Science cafes: real science, plus cake.

Science cafes: real science, plus cake. A MOVEMENT TO SPREAD SCIENTIFIC learning in a casual environmentthat started in Britain in the late 1990s has gotten a foothold in theUnited States United States,officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . At science cafes, adults gather at a restaurant, bar orother nonacademic spot to listen to a presentation on a scientific topicwhile enjoying their favorite beverage. Kathy Savage, science teacher at Oviedo High School Oviedo High School is a grade 9-12 public secondary school set on a 52-acre campus in Oviedo, Florida, a growing community situated in southeastern Seminole County operated by Seminole County Public Schools. in Oviedo,Fla., thought a similar program could work in her school. With thesponsorship of the Florida Academy of Sciences and assistance from otherscience teachers and the student members of the school's chapter ofthe National Science Honor Society honor societyn.An organization to which students are admitted in recognition of academic achievement. , the first science cafe was held inSeptember 2008. The program took off immediately. Now, says Savage,"I am absolutely amazed at how well these cafes are both receivedand attended." Cafes are held monthly, about half an hour after the end of theschool day. The format is simple: Over cake and punch, students listento a speaker and then ask questions. In the first year, topics rangedfrom Neanderthals to invasive species See also: Introduced speciesInvasive species is a phrase with many definitions. The first definition expresses the phrase in terms of non-indigenous species (e.g. . Savage identifies five main reasons why these science cafes areimportant: * They put "real faces" to science (which she contrastswith "the typically geeky males in many of the videos or theiraging and irrelevant teachers"). * They show students that science is something "realpeople" do. * They show real-life applications for science. * They give students opportunities to meet scientists and personswho use science in their professions--and who may be important contactsfor them later. * They serve as a "cheerleading The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject.Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. platform" for motivatingstudents to consider majoring in a science-related field in college. Most of the program's speakers have been professors orgraduate students from the nearby University of Central Florida “UCF” redirects here. For other uses, see UCF (disambiguation).UCF is a member institution of the State University System of Florida. UCF was founded in 1963 as Florida Technological University with the goal of providing highly trained personnel to support the Kennedy . Savagesays that the school was "super lucky," however, to have hadtwo big-name speakers in the program's first year: Jan Garavaglia Dr. Jan Garavaglia is the medical examiner who performs autopsies at the medical examiner's office in Orlando, Florida. She stars in on the Discovery Health Channel. External linksDr. G: Medical Examiner official site ,Orange County's medical examiner A public official charged with investigating all sudden, suspicious, unexplained, or unnatural deaths within the area of his or her appointed jurisdiction. A medical examiner differs from a Coroner in that a medical examiner is a physician. and star of Discovery HealthChannel's reality show Dr. G.: Medical Examiner, and Eugenie Scott,executive director of the National Center for Science Education. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A highlight for Savage came during a cafe given by a local man whoruns a multimillion-dollar laser technology business. In describing howa laser works he wrote "c = [lambda] x v" (speed of light =wavelength x frequency) on the whiteboard and then referred to thatequation several times. "We had recently finished an extensivelesson using that very equation," says Savage of one of herclasses. "One student raised his hand and asked, 'Do youactually use that equation?' to which the speaker replied,'Every day.'" Savage reports that the students were"flabbergasted flab��ber��gast?tr.v. flab��ber��gast��ed, flab��ber��gast��ing, flab��ber��gastsTo cause to be overcome with astonishment; astound. See Synonyms at surprise.[Origin unknown. " by this reply but also "a littleimpressed with themselves that they actually knew some 'realscience.'" Science cards for kids have appeared in other places as well,including several high schools in Portland, Ore.