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The “Topics” list that we offer is constantly changing according to the suggestions we receive from educators, UIUC Professors and their availability. Note that it takes some time once a topic is suggested for us to find a Professor on campus to teach that subject. Please check back with this page for updates.
Last Updated May 3, 2007
Science
|
Title |
Description | Grade Level | Professor | Standards |
|
Up and Away |
A professor discusses lift and drag, how airplanes defy gravity using simple forces and maybe give a tour of a wind tunne; or show visual models of turbulence. The students will then design paper airplanes and tinker with wing shape and weight distribution to create new designs. | 6
-12 |
||
| The Quest for ETs: Are we Alone? | More than half of all Americans believe in aliens, but what do we really know about ET life? In the last 10 years we have gone from knowledge of only 9 planets around only our sun to more than 100 planets around many suns. In the near future, NASA will have missions that may find signs of life on Titan, under the oceans of Europa, evidence of life on mars, or even imaging of Earth-like planets around nearby stars. In this discussion, I will summarize the current status of one of the ultimate questions, and perhaps raise some new ones. | 6
-12 |
||
| Open your Eyes to the Skies | Look up at the stars, but instead
of using eyes sensitive at optical wavelengths, look with eyes sensitive to light at millimeter wavelengths. What would you see? Would it look different? Did you know that at millimeter wavelengths the sky is just as dark in the day as at night? We can see molecules glowing in space at millimeter wavelengths: carbon monoxide, vinegar, alcohol, and even urea. The University of Illinois, partnered with three other Universities, owns and operates the largest millimeter array of telescopes in the world. We will learn about the night sky at millimeter wavelengths, use the remote control camera at the observatory, and look at the sky with new eyes. |
6
-12 |
||
| Stars and Planets: Where do they come from? | Stars are forming in our Milky
Way Galaxy from the interstellar material. Planets are expected to form
during the first 10 Million years of star formation and evolution. The professor
will show how we study the formation and evolution of these young stars
and planets using the radio-telescope CARMA, partially owned by the University
of Illinois. He will also talk about the advantage of probing the sky at
radio frequencies in order to better understand star and planet formation. |
6
-12 |
||
| Mummy Dearest | Was it a boy or a girl? How old? What did he or she eat? Learn how an Egyptian mummy can be investigated without unwrapping it. Using medical imaging technology, a supercomputer, and tiny samples of wood and cloth, a team of scientists and doctors reconstruct the life of a child in Roman Egypt. | 6
-12 |
||
| What is a "fretless piano?" | Lippold Haken has invented a new electronic instrument, the Continuum Fingerboard. It is like a “fretless piano”; the performer can play pitches between the normal piano keys, and the performer can play vibrato and tremolo. Hear and see a demo of this new instrument. | 6
-12 |
||
| How secure is our future food supply? | Find out what the affects to our planet are predicted to be on the rising atmospheric carbon dioxide and ozone concentrations. | 6
-12 |
||
| Photons to food and fuel... | Learn how photosynthesis works to power the planet. | 6
-12 |
||
| Molecular Machines | Learn how DNA provides the blueprint for life. | 6
-12 |
||
| Kissin' Cousins: Plants and Air | Can plants
play a role in mitigation of climate change? How could this effect the future of Illinois agriculture. |
6
-12 |
||
| The Sky is the Limit | Skyscrapers are amazing engineering accomplishments that express the creativity and adventure of the human spirit. A civil engineering professor talks about Chicago skyscrapers, including the new Trump Tower now under construction. Challenges of tall buildings and building materials to accomplish these structures are discussed. | 6-12 |
||
| Desktop Structures | A civil engineering
professor talks about building bridges, towers, and beams that are often
encountered in junior high and high school competitions. Science Olympiad
Events such as Tower and Boomilever and Beam use physical principles and
construction techniques that deliver high strength and stiffness without
being too heavy. Truss design, connection details, and load distribution
concepts are discussed. |
6-12 |
||
| The Origin of the Universe | One of the
grandest scientific inquiries is the quest to understand the origin of our
Universe: How did it all begin? How big is it? How will it end? In this
dicussion I will present the currently accepted standard model that answers
some of these questions. |
6-12 |
||
Gravity
and |
Everyone is
familiar with the concept of gravity as a force, we experience it every
day! But what causes gravity? In this discussion, I will discuss the concept
of gravity, first, by using the historical perspective with which most people
are familiar, and finally, by using concepts from general relativity. We
will conclude by examaning some of the amazing consqeuences of gravitity,
such as a black hole. |
6-12 |
Technology
|
Title |
Description | Grade Level | Professor | Standards |
|
Up and Away |
A professor discusses lift and drag, how airplanes defy gravity using simple forces and maybe give a tour of a wind tunne; or show visual models of turbulence. The students will then design paper airplanes and tinker with wing shape and weight distribution to create new designs. | 6
-12 |
||
| The Quest for ETs: Are we Alone? | More than half of all Americans believe in aliens, but what do we really know about ET life? In the last 10 years we have gone from knowledge of only 9 planets around only our sun to more than 100 planets around many suns. In the near future, NASA will have missions that may find signs of life on Titan, under the oceans of Europa, evidence of life on mars, or even imaging of Earth-like planets around nearby stars. In this discussion, I will summarize the current status of one of the ultimate questions, and perhaps raise some new ones. | 6
-12 |
||
| Open your Eyes to the Skies | Look up at the stars, but instead
of using eyes sensitive at optical wavelengths, look with eyes sensitive to light at millimeter wavelengths. What would you see? Would it look different? Did you know that at millimeter wavelengths the sky is just as dark in the day as at night? We can see molecules glowing in space at millimeter wavelengths: carbon monoxide, vinegar, alcohol, and even urea. The University of Illinois, partnered with three other Universities, owns and operates the largest millimeter array of telescopes in the world. We will learn about the night sky at millimeter wavelengths, use the remote control camera at the observatory, and look at the sky with new eyes. |
6
-12 |
||
| Stars and Planets: Where do they come from? | This session is intended to peak students curiosity and inform them of how stars and plants are formed. | 6
-12 |
||
| Mummy Dearest | Was it a boy or a girl? How old? What did he or she eat? Learn how an Egyptian mummy can be investigated without unwrapping it. Using medical imaging technology, a supercomputer, and tiny samples of wood and cloth, a team of scientists and doctors reconstruct the life of a child in Roman Egypt. | 6
-12 |
||
| What is a "fretless piano?" | Lippold Haken has invented a new electronic instrument, the Continuum Fingerboard. It is like a “fretless piano”; the performer can play pitches between the normal piano keys, and the performer can play vibrato and tremolo. Hear and see a demo of this new instrument. | 6
-12 |
Engineering
|
Title |
Description | Grade Level | Professor | Standards |
|
Up and Away |
A professor discusses lift and drag, how airplanes defy gravity using simple forces and maybe give a tour of a wind tunne; or show visual models of turbulence. The students will then design paper airplanes and tinker with wing shape and weight distribution to create new designs. | 6
-12 |
||
| What is a "fretless piano?" | Lippold Haken has invented a new electronic instrument, the Continuum Fingerboard. It is like a “fretless piano”; the performer can play pitches between the normal piano keys, and the performer can play vibrato and tremolo. Hear and see a demo of this new instrument. | 6
-12 |
||
| The Sky is the Limit | Skyscrapers are amazing engineering accomplishments that express the creativity and adventure of the human spirit. A civil engineering professor talks about Chicago skyscrapers, including the new Trump Tower now under construction. Challenges of tall buildings and building materials to accomplish these structures are discussed. | |||
| Desktop Structures | A civil engineering
professor talks about building bridges, towers, and beams that are often
encountered in junior high and high school competitions. Science Olympiad
Events such as Tower and Boomilever and Beam use physical principles and
construction techniques that deliver high strength and stiffness without
being too heavy. Truss design, connection details, and load distribution
concepts are discussed. |
Math
|
Title |
Description | Grade Level | Professor | Standards |
|
Up and Away |
A professor discusses lift and drag, how airplanes defy gravity using simple forces and maybe give a tour of a wind tunne; or show visual models of turbulence. The students will then design paper airplanes and tinker with wing shape and weight distribution to create new designs. | 6
-12 |
||
| What is a "fretless piano?" | Lippold Haken has invented a new electronic instrument, the Continuum Fingerboard. It is like a “fretless piano”; the performer can play pitches between the normal piano keys, and the performer can play vibrato and tremolo. Hear and see a demo of this new instrument. | 6
-12 |
||
| The Sky is the Limit | Skyscrapers are amazing engineering accomplishments that express the creativity and adventure of the human spirit. A civil engineering professor talks about Chicago skyscrapers, including the new Trump Tower now under construction. Challenges of tall buildings and building materials to accomplish these structures are discussed. | |||
| Desktop Structures | A civil engineering
professor talks about building bridges, towers, and beams that are often
encountered in junior high and high school competitions. Science Olympiad
Events such as Tower and Boomilever and Beam use physical principles and
construction techniques that deliver high strength and stiffness without
being too heavy. Truss design, connection details, and load distribution
concepts are discussed. |