Next Meeting Presentation

Tech Fest has become a very popular Engineers Week event at The Works in Bloomington, last year over 2000 people attended and it is expected that well over that number will attend this year's event.  The purpose of Tech Fest is to provide grade school aged students with a hands-on opportunity to experience "engineering" in action.  This year Tech Fest will take place on Saturday, February 25th.  The event runs from 10 AM to 5 PM.  The Works is now located in their own building at 9740 Grand Avenue, Bloomington, MN 55420 ... see http://www.theworks.org/fb/visit/directions.html for directions.

Due to the growing popularity of this event, more volunteers are needed to help staff the event and assist with the numerous hands-on activities.  The Minneapolis-Saint Paul Post has volunteered to recruit volunteers to assist in 2-3 hour shifts during the event ... we would like to have six to eight volunteers or more to help with activities.  Here is an opportunity to have some fun and be a participant in one of the biggest Engineering events of the year.  Please contact Jim Mosner at 651-290-5512.

The Works is a non-profit "hands-on, minds-on" museum that makes science and engineering fun for kids 5 to 15.  More information on The Works can be seen at www.theworks.org or by contacting Kris Banks at kris@theworks.org or 952-888-4262.

As mentioned in last month's newsletter, the Post would like to field two crews to help with a Habitat for Humanity project.  For this coming event, rather than having two crews that worked on the same day but in two different locations, we will be working on two consecutive Saturdays. 

The Habitat for Humanity organizers have reserved for us the 2nd and 3rd Saturdays in February (2-11-12 and 2-18-12).  It is expected that the work would entail interior finish out, including drywall installation, taping and floating, painting, installation of flooring, cabinets and countertops.  Both skilled and non-skilled help is welcomed; for those who need it training will be provided when you arrive.  The typical work shift is from 8:30AM to 4:30PM.

So, if you would be interested in participating in this activity, for either one of both of the dates, please let Post President Beth Keister [Beth_Keister@URSCorp.com] know by the Post meeting on January 25th so we can determine how many lunches we need to arrange for. 

The Scholarship Application Form will soon be available on the Grants & Scholarships page of the web site ... the form will be posted by 1 February 2012.  The form can be downloaded as either a MS Word file or as a fill-able PDF form.  There will again be three $1500 scholarships available.  The deadline for submitting scholarship applications is Friday, April 6th.

Two scholarships are planned to be awarded in what is called Category I, which is for high school seniors and Post-secondary students, regardless of discipline, who are children, grandchildren, or siblings, of members of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Post.  Sponsoring members must be a SAME Minneapolis-Saint Paul Post member for the current year and have been a member of the Post for a minimum of at least one year prior to the current year.  Applicants must be registered as full-time post-secondary students in the fall of the year of selection. 

One scholarship is planned to be awarded in what is called Category II, which is for all Student Members of the SAME Minneapolis-Saint Paul Post who will be registered as full-time post-secondary students in the fall of the year of selection.  Applicants under this category must be registered through SAME as a Student Member; student memberships are free for full-time undergraduates at an accredited college or university, or high school students.  At least one of the scholarships in this category will be awarded to a student in an engineering, science, or technology-related field.

A committee of Post members evaluate the applications.  All applications are kept confidential, and only the winners are announced.  For additional information, please contact Jane Flewellen [Jane.M.Flewellen@usace.army.mil].  Scholarship Application Packages can be downloaded from the Post’s website at:

http://www.same-msp.org/PDF/Scholarship_App&Inst_2012.doc or
http://www.same-msp.org/PDF/Scholarship_App&Inst_2012.pdf

Form will be posted to website by 1 February 2012

SAME offers high school freshman, sophomores, and juniors the opportunity to attend a one week camp.  They learn leadership, engineering and construction skills, and have fun with students from all over the world.

The Minneapolis-Saint Paul Post would like to sponsor a high school student to attend either one of the following summer camp opportunities.  The Post will pay the Registration Fee and and ½ of the Airfare; the student's family is responsible for the remainder of the airfare.  High school students that are interested in this opportunity should:

1) review the camp website(s) and the links to eligibility requirements and application forms so that all requirements are clearly understood, and

2) contact Jane Flewellen at 651-290-5554 to submit your name as being interested in this opportunity.

Students interested in applying for one of the camps should start by reviewing the information on the SAME Camp web page at http://posts.same.org/camps/.  The next step is to notify Jane Flewellen about your interest in being considered for this opportunity. 

From the qualified respondees, the Post will select one attendee and one alternate; the alternate may be able to attendee if the primary selectee is unable to attend or if additional space becomes available at the camps.  Once the Post has selected an attendee and an alternate, the selectees will be given additional instructions for submitting the required applications.  Selections will be made by 28 February 2011, which will the selectees adequate time to complete the required applications.

Click on the names of the camps below to hyperlink to the National SAME web pages that have additional details about the camps along with detailed registration information.

SAME / US Army Camp [http://www.samevicksburg.org/camp/]
Vicksburg, Mississippi
June 10-16, 2012

SAME / US Air Force Academy Camp [http://samecamps.org/?page_id=27]
US Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO
July 6-12, 2012

SAME / US Navy Seabees Camp [http://samecamps.org/?page_id=36]
Port Heuneme, California
July 22-28, 2012

US Marine Corps Camp (new for 2012)
Lejeune, North Carolina
June 17-23, 2012

This will be the third year our our new endeavor with sponsoring a Grant Program for teachers to help them bring resources they would not ordinarily have.  The goal of this program is to promote the learning of science and math which supports engineering to students in grades 1-12 through a creative activity/project of the teacher's choosing.  The Post has $7,500 to be used to award grants to applicants that meet the criteria.

Grant applications will be accepted from schools within the 13-county Twin Cities metro area

(Anoka · Carver · Chisago · Dakota · Hennepin · Isanti · Ramsey · Scott · Sherburne · Washington · Wright - Pierce · St. Croix).

Teachers who wish to apply for one of the grants must provide a detailed description of the activity/project that they plan to do, as well as provide an estimated budget for the proposal activity.  In deciding how to award the grants, the Post will place a high value on the creativity of the proposed activity and the expected impact that it will have on the students.  The proposal should specify the equipment, materials, and supplies required and how they will be used to promote science and/or mathematics.  It should also address how the project supports the Minnesota academic standards for science and/or mathematics.  List how many students will be impacted in the proposal.  The students and faculty will be asked to present their finished product to representatives from SAME in the spring of 2012.  The presentation must demonstrate what the students have learned from the experience.

Applications for this year's grants are available at http://www.same-msp.org/grants.htmPlease pass the word about this opportunity on to any teachers that you may Know.  The application deadline is scheduled for the April 22th 2012 timeframe.

MnSPE PE and FE Exam Review Courses Now Open for Registration MnSPE is again sponsoring review courses for the PE civil, PE mechanical and Fundamentals of Engineering exams that will take place in April 2012. Courses are taught by licensed PEs or certified EITs with background and expertise in the various subject areas. Course materials are published by Professional Publications (PPI), provider of the popular Lindeburg books - order through MnSPE and receive a 15% discount.

All courses will be offered live in a classroom setting in the Twin Cities.  A live Webinar option is also offered for each course, allowing students located anywhere to participate.  Classes begin the first week in February. Reduced rates are available to MnSPE members and members of other NSPE state societies.  Feel free to forward this information to anyone who may be interested in participating! 

This course comes with a guarantee - take the course again for free if you don't pass your exam.  Visit MnSPE online for additional details and to register. < http://www.mnspe.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=11 >