Press

Current Press Releases
TTU Press Archives Links

Oakley STEM Center Offers Interactive Programs for Kids & Families


This fall Tennessee Tech University’s Millard Oakley STEM Center offers exciting, interactive hands-on programs for children and their families. Students in the 4th through 12th grades can experience STEM FAB Fridays and young learners, preschool through 3rd grade are invited to STEM Safari Saturdays.STEM FuelCellCar wb
FAB Fridays are fun, interactive experiences for children and parent/guardians to explore hands-on technology, science and engineering equipment and activities. Visitors can “play with science” - use microscopes, understand the physics of bumper cars, and rotate through a variety of learning stations and activities.

“FAB Fridays are community access experiences focused on introducing, engaging and enlightening kids and families while they learn and grow together,” said Sally Pardue, Oakley STEM Center director.

University, student and professional organizations will sponsor the Friday evening events throughout the year. The first FAB Friday is scheduled for September 16 from 6 to 9pm and is sponsored by the Society of Women Engineers (SWE).

“The FAB Friday program is an excellent opportunity for students to gain inspiration and develop ideas for the 58th Annual Cumberland Plateau Regional Science & Engineering Fair,” added Pardue. The regional fair will be hosted by the STEM Center in March. During 2011-2012, FAB Fridays happen on September 16, October 7, November 18, February 3, February 24, and March 16.

The STEM Safari Saturday program, first introduced in the fall of 2010, invites young children and their families, older siblings welcome, to participate in STEM safari boys wba variety of engaging learning activities.

Safari Saturdays will kick off the 2011-2012 schedule on Saturday, October 29th with Bodacious Bones from 1-4pm.  Other Saturday Safaris will be offered on December 3, February 18 and April 14.

Visitors will explore a variety of real animal bones, sort and graph bones, look for patterns in bones, learn about the properties of bones, search for bones in owl pellets, and learn names for the bones in the human skeleton!

Reservations are required for attending STEM FAB Fridays and Safari Saturdays, but admission is free. Families may make reservations using the online “store” available on the STEM Center’s website. Parent/guardians must accompany and remain with the child/children during the Friday and Saturday programs.

For more information about the Oakley STEM Center and its programs visit www.tntech.edu/stem or contact Christina Hatley at 931-372-6573.

 

STEM Center at Tennessee Tech Awarded NASA Educator Resource Center

Ready to shoot for the moon? The Upper Cumberland welcomes a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Educator Resource Center (ERC) to the region.

TTU’S Millard Oakley STEM Center for the Teaching and Learning of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics has been officially designated as a field NASA ERC. The purpose of an ERC is to help teachers learn about and use NASA's vast educational resources.STEM_ERC_B.Robinson_C.Hatley_wb

The ERCs provide educators with demonstrations of educational technologies, in-service and pre-service training utilizing NASA instructional products. NASA categorizes its resources by grade level and offers teachers classroom activities, lesson plans and videos as well as access to webcasts and information about contests. Teachers can also learn about workshops and conferences related to their subject matter.

“I am ecstatic about announcing the new NASA Educator Resource Center now at home in the Millard Oakley STEM Center,” said Dr. Sally Pardue, director of the new STEM-education facility on Tennessee Tech’s campus. “We will provide access to a library of resources, support materials, and “lending” opportunities to teachers throughout Tennessee via the NASA ERC and professional development workshops.”

“Using the new NASA Educator Resource Center at the STEM Center has given me access to such wonderful ideas, projects and activities,” said Brenda Robinson, fifth grade teacher at Avery Trace Middle School. “The resources available through the center help support what I’m doing in the classroom.”

Earlier NASA grants helped populate the library with resources. In Tennessee, Vanderbilt University acts as the fiscal agent for NASA’s education programs providing grant opportunities for programs and projects.
In the past few years, NASA identified three major education goals: strengthening NASA and the nation's future workforce, attracting and retaining students in STEM disciplines, and engaging Americans in NASA's mission. Those goals, particularly as they relate to STEM education and workforce development, align with the mission of TTU’s Oakley STEM Center.

“We are responsible for educating our children for the future, giving them opportunities, and preparing them to lead,” added Pardue. “By providing our teachers [and students] access to cutting-edge educational resources, activities and programs we will have a very positive impact on STEM-education in the Upper Cumberland and the career options available to our children and grandchildren.”

Field centers are often located on university campuses and have partnerships with their state’s education department or regional educational organizations. A variety of TTU departments have already begun to form partnerships with regional P-12 programs for professional development and enrichment activities, including the Upper Cumberland Teachers Councils in Science and Math, College of Engineering Math Science Partnership, President’s School on Emerging Technologies, and the Upper Cumberland Middle Grades Math Partnership.

Teachers will immediately make use of the NASA ERC at TTU when they participate in a STEM Center User Group Training Workshops led by regional teacher liaisons of the Tennessee Space Grant Consortium and facilitated by Sally Pardue. These workshops, offered July 9 and October 8, will introduce teachers to available resources, hands-on activities, lending materials, and prepare them to lead an EXPEDITION Field Trip for their students.

 

 

TTU’s Millard Oakley STEM Center Confirms Pardue as STEM Director

Tennessee Tech’s Millard Oakley STEM Center for the Teaching and Learning of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics is brimming with exciting news.

After serving in an interim capacity since 2009 of TTU’s Millard Oakley STEM Center, Dr. Sally Pardue has been officially confirmed as the director ofSally_Pardue_wb the year-old, cutting-edge educational facility.

Pardue’s education, background, inspiration and vision make her perfectly suited to lead the Millard Oakley STEM Center, it’s programs and resources.

“Under Sally’s leadership, we’ve opened the STEM Center and laid the foundation for excelling in STEM education and outreach,” said TTU President Bob Bell. “Her experience and energy will allow the university to respond to the region’s need to inspire students at young ages to pursue interests and careers in STEM-related fields.”

Sally Pardue grew up in Centerville, Tennessee, a graduate of Hickman County High School. She was encouraged by admissions counselor Jim Gray to attend Tennessee Tech University in 1985. Pardue received a four-year scholarship to TTU, choosing to major in mechanical engineering. She received her B.S. degree in 1989, followed by an M.S. in ’91 with Dr. Sastry Munukutla, and Ph.D. ‘95 with Dr. Richard Houghton.

As a student Pardue wanted to work for NASA and in 1987 she was awarded a competitive co-op position at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, working in systems and engineering test labs. She won the Tennessee Eastman Graduate Student Fellowship and participated in a Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) bridge integrity project.

After earning her Ph.D., Pardue joined the research and development staff of the TTU Manufacturing Center for four years. She then began teaching as a part-time adjunct faculty member until she was hired to a tenure-track position in Mechanical Engineering in 1999. Pardue was promoted to associate professor in 2004.

In 2005, she represented the college of engineering as a member of university-wide committee comprised of faculty and administrators to study and design models of what STEM-education could look like at TTU based on visits to other STEM sites nationally.

“Having a facility like the Millard Oakley STEM Center available to educators and students of all ages is an extraordinary resource,” said Sally Pardue. “I also have the honor of working in partnership with TTU’s talented faculty and experts to develop and deliver these exciting and engaging programs to our region.”

“With three great kids of my own, I have always been fascinated with how they absorb and retain knowledge – those experiences created a great interest in knowing more about how all ages learn and develop,” continued Pardue. “I look at STEM-education in Tennessee as a personal mission – if you can make a difference, you must act on it. ”

“Using the resources available through the STEM Center we can uncover what kids are passionate about and how we can best deliver content to inspire their futures.”

The programs offered by the Millard Oakley STEM Center respond to the needs of teachers and students (from preschool through college) via training, hands-on workshops, and educational research in STEM subjects. Community and family activities are also available.

 

 

Longest Day of the Year - June 21

Tour the Universe on the Longest Day of the Year – June 21 at the Millard Oakley STEM Center

Tennessee Tech’s Millard Oakley STEM Center invites you and your family to attend a special, once-a-year workshop, The Longest Day of the Year, on Tuesday, June 21st from 6-9pm.

Mr. Marc Robinson will lead participants through the wonder and majesty of the night sky during the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. M.Robinson_LongestDayExplore the mysteries of space, seasons, planets in the Virtual Theater, and more. As the evening sky darkens guests will move outside to observe the stars using telescopes.

“The Summer Solstice is a wonderful opportunity to introduce people to the wonders of our planet, seasons, and the universe,” said Marc Robinson, graduate student programs assistant at the STEM Center and presenter of the Longest Day program. “This workshop will be a fun and exciting hands-on experience for families.”

Robinson is a recent graduate of Tennessee Tech’s computer science program. He is working towards his master’s degree focusing on astronomical imaging techniques. Robinson is the son of Dr. Steve & Brenda Robinson (chairman of TTU’s physics department and middle school science teacher, respectively). The family immigrated to the United States from England with their sons in 1990. Marc lives in Cookeville with his wife Jessica and son John, with whom he hopes to share his passion for astronomy.

Marc Robinson also directs the popular and free Virtual Theater experiences offered by the STEM Center on Fridays, including To the Edge & Back: A Tour of the Universe and Wanderers of the Sky: Kepler & The Expoplanets.

Admission to the Longest Day of the Year, a community workshop, is free; however, due to limited space, please make reservations by using the STEM Center's online MarketPlace Store, www.tntech.edu/stem/events.

Contact Christina Hatley, 931-372-6573 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it with any questions.

The Millard Oakley STEM Center is located in Ray Morris Hall on the campus of Tennessee Tech at 155 W. 7th Street, the corner of 7th and Stadium Drive in Cookeville, Tennessee.

For information about this event and other programs offered by the Millard Oakley STEM Center visit www.tntech.edu/stem.

 

 

ROCKETS, WORMS & ROBOTICS:
Oakley STEM Center Opens Registration for Summer EXPLORATIONS Workshops

What are your kids doing during summer break? Get them out of the house and into the state-of-the-art labs at TTU’s Millard Oakley STEM Center.

The STEM Center is offering 30+ hands-on, minds-on EXPLORATION workshop experiences for students entering the 5th though 12th grades this fall. EXPLORATIONS are open to students in public, private and home schools (at grade equivalent).

“The Millard Oakley STEM Center for the Teaching and Learning of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics is a facility dedicated to the highest quality educational opportunities and experiences in STEM subjects for children, teachers and families throughout the Upper Cumberland and Tennessee,” said Gail Gentry, the STEM Center’s outreach coordinator.

“The Summer EXPLORATION Workshops are exciting ways to get students interested, involved and engaged in topics and subjects that are shaping our daily world and future,” she continued.

Workshops for 5th – 8th range from making and racing fuel cell cars, working with worms, launching rockets, roller coasters and physics, to building a radio, the chemistry of make-up, and more. Students entering the 9th-12th grades can choose from electronics and robotics, vertebrate anatomy and dissection, energy’s myths and legends, art of chemistry, metal casting and model engineering, GIS & GPS systems, just to name a few.

The classes range in price from $30 to $195. Some workshops are one 3-hour session on a single day (morning or afternoon), while others may cover 2-4 days; workshops are no longer than 3-hours per day. Online registration available.

For more information about the STEM Center and its programs visit the center’s website, www.tntech.edu/stem (see the “Kids & Families” section) or contact Christina Hatley, 931-372-6573.

The Millard Oakley STEM Center is located in Ray Morris Hall on the campus of Tennessee Tech at 155 W. 7th Street, the corner of 7th and Stadium Drive in Cookeville, Tennessee.

 

 

 

TTU Press Archives:

Apply Now