| 8th
graders visit UI
GEAR UP Idaho took the Prairie 8th graders to visit the University of Idaho campus in Moscow last week. The GEAR UP program is a federal grant with the goal of helping students prepare for postsecondary education (college or other training). One of the ways we do this is by exposing the kids to different experiences on college campuses. Our visit to U of I started with a fun activity in the Human Anatomy lab. The Human Anatomy instructor presented a lab on human skeletons and forensic science. The kids learned how to identify the bones of male and female skeletons and used math to calculate the estimated height of someone based on just one arm or leg bone. Our next stop was at the offices of the NASA Idaho Space Grant Consortium. There, the students were challenged to create a marble “roller coaster” mounted on the wall using tubing, cardboard, paper and lots of masking tape! Each group of four students worked together to create a roller coaster with three turns, one loop, and one free fall. It was a tougher challenge than they thought it would be, but they did great. After eating lunch at Bob’s Place (which is located in the Wallace Complex dorms) we headed to the University of Idaho Dairy Center behind the mall. There we were given a tour of the operation including the calves a few days old to the milking cows that were up to 8 or 9 years old. We also went into the milking parlor and learned about the process of milking the cows and collecting the milk. Our final stop of the day was at the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity where a senior from the U of I talked about college life and expectations. They discuss why college is important, how to pay for it, how it is different from high school and how to prepare for it. The kids seemed to enjoy his talk and asked lots of great questions. 
University of Idaho Human Anatomy instructor, Candi Heimgartner, talks to 8th graders Meagan Hohman, Sarah Ross and Alexis Shears during the GEAR UP Campus Visit about identifying human bones. 
One of the GEAR UP Campus Visit activities at the University of Idaho was to build a marble “roller coaster” on the wall. Here, Trista Latimer, Sydney Bruner, Delaney Uhlenkott, and Leah Higgins sit by their completed project. Photos provided by Colleen Sonnen. |
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