Workshops

Workshop Descriptions

Friday, May 17 is workshop day.

Attendance in the workshops is limited so registrants will rank their top choices and be signed up on a first come, first served basis until filled.

Friday Morning Workshops

Workshops have been organized into tracks made up of three separate 50-minute long sessions. Participants will rank their top five track choices when registering.

Track 1

Pollution Control Join the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit in Duluth to learn about how they regulate industry, commerce and environmental response in Lake Superior and the Boundary Waters of Minnesota. Presented by Jeromy Cowell with the U.S. Coast Guard.

Express Yourself Art helps us view the world through a new lens. Learn about Lake Superior's layers and zones and communicate what you’ve learned through art. Here, you’ll get the chance to create an original song, skit or visual piece. Presented by Sharon Moen with Minnesota Sea Grant.

Sculpting Your Surroundings Explore UMD’s Bagley pond and forest to create ephemeral sculptures by collecting natural materials and forming structures that will line the perimeter of the pond and then melt back into nature. Presented by Lisa Fitzpatrick with the UMD Viz/MMAD Lab.

Track 2

Sustainable Forestry Learn which trees are good for harvest and which ones are not. We’ll do this by observing what happens when water hits the ground and learn how forestry management can affect everything around us. Presented by Guy Priley, Desmond Fielding and Chase Davies.

Taking Action Through Art & Stewardship Be prepared to talk and get moving as students from the Conserve School lead a variety of interactive activities around and share how they’ve been affected by what they’ve learned at this specialized school. Presented by Helen Clanaugh and Ahna Webster.

Climate Connections How is the overall climate affecting the Great Lakes and what can we learn from analyzing lake water temperatures, ice cover, and regional air temperatures? Also, learn what effects climate change could have on Lake Superior. Presented by Jay Austin with the Large Lakes Observatory.

Track 3

Clean It Up Mississippi River water is used dozens of times by the cities located along the river. Work as an environmental engineer in this workshop and create a process to clean the wastewater. Presented by Joan Chadde with Michigan Technological University.

Tummy Turning What do fish eat? Find out by examining their stomach contents in this workshop where you will also learn more about the complex food web of a great lake. Presented by Chia-An Lin.

Dive into Lake Superior Data Students will dive into Lake Superior without getting wet! Manipulate data and learn about logarithmic plotting to gain insight on how light decays in a water column. Presented by Angela Sharp with the UMD Mathematics & Statistics Department.

Track 4

Click Here Learn about Ojibwe treaty rights, human relationships with the natural world, and tribal preservation of natural resources through an interactive online tool called Kahoot. Presented by Paula Maday with Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission.

Life On The Page Plant pressing can produce beautiful images and provide an invaluable record for researchers. Visit the UMD Herbarium which has more than 48,000 dried botanical specimens in storage and learn how to preserve plant samples of your own. Presented by Gretchen Meier.

Science Sleuthing What can you discover about your local neighborhood using online resources? In this workshop, you’ll use citizen science data from www.gbif.org to create a story map of your home base. Presented by Tom Hollenhorst and Lauren Votava with the EPA Mid-Continent Ecology Division.

Track 5

Honey I Shrunk the Plastics Plastic contamination is common in fresh water like Lake Superior down to a microscopic level. In this workshop, we’ll dig into sand, analyze the particles of plastic we find and learn how to minimize plastics in our local freshwaters. Presented by Elizabeth Austin-Minor and Katie Schreiner with the Large Lakes Observatory and Emma Watson with Marshall School.

Solving Scientific Mysteries Explore the scientific method and put your brains to work by conducting a series of experiments with live termites! Presented by Wendy Reed, Dean of the Swenson College of Science & Engineering.

Power Up Take a stroll with UMD students to look at solar arrays. They’ll show you how they’ve increased solar power production on campus and share ideas for how you can get your school on board with solar. Presented by Mindy Granley with the UMD Office of Sustainability.

Track 7

Tree Teamwork Step into the shoes of foresters, engineers, and biologists and work as a team in this interactive exercise around managing public forest land and forested watersheds. Presented by Jason Butcher with the USDA Forest Service.

What does it all mean? Through art, free-writing, and meditation you can learn how important a place like Lake Superior is in terms of culture, identity, and community. Presented by Milly Timm.

Sneak Peek Visit the planetarium to preview a production in progress! The Bell Museum, Marshall. W Alworth Planetarium and Large Lakes Observatory are partnering to create interactive water resources programs for planetariums in Minnesota (scheduled for release in spring 2020). You can be the first to see it and hear the story of water in Minnesota and how our personal and public choices about water have implications far beyond our borders. Presented by the UMD Marshall W. Alworth Planetarium.

Track 8

Sculpting Your Surroundings Explore UMD’s Bagley pond and forest to create ephemeral sculptures by collecting natural materials and forming structures that will line the perimeter of the pond and then melt back into nature. Presented by Lisa Fitzpatrick with the UMD Viz/MMAD Lab.

Pollution Control Join the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit in Duluth to learn about how they regulate industry, commerce and environmental response in Lake Superior and the Boundary Waters of Minnesota. Presented by Jeromy Cowell with the U.S. Coast Guard.

Express Yourself Art helps us view the world through a new lens. Learn about Lake Superior's layers and zones and communicate what you’ve learned through art. Here, you’ll get the chance to create an original song, skit or visual piece. Presented by Sharon Moen with Minnesota Sea Grant.

Track 10

Dive into Lake Superior Data Students will dive into Lake Superior without getting wet! Manipulate data and learn about logarithmic plotting to gain insight on how light decays in a water column. Presented by Angela Sharp with the UMD Mathematics & Statistics Department.

Clean It Up Mississippi River water is used dozens of times by the cities located along the river. Work as an environmental engineer in this workshop and create a process to clean the wastewater. Presented by Joan Chadde with Michigan Technological University.

Tummy Turning What do fish eat? Find out by examining their stomach contents in this workshop where you will also learn more about the complex food web of a great lake. Presented by Chia-An Lin.

Track 12

From Data to Decision Making Examine and weigh the many factors that go into making a forestry management plan. From field work that identifies the plants, animals and invasive species in the ecosystem to determining timber harvests that will contribute to the economy and provide a strategic management plan. Presented by John DuPlissis and Jeff Jackson.

Honey I Shrunk the Plastics Plastic contamination is common in fresh water like Lake Superior down to a microscopic level. In this workshop, we’ll dig into sand, analyze the particles of plastic we find and learn how to minimize plastics in our local freshwaters. Presented by Elizabeth Austin-Minor and Katie Schreiner with the Large Lakes Observatory and Emma Watson with Marshall School.

Sneak Peek Visit the planetarium to preview a production in progress!  The Bell Museum, Marshall. W Alworth Planetarium and Large Lakes Observatory are partnering to create interactive water resources programs for planetariums in Minnesota (scheduled for release in spring 2020). You can be the first to see it and hear the story of water in Minnesota and how our personal and public choices about water have implications far beyond our borders. Presented by the UMD Marshall W. Alworth Planetarium.

Track 13

Solving Scientific Mysteries Explore the scientific method and put your brains to work by conducting a series of experiments with live termites! Presented by Wendy Reed, Dean of the Swenson College of Science & Engineering.

It’s All Connected Have you ever thought about Lake Superior and the lands and waters around it through the lens of treaty rights? Why are they important to tribal culture and health? Through maps and stories, our workshop will explore how treaty rights are woven into the history and ecology of Minnesota. Presented by Kari Hedin and Shannon Judd with the Fond du Lac Reservation.

Stormwalk Water Let’s take a walk and tour the many storm water features on the UMD campus. Stormwater drains have #nofilter so many tools and tactics are used to keep Lake Superior clean. Presented by Jonna Korpi with the UMD Office of Sustainability.

Track 15

Painting for Science Adam Swanson is a painter committed to a healthy climate and has worked as an artist-in-residence on research vessels studying the Great Lakes. Learn how to communicate through acrylic painting and embrace your artistic side. Presented by artist Adam Swanson.

Pollution Control Join the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit in Duluth to learn about how they regulate industry, commerce and environmental response in Lake Superior and the Boundary Waters of Minnesota. Presented by Jeromy Cowell with the U.S. Coast Guard.

Friday Afternoon Workshops

Participants will rank their top choices for one in-depth, 2-hour long workshop.

  1. Robotic Rhythms After a demonstration on robotic musical instruments, you will create short improvisations alone or in groups. Learn about numeric representations of rhythm and pitch; sensors and controllers; algorithmic composition; actuators and robotics and more! Presented by Troy Rogers with Robot Rickshaw.

  2. Writer’s Workshop Focus on creative writing forms that may be used for both fiction and nonfiction projects. Brainstorm, create, and share your own story and learn how to give constructive and positive feedback to your peers. Presented by Felicia Schneiderhan.

  3. Superior Mapping Use Esri's ArcGIS Online to learn about mapping and spatial analysis. Participants will explore shipwrecks of Lake Superior and other physical features of the lake in this hands-on session in a UMD computer lab. Presented by Stacey Stark with the Geospatial Analysis Center.

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  5. Algae Is Where It’s At Take a short trip to a nearby pond to collect algae samples and then head back to the lab to analyze them with a microscope. We’ll focus on how microscopic life relates to overall environmental health. Presented by Euan Reavie with the Natural Resources Research Institute.

  6. Illustrate & Illuminate Grab your graphite pencils and let’s draw! This workshop will teach you the basics about scientific illustrations of plants and animals and give you a chance to learn techniques and practice. Presented by Adam Frankiewicz with the Environmental Protection Agency.

  7. Extraction Escapade Explore the UMD campus to collect environmental samples and extract the samples’ DNA. Then we’ll discuss how studying DNA and environmental forensics is important in regards to water resources. Presented by Chanlan Chun with the UMD Civil Engineering Department.

  8. "Loon-y Physiology" Test out your diving physiology using iWorx technology and compare it to the highly adapted physiology of the Common Loon (Minnesota’s state bird). Be prepared to get wet in this session, as you’ll have the chance to measure your body’s response by dunking your head and holding your breath. Presented by Amber Schlater with the College of Saint Scholastica.

  9. Web Comic Magic Develop a nine-panel hand drawn comic on paper that touches on a topic of your choice. Then learn how to translate the drawing into a web comic format with introductory coding in simple HTML. Presented by Sarah Patricia Washko with the Michigan Technological University.

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  11. Watershed Game Try out the Watershed Game to better understand the relationship between land uses, water quality and your community. You’ll be working together in teams to decrease water pollution without going broke and learn how we can all work together to keep water clean. Presented by John Bilotta and Cynthia Hagley with Minnesota Sea Grant.

  12. Painting for Science (This same session was also offered in the morning block) Adam Swanson is a painter committed to a healthy climate and has worked as an artist-in-residence on research vessels studying the Great Lakes. Learn how to communicate through acrylic painting and embrace your artistic side. Presented by Adam Swanson.

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  14. Bagley Bugs Are insects your thing? Take a walk to the Bagley Nature Area near UMD and learn about biological diversity by exploring the grounds’ insect population. Presented by Tim Craig with the UMD Biology Department.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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