4th quarter jan march 2014 newsletter

SSTS X@axãá _xààxÜ

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volume 4, Issue 3 January-March 2014

volume 4, Issue 3 January-March 2014

On The Road!!!

The Science and Technology Education Unit of the Scientific Research Council this quarter displayed at four major expos.

In this issue On The Road Congratulations

To combat challenges faced by a decreased travel budget the unit has only been visiting expos where many schools or a wide audience will be in attendance. Among these this quarter were: Manchester/St. Elizabeth 4H Achievement Day, Tarrant Primary’s Jamaica Day, Knox Community College’s College Day and Northern Caribbean University’s Career Day.

Manchester 4H Achievement Day

The achievement day was held on February 28, at Bellaire High School and saw students and mentors from 4H clubs from both parishes displaying and competing in activities such as a speech competition. The day was under the theme “Promoting Sustaining Agriculture, Impacting Climate Change”.

The day attracted thousands of 4H clubbites, their sponsors and teachers and capped off in the evening with a concert featuring local artistes.

Straw Tower Activity

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Mrs. Doreen Dietrich (right) speaks to a student about the products and services of the SRC.

A section of the audience at the Manchester 4H Achievement Day.

Tarrant Primary’s Jamaica Day

The SRC joined Tarrant Primary on March 4 as they celebrated Jamaica Day 2014 under the theme “Celebrating Jamaica: Sporting Greatness in Our Community”. The school focussed

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION YOU MAY CONTACT THE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION UNIT: 1 Telephone: (876) 927-1771-4 Fax: (876) 927-0806 Email: ssts.src@gmail.com Editor: Ms. Felicia Bailey

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volume 4, Issue 3 January-March 2014

on community development as a way of promoting Marcus Garvey’s ideology with emphasis on community development and in particular how small industries can grow into large companies over time.

Knox Community College’s College Day

Knox Community College hosted their college day on March 10. The day saw schools from within the area viewing a variety of booths setup on the grounds.

The SRC’S display showcased the diverse service and products of the council with a special emphasis on Wastewater treatment.

A student poses for a second while viewing the wastewater treatment model.

Ms. Olive Chambers, Laboratory Analyst in Analytical Services at the SRC explains wastewater treatment to a group of students.

Northern Caribbean University’s Career Day

March 25 saw the Northern CARIBBEAN University hosting its 2014 staging of its annual Career Expo under the theme ‘Employability Skills: Your ticket to the future’. The expo put on by the Career and Employment Department was not just for students to view exhibits but was also a means for students to network and be recruited by some exhibitors.

The event boasted several workshops and talks by professionals and young entrepreneurs and topped off with a keynote address from Immediate Past President – Jamaica Employer’s Federation, Mr. Wayne Chen.

A glimpse of the SRC booth at NCU Career Day 2014.

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Tissue Culture plants displayed by the SRC at the NCU Career expo.

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Congratulations

volume 4, Issue 3 January-March 2014

John is a Munro past student and was a participant in the SSTS Oratory Competiton in 2011 where he was the first place winner in the Central Regional Competition . He went on the represent Jamaica in the Caribbean Youth Science Forum in Trinidad in 2012.

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volume 4, Issue 3 January-March 2014

Straw Tower

The Challenge: Using only 25 pins and 50 straws, build a tower that can stand on its own and can support the most weight. straws

scissors

straight pins thimbles

shoe box 100 pennies

1. Build a skyscraper that can hold a shoebox filled with 100 pennies.

2. You can only use straws and pins to build your skyscraper.

3. Pins can be very sharp, so make sure you get permission to use them, and make sure to use thimbles to help press the pins through.

4. Build a skyscraper that can hold a shoebox filled with 100 pennies.

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volume 4, Issue 3 January– March 2014 Competing: • Your Tower must be able to stand by itself.

• The height of the Tower will be measured before any loading begins. To compete your Tower must be at least 30 cm (about 12 inches) high.

• Each participant will place the cardboard square on their tower and load as much weight as they can onto it.

The loading of the weight can be done small amounts at a time. The Tower must stand by itself with any given weight for 5 seconds to count. Minor adjustments to the tower will be allowed as weights are added as long as these do not take more than 10 seconds to do.

• If time permits, each participant will have 2 chances to load weight and may work on their Tower between their chances.

Winners: The winner will be the person whose Tower gets the highest score determined as follows: Multiply the height (in centimeters) times 2 and then adds the greatest mass (weight) supported (in grams).

Some Things to Think About: • The ability of your Tower to hold weight is probably more important than its height as long as it reaches the minimum height to compete; 30 cm.

• Cross bracing will help strengthen your tower.

• Triangles are stronger structurally than squares.

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