Longmont High MESA Scores High Points in Fall Fling Boat Building Contest!

Longmont High School MESA students demonstrated their engineering and teamwork skills during the Fall Fling Boat Building Contest by winning 4th place (out of 24 schools). Co-sponsored by Colorado MESA and CU Boulder Multicultural Engineering Program (MEP), this two-day event brought over 250 high school students from nearly 30 Colorado high schools around the state to the University of Colorado at Boulder campus on November 6th and 7th, 2008. MESA teams competed in two separate engineering team challenges: the 2008-09 MESA USA National Multi-Task Trebuchet Design Challenge and a Boat Building Design Challenge.

Join St. Vrain MESA in congratulating MESA advisor, Chris Chou and her MESA students Melissa Bushey, Tamara Lhungay, Melissa Pinkerton, Doug Thalacker, Larkin Poynton, Margaret Fox, Brie Braach, Megan Echols, Carl Vitale, Shawn Tylor for their excellent achievement and for representing MESA and Longmont High School well.

St. Vrain MESA Students Shine at STEMapalooza!

The first annual STEMapalooza was held October on October 24 and 25 at the Denver Convention Center. The purpose of the event was to bring constituents together to better appreciate and understand how each contributes, develops and establishes continuing relationships among stakeholders, engages policy makers and the media, spotlights the successes, and creates an atmosphere of shared responsibility. The audience for the event included: business and industry, formal educators at all levels, parents, government agencies, informal educators, chambers of commerce, non-profit coalitions, and others.

MESA Students from Casa de la Esperanza welcomed STEMapalooza organizers and other STEM dignitaries at a kick-off banquet held at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science on October 23. They demonstrated their robots, answered questions about MESA, and handed out St. Vrain MESA brochures.

Colorado MESA's booth hosted MESA programs from around the state including St. Vrain MESA students from Centennial Elementary, Trail Ridge, and Frederick High entertained the crowd by engaging them in hands-on activities.

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St. Vrain MESA Goes Green!

"Living Green" will be a main theme for the 2008-2009 school year. MESA students will participate in projects focusing on renewable energy, sustainable development, ecology, and other related topics. Skyline and Frederick High MESA programs will continue with their electric vehicle design and build project and the focus of "Science is Everywhere" is alternative energy. Colorado MESA is promoting a wind turbine design and build project that will become part of MESA USA's annual competition for 2009. Eco-Cycle, the Longmont Conservation District, Thorne Ecological, and Frederick High portable green house project will also feature environmental themes. Let us know if you have other programs or projects that support this year's theme!

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St. Vrain MESA Advisor Project Fair Highlights Education Outreach Partners!

On September 11, the Summit Retreat at Xilinx was abuzz with education outreach partners as St. Vrain MESA advisors visited a variety of displays. Twenty-three partners including Fiske Planetarium, the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, Eco-Cycle, and Thorne Ecological presented their education programs. Live animals from the Zoo and Aerie Nature series particularly piqued interest. As a result of the Fair, more than 60 programs were scheduled for MESA students at 19 district schools, Head Start MESA and Casa Esperanza MESA. Thanks to our amazing MESA advisors, MESA partners, and Amgen Mini-grants, St. Vrain students will enjoy a year filled with enrichment activities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) activities.

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Casa MESA Boosts Participation in FIRST Robotics Projects and Continues Physics Project!

LEGO parts and pieces are eagerly put in place by Casa MESA students as they create robots for the Junior FIRST LEGO League and FIRST LEGO League projects. Jr. FLL is for 8 and 9 year olds and FLL is for 10-13 year olds. Due to the popularity of FLL, Casa will have two teams this year.

Interest in robotics began three years ago big brothers and sisters from the high school Casa MESA FIRST Robotics team began competing in FIRST Robotics projects. This year's team will begin designing and building their robot in January, 2009.

Robots aren't the only story at Casa. The Community (PISEC) Junior Scientist League from JILA is continuing with the Physics Project that was begun last summer at Casa. Details may be found below under the JILA NSF Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics Frontier Center story.

Centennial Elementary First in US to have
MESA for Every Student!

The newly opened Centennial Elementary School in the St. Vrain Valley School Distict is considered a MESA School! During the second week of school, over 400 K-5 students participated in hands-on activities in the MESA lab. Helen Douglass, MESA teacher, reflects on her experience with kindergarten students as she guided them through a "mystery object" inquiry activity.

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Frontiers of Science Institute

Frederick High MESA student, Linda Palacios participated in the six week long Frontiers of Science Institute at the University of Northern Colorado in July. With the assistance of her two UNC mentors, Linda designed and built a solar powered robot. Linda said her experience was enhanced by working with her mentors, learning more about technology, gaining content knowledge in math and science as well as learning the technical writing skills needed to produce a scientific paper gave her more confidence in her abilities as a learner. St. Vrain MESA thanks Lori Ball, Program Administrator; Zach Armstrong, Casey Kuhns, and Adam Wilson, UNC Mentors, and The Rollie R. Kelley Family Foundation for supporting Linda. For more information about Frontiers of Science Institute, visit their website.

St. Vrain MESA thanks Drs. Laurel Mayhew and Noah Finkelstein from JILA and CU students, Jessica Bartley and Heather Bankowski, for making this summer opportunity possible!

The JILA NSF Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics Frontier Center sponsors after school and summer programs for under represented K-12 students as part of the Partnerships for Informal Science Education in the Community (PISEC) Junior Scientist League. PISEC collaborates with the Physics Education Research group in the University of Colorado Department of Physics to assess the students' content understanding, attitudes about science and the nature of science, and desire to pursue science or math careers. In addition, we are interested in using new technologies such as stop action motion movies and simulations to engage students and facilitate learning, especially for ESL students who will be able to show us what they know instead of only writing on a worksheet. This summer, we held a 4 week summer camp for middle school students (grades 5-8) at Casa de la Esperanza in Longmont, CO on the topic of states of matter. The content learning goals of the camp included identifying solids, liquids, and gases, and be able to understand the particle nature of different states of matter. For example, we wanted the students to understand that in general solids have a higher density and stronger particle interaction than liquids or gases, and that when a substance changes phase, the same number of particles are present, they just behave differently. We found that most students were initially able to tell the difference between solids, liquids, and gases, but few had a sense of the particle nature, and a few would choose science or math as a career. After the camp, most students were able to demonstrate the particle nature of solids, liquids, and gases, and several more students said they would choose science or math as a career. We are very proud of the students from Casa de la Esperanza and look forward to working with them again this school year!

Skyline High MESA and Frederick High MESA Students Participate in an Electric Vehicle Competition!

Five cars competed in an electric vehicle competition held at the Front Range Community College Campus on May 11. Entries in the event were from MESA teams at Skyline and Frederick High, Front Range Community College, and a vehicle designed by a professional engineer. CU Boulder's Multicultural Engineering Program mentors, Josh McDaniel and Carlos Silva, assisted the Skyline team. Ken Jones, MESA advisor Julie Constantine, and others guided the Frederick MESA team. The Skyline MESA vehicle placed Second! Students, mentors, advisors, and parents all agreed that building the vehicles was an important learning experience. Perhaps one of our St. Vrain MESA students will be on a design team for a future electric car! See more photos....

St. Vrain MESA Students and Programs Earn Honors at the Colorado MESA Annual Awards Banquet!

Maria Gonzalez Saldana, 4th grade Rocky Mt. Elementary student, Esteban Gonzalez, 9th grade Casa MESA student, and Emelin Miller, 12th grade Longmont High student, were recognized as Outstanding MESA Students by Colorado MESA at this year's Awards Banquet in May.

Trail Ridge Middle School MESA and advisors, Liz Sims and Josh Goldstein received an Outstanding MESA Program award. Trail Ridge has over 75 active students that engaged in a host of MESA projects including a special "Girls Night Out" program that connected MESA girls with female engineering students from CU at Boulder. Rocky Mountain Elementary and Frederick High received Honorable Mention awards as outstanding programs.

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Lyons Middle School MESA Flies High!!

Lyons middle school students participating in the Mathematics, Engineering and Science Achievement (MESA) program visited Skyventure in Denver on Saturday, March 15. Skyventure is an indoor skydiving facility that uses a vertical wind tunnel and certified instructors to simulate a relatively safe skydiving experience. Thirty-two students and several parents participated in the activity. Each participant went through a brief training session with a certified instructor, who then accompanied them into the wind tunnel for two minutes of flight time.

Casa MESA Team Brings Home Outstanding Teamwork Award and Qualifies for the Colorado FIRST LEGO League Championship Event!

A team of enthusiastic middle school MESA students from Casa de la Esperanza competed in the 2007 Boulder FIRST LEGO League Qualifier Tournament at the University of Colorado at Boulder on Saturday, November 17. The rookie team prepared for the Qualifier by designing and building robots that pushed miniature wind turbines or performed other tasks related to renewable energy. They were expertly guided by MESA advisor, Michael Lozano, and retired IBM engineer, Wayne Bauer. The team was rewarded for their efforts by receiving a trophy for the "FIRST LEGO League Challenge Outstanding Teamwork Award Boulder FLL Qualifier 2007". The team will advance to the Colorado FIRST LEGO League Championship Event at the Auraria Event Center on December 15. Join us for the Championship Event and cheer for the Casa MESA FIRST LEGO team!

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This year the FIRST LEGO League Power Puzzle focus was "Global Resources-Meeting the World Demand". Students explored how energy production and consumption choices affect the planet and our quality of life today, tomorrow, and for future generations. They investigated how our personal energy choices to heat our homes, fuel our cars, charge our cell phones, power our computers, or even download music to our iPods impact the environment, economy, and life around the globe. Click "Play" below it view a short video.

Coal Ridge MESA Students Take Off with NASA!

What do balloons and beach balls have to do with rocket science? How fast must a rocket travel to escape the gravity of Earth and launch into space? What factors must people consider if they want to send a rocket into space? Jose Matienzo answered questions like these when he visited MESA science students in Colorado earlier this year. Jose is an engineer from NASA (National Aeronautic and Space Association) who works with teams that design and build rockets. Jose also loves to visit with young people! This fall he visited science students at a variety of schools, including Coal Ridge Middle School in Firestone, Colorado. The pictures show him with some of the MESA students from Coal Ridge. The students have just been learning about the Bernoulli effect, and the fact a rocket (even a heavy, loaded rocket with supplies and people) must be able to travel 18,000 miles per hour!

Mary Magee, Coal Ridge MESA Advisor

MESA Approved as a Science Elective in St. Vrain's Middle and High Schools!

Skyline High, Altona and Coal Ridge Middle Schools will continue to offer MESA as a science elective this year. Students will earn .5 hours credit per semester. If your school would like to offer MESA as a science elective, please see Advisor Information for specific course numbers. Check with Jeremy LaCrosse, Science Coordinator, for details about establishing MESA as a science elective.

Please see Advisor Information

Casa de la Esperanza/MESA Team Wins Special Trophy at the Western Regional FIRST Robotics Competition!

After more than 100 hours of intensive work designing and building a robot for the FIRST Robotics Competition, the Casa MESA FIRST Robotics team was awarded a special trophy: "FIRST Robotics Competition Highest Rookie Seed Award" for points scored during the competition in January, 2007.

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St. Vrain MESA Students and Programs Recognized for Achievements!

In addition to Casa/MESA's FIRST Robotics award, several MESA students and programs received scholarships and special recognition during the '06-'07 school year.

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MESA in Head Start

If you can, imagine over 150 children (under age five) eagerly engaged in hands-on math and science activities during their Head Start classes at four Longmont locations including the Powell Building, Casa de la Esperanza, United Methodist Church, and the Seventh Day Adventist Church. While participating in a Latino Parent Leadership Training Project Class, Dulce Gonzales, Head Start parent, asked the simple question, "Is there MESA in Head Start?" This question prompted a flurry of grant writing to purchase hands-on math and science kits and Head Start MESA became a reality. Thanks goes to Dulce. Gonzales for raising the issue and others for supporting it, including Amgen, The Education Foundation for the St. Vrain Valley, the Youth Asset Fund, the Longmont Children's Council, St. Vrain MESA, El Comité de Longmont, Boulder Community Action Program, parents of Head Start students, and the amazing Head Start teachers.

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Science is Everywhere!

On March 11, 65 fourth and fifth grade MESA students from Columbine, Spangler, Lyons, Loma Linda, Indian Peaks, Burlington, Rocky Mountain, and the Erie Girl Scout/MESA group participated in Science is Everywhere at Columbine Elementary. Seven local science organizations including: CU Science Discovery; Thorne Ecological Institute; National Center for Atmospheric Research; National Institute of Standards; The Watershed Approach to Stream Health; CU Fiske Planetarium, CU College of Engineering’s Integrated Teaching and Learning Lab provided hands-on activities on a variety of topics.

Science Really is Everywhere!

MESA Family Night at Fiske Planetarium Draws a Large Crowd!

On March 18, approximately 190 MESA students and family members headed to Boulder for a special Fiske/MESA Family Night. The program at Fiske featured demonstrations and activities that were presented by the local science organizations for the MESA students at the Saturday Science is Everywhere Event. Families visited each activity station giving students the opportunity to teach their families what they learned at the week before. Tito Salas presented a bilingual star show in the Planetarium Theater. Attendees enjoyed a delicious dinner catered by a Casa Alvarez.

Pictured is The De'Leon-Guiterrez Family

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WB2 Mile High Skies Program Presentation

WB2 Meteorologist Dave Fraser and Julia Pirnack, College in Colorado and Longmont's Mayor, present WB2 Mile High Skies program for Sunset MESA students!

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IBM brings Mindstorm Robotics to Columbine MESA program

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Featured Student

Diana Silva is one of MESA's success stories. Diana became involved with MESA as a junior at Skyline High School. She was both a MESA advisor and MESA student. Diana inspired MESA students at Spangler Elementary and Heritage Middle schools. Through her work with MESA, Diana was introduced to the Aerospace Engineering program at CU Boulder and she is now in her second year in engineering. Diana continued her work with MESA through CU's Aerospace Engineering Outreach Program, Citizen Explorer.

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MESA Project Hosted by Xilinx

Xilinx Colorado hosted “Operation Montserrat” for the Lyons Middle School MESA program (Math Engineering and Science Achievement) on Friday afternoon, February 25th. After two months of learning about vulcanism, hurricanes, disaster planning and collecting and interpreting data, the 7th & 8th grade students participated in a two-hour electronic mission. 17 students used their math and science skills, as well as problem solving, teamwork and communication skills, in an authentic crisis situation. The students worked in four teams--volcano, hurricane, evacuation or communication.

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