Science Saturdays Begins This Weekend

VALDOSTA -- Valdosta State University’s College of Arts and Sciences has planned a variety of activities to excite young people about the world of science during Science Saturdays, slated to begin Oct. 8 from 9 a.m. to noon.

The Science Saturday program is part of the College of Arts and Sciences STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Initiative. The goal of the STEM initiative is to encourage students to major in STEM areas and help students succeed in those programs. The program puts science and math into a fun and entertaining context and allows students to see basic scientific principles in action.

“We held a Science Saturday last winter with the chemistry department and it turned out to be a huge success with approximately 200 students and their parents attending,” said Dr. Gary Wood, professor and coordinator for the Center of Applied Research. “Based on comments from the parents, we expanded the program to all of the sciences. The main goal for us is to excite kids about science, keep them excited and possibly influence them to make it a career choice.”

The first Science Saturday was held on Feb. 12 as an outreach event to commemorate the International Year of Chemistry. Wood said that the College of Arts and Sciences hopes to make the series an annual event.

“This is our first large program and we are all excited and optimistic that it will be well-received by the community.”

Science Saturdays Schedule (subject to change)

October 8
Chemistry Department
Title - Health: Our Life, Our Future
Location - Bailey Science Center
Coordinator - Donna Gosnell
Contact Information - dgosnell@valdosta.edu


October 29
Sociology and Anthropology Department
Title - Science in Criminal Justice and Anthropology
Location - Bailey Science Center
Coordinator - Joyce Chan
Contact Information - wjchan@valdosta.edu

December 3
Department of Physics, Astronomy & Geosciences
Title - Physics, Astronomy, Geosciences and Engineering
Location - Nevins Hall
Coordinators - Jason Allard & Perry Baskin
Contact Information - jmallard@valdosta.edu ; pbaskin@valdosta.edu

March 24, 2012
Math Department
Title - Adventures in Mathematics and Computer Science
Location - Nevins Hall
Coordinators - Greg Harrell & Krishnendu Roy
Contact Information - gharrell@valdosta.edu ; kroy@valdosta.edu