The Return of 'Cool' and 'Weird' Science: UB to Host Annual Science Exploration Day March 16

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo will celebrate scientific exploration in the local community as part of the 25th annual Science Exploration Day for promising Western New York high school students on Wednesday, March 16, on UB's North Campus.

The event will bring 25 schools, 700 students, 30 scientists and intriguing guests such as the Island Snake Lady to campus from 9:15 a.m. to 1:05 p.m. UB, the Western section of the Science Teacher Association of New York State and the Niagara Frontier Science Supervisor's Association have organized the keynote presentation, laboratory tours and sessions with scientists and educators.

"Students get to hear about science from people who are doing science," says Rodney Doran, professor emeritus of science education at UB. "They are local folks, and [students are] getting experience beyond the textbook."

Doran has been a member of the Science Exploration Day planning committee since the event started. He hopes the event will continue for another 25 years, he says, because of the excitement and passion young people experience when they become acquainted with science.

"It's a win-win for everybody. It's a win for the kids to get familiar with real-life local scientists and what's going on in the local community, and it's important for teachers to expand current research knowledge into the lab at their schools" Doran says. "It's important for UB to get these bright young kids onto campus for the day and for the kids to get the experience, and it's important for the presenters to share what they're doing."

Students will attend a large group presentation, two small group presentations or lab tours and the keynote speaker presentation, "Saving the Lake Erie Water Snake."

Doran says presentations are tailored to meet students' interests in fields such as veterinary care, pharmaceuticals, forensic investigation and paranormal mysteries. Students will even have the chance to tour the universe through a portable star lab planetarium and to sit in on a presentation about "really gross" anatomy.

The keynote address will be presented by Kristin Stanford -- better known as "The Island Snake Lady" -- who has dedicated her life to researching the Lake Erie water snake and educating people on the snake's importance to the Lake Erie area. She's helped the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Ohio Department of Natural Resources' Division of Wildlife with their campaign to protect these five-foot-long, yet harmless, creatures. Stanford is expected to bring some live specimens of the reptile she has worked so hard to protect.

Stanford has been the Lake Erie water snake recovery plan coordinator for eight years. A graduate of Northern Illinois University, she is a permanent researcher of the water snake at Ohio State University F.T. Stone Laboratory on South Bass Island. She also writes a news column, "Ask the Snake Lady," for the island's local newspapers, where she answers readers' questions while encouraging conservation and protection of the snakes.

The committee chose Stanford as their keynote speaker because of her various accomplishments, Doran says, and the social and academic benefits of having someone exciting as their main attraction. Doran says the students will find her new and interesting, especially since she's been on Discovery Channel's show, "Dirty Jobs."

Students will also have the chance to tour various UB laboratories, like the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation lab, the New York State Center for Engineering Design & Industrial Innovation's Motion Simulation Laboratory, the water research facility and the Pharmacy Museum, as well as some research labs of the biology, chemistry, geology and physics departments.

"[Students can] expect to take away new knowledge from the day," Doran says. "It will be knowledge beyond what they get in the classroom.… They get to see where science is done in the lab tours that we arrange."

This year, the Science Exploration Day committee dedicated the event to the late Janice Camplin. Camplin was a biology teacher and Science Department chair at Lake Shore High School in Erie County, and was an active member in science education organizations like the Niagara Frontier Science Supervisors Association.

"She was the person who had the idea of doing a Science Exploration Day in the Buffalo area," Doran says. "She went to Rochester as they had it operating for a couple of years.… She came back and said, 'Yeah, we can do this too,' and she convinced us to give it a try."

Camplin served as chair of the planning committee during its early years. She helped to turn the idea into a reality through her passion and enthusiasm for educating youth and practicing science, something the event organizers still strive to promote.

Doran says he has seen many changes in Science Exploration Day since its first event. However, he says the enthusiasm from the teachers, students and participating scientists and professors has remained the same.

For more information, visit http://www.scienceexplorationday.com/.