B.O.L.T. Teaches “Sweet” Science at Overton Elementary

B.O.L.T. members visited Overton Elementary Friday afternoon on February 10^th, 2012 to host another interactive science club with young students.  The topic of this week’s science club was cells. Students learned about the importance of cells, their basic functions, and different types of cells that can be found within the human body. Students were very engaged in the presentation given to learn about cells, and were even more excited for the post-talk activity. Students split into two large groups for students to create their own cell cookies. Diagrams of animal and plant cells were shown to the students and B.O.L.T. members taught them the differences between these two types of cells. When asked which type of cell they wanted to create, the students quickly responded with animal cells since those were the type of cells found within their own bodies. While making the cell cookies, B.O.L.T. members took turns telling the children about each organelle within the cell and their function. Afterwards, students placed candy pieces on their frosted cookies that represented a specific organelle. Once the cell cookies were completed, students enjoyed eating the sweet treat they created. B.O.L.T. had a wonderful time once again at Overton Elementary school with their students enthusiastic to learn about science!

Post By: Kristen Granados

Encounter with Engineering (EWE)

On Sunday, February 11th, girls from high schools all across the state traveled to the University of Texas at Austin to learn about the different types of engineering majors at the Encounter with Engineering event (hosted by the Society of Women Engineers at UT). BOLT managed the biomedical engineering room, teaching young women about engineering and giving them an introduction both on BME and life as a college student. The  students also participated in a hands-on activity in which they were tasked with removing “tumors” from “tissue” with a surgical tool they developed using common household objects. At the end of each hour session, the students competed against each other in a timed competition that put their tools to the test by maneuvering through a challenging tumor-ridden obstacle course for prizes. The students (and the volunteers!) all enjoyed themselves and many girls expressed interest in pursuing further careers in engineering and the sciences.

To see more pictures from the event, visit our Flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/texasbolt/sets/72157629282819445/

Post By: Sunayna Rajput

First Science Club Meeting of 2012!

On January 27th, BOLT traveled to Overton Elementary to volunteer with the after school science club program. The team hosted an atom building project where each student was asked to count out the correct number of fruit loops that corresponds to the number of protons and neutrons a particular element in the periodic table possesses. These components made up the nucleus. Then, the students matched the correct number of electrons (symbolically represented with “nerds“ candy) to their nuclei. The little atomic particles were then pasted to paper plates, labeled and turned into necklaces or wall ornaments. It was a fun evening, and we are looking forward to volunteering with the kids again soon!

Longhorn Halloween gets “Zombified” by BOLT

On Sunday October 30, 2011 hundreds of families dressed up in their most festive costumes to attend Longhorn Halloween at the Frank Erwin Center. The annual event is sponsored by our university and offers student organizations a chance to give back to the Austin community by preparing interactive, Halloween themed activities children and their parents will enjoy. B.O.L.T. members decided to create organ zombies this year, in particular Justin Bieber and President Obama zombies!

Initially all the organ parts of the zombies looked a little too clean, so Halloween makeup and fake blood were smeared onto the parts to give the zombies a more authentic look. The children quickly recognized the Justin Bieber and President Obama head cutouts placed on the zombies. B.O.L.T. members helped children put back together the body parts on the zombie figures while teaching them about the function of each organ, bone, and muscle. The children enjoyed the puzzle of unscrambling all the zombie parts and putting them back together. Moreover, many parents thanked B.O.L.T. for putting together a fun activity in which their kids could also learn about the human body. Overall the zombies were a huge hit at Longhorn Halloween and B.O.L.T. is looking forward to next year’s event!

To see more pictures from the event, visit our Flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/texasbolt/sets/72157629280807855

Post by Kristen Granados

Overton Elementary Science Club

On October 14^th, BOLT was invited to assist the after school program at Overton Elementary to give a small presentation about cells, and then host a hands-on activity. The activity was intended to follow up with what have been presented to the kids, so we all made cell cookies. All the kids were really excited and participated very enthusiastically, especially when they were told they could eat their “cell” afterwards. All the BOLT volunteers walked the kids through the main organelles of the animal and plant cell and used a variety of candy that closely resembled the shape of the organelles. The event was definitely a success and everyone left very happy with tummy’s full and smarter than before.

To see more pictures from the event, visit our Flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/texasbolt/sets/72157629280756413

Post by Alejandra Aldon

Science Discovery Project: Bio Babes!

Who Benefited?:  The Girl Scout Troops of Central Austin

Event Description:   Occurred in September 18, 2011 at the Girl Scouts Headquarters. The team split up into groups and lead the girls in different activities – DNA extraction, DNA name coding, cell cookies, emulsion exercise, organ t-shirts, and check your pulse.

How Did It Go?:   The event went smoothly and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Most of the girls put good effort into the activity and seemed to learn a little about biology. When the event was over, the troop leader gave us girl scout goodies – cookies, nuts and candies. This was the fourth year BOLT has hosted the event, and they invited us back next year, so that is exciting!

A big thank you to all who volunteered!

To see more pictures from the event, visit our Flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/texasbolt/sets/72157629280856667

BOLT earns the WEP K-12 STEM Outreach Certificate

BOLT has earned the certificate by reaching the following requirements:

1. minimum 5 members certified individually
2. minimum 1 officer certified individually
3. organizational participation in Explore UT and Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day
4. completed one additional organizational K-12 outreach activity during the academic year

This is very exciting. I want to say a give a big thank you to everyone who made this possible. It seems like all of our hard work is paying off. Let’s keep it up!