000 students and 220,000 alumni—with a wide variety of interests, ages and backgrounds—reflect the city’s dynamic mix of populations. Six Colleges offer nationally recognized science, arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education and humanities programs, among others, led by an award-winning faculty. Cal State L.A. is home to the critically-acclaimed Luckman Jazz Orchestra and to the Honors College for high-achieving students, opening in fall 2011. Programs that provide exciting enrichment opportunities to students and community include an NEH-supported humanities center; a NASA-funded center for space research; and a growing forensic science program, housed in the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center. www.calstatela.edu