January 27, 2005

Boise State University Engineering Hosts Jason Expedition and Family Engineering Day on Feb. 5

The College of Engineering at Boise State University invites families with children of all ages to watch Titanic discoverer Robert Ballard and his crew explore coastal wetlands during the live JASON expedition broadcast on Saturday, Feb. 5, in Room 106 of BSU’s Micron Engineering Center, located on the corner of Manitou and Belmont Streets.   As part of annual Family Engineering Day activities, families can also tour nearly a dozen different hands-on presentations, including using liquid nitrogen to make ice cream, launching a water bottle rocket, and viewing a wind tunnel. BSU engineering students and volunteers from the engineering profession will run the presentations.   The free event runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Families can view the JASON broadcasts at 9:30 and 11 a.m. and again at 12:30 p.m., and participate in hands-on engineering activities on the half hour in between broadcasts. The activities will be presented on a rotating basis and families should plan to arrive in time to start on the half hour and to allow enough time during the day to visit as many of the presentations as they wish.   This is the fourth year in a row that Boise State’s College of Engineering will broadcast the JASON project with the sponsorship of Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory.  In addition to the Feb. 5 broadcast, more than 830 young Idaho students will “go along” on the scientific expedition to the disappearing wetlands of Louisiana via live JASON broadcasts throughout the week. Schools who will bring students to the Boise State campus to participate in the virtual expedition include Amity, Cole, Collister, Highlands, Horizon, Jefferson, Maple Grove, McMillan, Pierce Park, Shadow Hills, St. Mary’s, and Whitney elementary schools, Meridian Middle School and Boise home school students.   The Feb. 5 event at Boise State provides an opportunity for everyone to both join the JASON expedition and learn more about engineering principles with hands-on presentations, including developing a computer language using jelly beans, spending time with the microlander – an asteroid lander and rover simulator — and activities involving hydroturbines, an inverted pendulum, the college’s Segway, and West Point Bridge Design. Families can also practice getting dressed in cleanroom suits and learn about dynamic random access memory (DRAM) – the type of memory used in most personal computers – by using a DRAM  simulator in presentations offered by Micron Technology Inc.   Programs listing the times and locations for all the hands-on engineering presentations will be available in the lobby of the Engineering and Technology building, located on the corner of Manitou and University.                                                                         -more-   Local co-sponsors for Family Engineering Day include Discovery Center of Idaho, Micron Technology Inc., Boise Independent School District, and INEEL.   Free parking for Family Engineering Day events is available in the Student Union parking lot or at the Bronco Stadium parking lot. The Engineering and Technology building is located on the corner of University and Manitou, across from Bronco Stadium. There will be an admission fee at the Discovery Center of Idaho.   The JASON Project is a program of the JASON Foundation for Education, named in the spirit of the Greek myth of the explorer Jason and the Argonauts. It was founded by Ballard, who, after discovering the wreck of the Titanic, received thousands of letters from students around the world who wanted to go with him on his next expedition.   Since 1999, Ballard has led a week-long research project with scientists, and selected students and teachers from grades 4-9 from across the country. The results of their research expedition are available through JASON broadcasts to schools. The BSU broadcast will feature research topics including dynamics of marsh building, best methods to restore coastal wetlands, and how satellite remote sensing can monitor changes in wetlands.   The JASON Project components include scientific exploration, curriculum, online systems, teacher training and live broadcasts. For more details on programs and a complete list of sponsors, visit www.jasonproject.org.   For more information about the Family Engineering Day activities contact Leandra Aburusa-Lete at the College of Engineering at Boise State University, (208) 426-4432 or e-mail her at laburusa@boisestate.edu. More information about the JASON expedition is available at www.jasonproject.org.   Additional JASON activities will be held at the Discovery Center of Idaho, 131 Myrtle Street, from Jan. 31 - Feb. 4. For information, call 343-9895. On Feb. 5, special displays about wetlands will also be offered at the Discovery Center, a brief walk from the Micron Engineering Center building.     -30-   Media Contacts:  Margaret Scott, College of Engineering, (208) 426-5789, margaretscott@boisestate.edu, Janelle Brown, News Services, (208) 426-1790, jbrown2@boisestate.edu Online at http://news.boisestate.edu