Tag: STEM Café
Most of the Midwestern tall grass prairie vanished in the 19th century with the rise of the steel plow, but researchers say that prairie restoration is essential for maintaining native plant and animal habitats, improving water and soil quality and reducing erosion. Here in Illinois, NIU professors are fighting to save the prairie ecosystem at...
Here come the meteors! Once a year, our planet crosses the path of the Swift-Tuttle Comet. Debris from the comet’s tail slams into the Earth’s upper atmosphere, creating the dazzling Perseid meteor shower. This year, watch the meteors streak across the sky with NIU STEM Outreach at “Star Gazing,” a STEM Café event at Bliss...
Snare drums snap, bells ting-a-ling and flutes whistle like birds. But why does one instrument sound any different than another? And how do objects produce sound in the first place? NIU alum Andrew Morrison has spent his career using physics to study these questions. At the next STEM Café, he will present “Good Vibrations: The...
Why have we not cured the diseases we call cancer after decades of intensive research? How much progress have we made? What is “precision” or “personalized” medicine, and how does it apply to the underpinnings of cancer biology? These are some of the important questions that will be addressed by Barrie Bode at the next...
Take a closer look, and America’s favorite summer sport becomes a field of intriguing physics questions. Can a rising fastball really rise? How much do curveballs actually curve? And do knuckleballs really flutter as they make their way toward the batter’s box? Particle physicist, baseball fan and knuckleball enthusiast Jahred Adelman will explore these questions...
Diseases that were once nearly eradicated in the Western world are again threatening both young children and adults. Although numerous studies have proven the safety of vaccinations, low vaccination rates in some communities are causing outbreaks of whooping cough, measles and other serious but preventable diseases. At the next STEM Café, DeKalb County Public Health...
Maybe you’ve seen one at your child’s school, in a downtown museum or even at the local big box home store. 3-D printers are popping up everywhere, getting cheaper, and are easier to use than ever before. Advances in 3D printing are actually allowing researchers and average folks to print everything from car parts to...
Cancer is something we hear about every day, and nearly everyone has had a family member or friend affected by it – but what exactly is it? Why have we not cured the disease after decades of intensive research? These are some of the important questions that will be addressed by Barrie Bode at the...
Inexpensive high-tech gadgets and online do-it-yourself instructions are enabling regular folks to move manufacturing and high-tech tinkering out of factories and labs and into basements and garages. This can-do attitude and embrace of new technologies are at the heart of the Maker Movement, a growing subculture that shares ideas, tools and work spaces as they...
From monkey business to monkey fossils, monkeys hold a prominent place in humor as well as in scholarly research. STEM Café’s January presentation will explore the ways that our primate cousins offer keys to understanding the development of human life. On Tuesday, Jan. 20, Northern Illinois University’s STEM Café will present “More Fun than a...
Pettee Guerrero is the embodiment of a STEM Diva. An educator with NIU STEM Outreach in the Center for P-20 Engagement, Guerrero lives for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). She has an infectious enthusiasm for both STEM learning and NIU that is on full display in her high-energy demonstrations. She can be seen on...
Last year’s polar vortex caused some of the most severe winter weather Illinois has seen in the past 50 years, and the recent cold snap has everyone wondering what this winter will bring. Is the polar vortex part of global warming or proof that it doesn’t exist? STEM Café invites you to find out at...