SEP Session 3, Day 6 (5-8)

Each day, we will feature several courses. The number of courses posted about each day will vary depending on our schedule and tasks for the day. Throughout the session, we will feature as many courses as possible.

We apologize that there was no post Friday, interns were were busy fulfilling various other duties.

*Images of cow eye dissection ("Explorations in Neuroscience") are included at the bottom of this post*

Friday in "The Energizers and Catalyzers in the Biochemical Process," students went on a field trip to Wilsdorf Hall Lab at UVA. Students visited a crystallization lab, explored the crystallization of a baking soda and water mixture, and made their own crystals. Students also worked on their biochemistry of bananas projects.

Today in "Blueprint to You," students did research in preparation for their GMO debate.

This afternoon in “Solar Circuits and Solar Homes,” SEP 5-6 campers had a guest speaker Dr. Tom Dietz came to a speak to them about the chemistry and economics of a zero energy home. Dr. Tom Dietz is another SEP teacher who teaches a class all about electric and autonomous vehicles during sessions one and two of camp. Today students were asked to brainstorm different problems in a typical home that waste energy. Students then used these problems to start thinking about energy-efficient solutions and what elements a low energy home should have. 

Today in "Engineering Hogwarts," students worked in groups to design and test catapults. Following the catapult competition, students worked in groups to design and build the strongest bridge.

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Today in "Architecture: Redesign in order to Reuse," students began brainstorming for their redesign of the Landmark hotel in downtown Charlottesville.

Today in "On the Brink...Innovations in Warfare in WWII," students began class with a group activity aimed at developing a list of criteria for a successful landing and invasion on D-day. Students then had time for research on their final projects where they have the freedom to research any topic related to WWII. After research time, students learned more about D-day.

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Today in "So You Want to Change the World," students began class by finishing up solution presentations that they began on Friday. In these presentations, groups presented several solutions to the problem they have been researching and received feedback from classmates. Following presentations, students continued researching solutions based on the feedback they received.

5-6 topics: gender equality, global warming, juuling, too much unhealthy food and LGBTQ+ rights

7-8 topics: school shootings, global warming, hole in ozone layer and ocean pollution

Today in "How to Make a Podcast," students worked on recording their podcasts.

Today in "Do as Romans Do," students learned several Latin phrases and were introduced to Roman entertainment. In particular, students learned the Virginia state motto "Sic Semper Tyranus" and the American motto "E pluribus unum" among others. Some of the forms of public entertainment discussed in class were chariot races (specifically the Circus Maximus), gladiatorial contests, mock sea battles, wrestling matches, theater, and going to public baths.

In "Financing Your Future," students received salaried jobs and calculated their net income. Once students learned their annual salary amount, they had to calculate their monthly salary. Then, federal tax deductions of 20%, Fica deductions at 6.2%, and medicare expenses at 1.45% were deducted. All of the students quickly realized that they were paying a third of their monthly income in taxes. Later on in the class, students also had to pay back student loans and purchase a health care plan from several options since they were turning 26 years old. Fortunately, all the students had an employer who paid 75% of their health insurance.

Today in  "Math, Statistics, Game Theory," students learned about randomization and the placebo effect. Then, the focus of the class shifted to experiments. An experiment was defined as a scientific technique used to test a hypothesis; also, an experiment usually has a treatment and a control. Additionally, students differentiated between independent variables (treatment or cause) and dependent variables (observed outcome or effect). Moreover, the rest of class was spent manipulating an average treatment effect algorithm and either accepting or rejecting experimental hypotheses.

Today in "Engineers Can Change the World," students began class by presenting their redesigns of the STAB cafeteria. After recess, students worked in groups to begin their final project. For their final project, students will pick a SEP problem to tackle, identify stakeholders, come up with questions, interview stakeholders and come up with a solution that works for all stakeholders.

In "(Super) Human Physics," students learned about kinetic energy and gravitational potential energy as they are related to jump height. Students did a lot of graphing and data analysis today.

Today in "Periodic Explorations," students learned about John Dalton's atomic theory as well as Berzelius' ideas surrounding atomic masses. Additionally, students were educationally entertained when they applied their understanding of elemental properties like reactivity and atomic mass to hypothesize what they thought would happen in three different experiments. Each experiment was a latex balloon filled with a different gas (e.g. helium, hydrogen, and hydrogen and oxygen) that was lit with a flame.

Today in "Explorations in Neuroscience," SEP 7-8 scientists had the opportunity to dissect cow eyeballs. Students learned about the different parts of the eyeball and their functions, by looking at the eyeballs closely. 

Best,

Nicole, Olivia and Abby