CAS Hands on Day Strikes Again
Chancellor Furst-Bowe and Dean Romero checking their heart rates after various stimuli at the Biology booth.
It’s that time of year again at SIUE, that magical time of year when the overbearing heat waves begin to dissipate, the leaves begin to turn, and undeclared students begin to wonder what on earth they’re going to do with their lives. Luckily, CAS hands on day is here again, with SIUE faculty lining up to give students a small glimpse into their disciplines as well as their guidance.
Roger Speidel dons theatrical garb encouraging students to do the same.
Hands on day began three years ago in an attempt to help undeclared students figure out what career path they would like to pursue. The goal of hands on day is to increase student retention rates, something that helps the students get their money’s worth out of their time at SIUE while simultaneously improving the universities prospects for federal and state funding. The live interactive demonstrations are meant to spark the interest of passing students, simultaneously breaking the ice between them and current students or faculty who they can then engage in discussion with about potential majors.
Music students showing people the ropes at the Instrument Petting Zoo
An unintended, although not at all unpleasant, side effect of the annual event is that it brings individuals, faculty and student alike, of all majors together in one spot to see what’s going on outside of their departments. You don’t have to stand around any booth for very long before you see faculty from other departments coming up to give the demos a whirl.
Last year hands on day was rained out on two separate occasions, so this year the decision was made to move things inside to the Meridian Ballroom. The move indoors seems to have reduced overall attendance to the event, however numerous students still found their way to eager faculty members who were ready and willing to offer information and in many cases free candy.
Mass Comm students let passers by pitch ideas for their new documentary show Kaleidoscope
Participants paint with surface soap, lipids, and surface tension at the Chemistry booth
Physics students turn themselves into human gyroscopes to demonstrate Newton's Laws
Guess which artifacts are the newest and oldest at the History booth
Filed Under: Happenings
