Story Tips
June 2008
With the official start of summer on Friday, the University of Minnesota offers activities for the whole family
June 18, 2008
The official start of summer is Friday, and those day camps, clubs and field trips to the museum don’t need to be limited to the kids. At the University of Minnesota, there are many ways for learners of all ages to explore a newly-discovered talent or an exhibit from another part of the world. Mostly in the metro area, these activities are a perfect way to take a summer adventure without paying the high price for gas.
Summer Camps
The university’s College of Continuing Education offers two enriching summer getaways for adults.
The Split Rock Arts Program, celebrating its 25th year this season, offers three-day and weeklong workshops taught by writers, artists and designers on topics such as book arts, fashion design, writing a “coming of age” story and more. The workshops are accompanied by Split Rock Soirees, where readings and artist talks celebrate the talent and work of Split Rock’s 2008 faculty. Split Rock’s season is underway, and the first soiree is Tuesday, June 24. For more information, visit cce.umn.edu/splitrockarts. All workshops are held at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus or the Cloquet Forestry Center in Cloquet.
For a one-day camp, Curiosity Camp is designed for adults who need a vacation but can’t get away. Most camps begin at the university’s St. Paul campus, where participants hear lectures and discussions that set the stage for an afternoon field trip to destinations ranging from Minnesota vineyards, to the I-35W bridge construction site, to the Weisman Art Museum’s exhibition of New Deal Art. Curiosity Camp’s season is underway. For a complete schedule or to register, visit cce.umn.edu/curiosity.
Museum Exhibits
Two museums and an arboretum are housed within the university’s College of Design and College of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS). Each offers exhibits this summer ranging from Serengeti lions to innovative and life-saving textiles.
The Bell Museum of Natural History, within CFANS, showcases “The Lion’s Mane: Science in the Serengeti” this summer, highlighting the purpose and necessity of a lion’s mane. Two U of M researchers have tested theories on manes and present their findings here. The exhibit is open now through August 31. For more information, visit http://www.bellmuseum.org/temp_exhibits.html
The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, also a part of CFANS, presents “Treeology” this summer, an exhibit that celebrates the diversity and beauty of trees. Now in its 50th year, the arboretum displays public-art installations, an open-air retreat made of river birch logs and living willow furniture, a living showcase of the Arboretum’s most outstanding trees and an outdoor discovery lab. Currently underway, the exhibit can be viewed on the arboretum’s grounds in Chaska through October 12. For more information, visit http://www.arboretum.umn.edu/treeology.aspx
“Techno Textiles: Inner Space to Outer Space,” from the College of Design’s Goldstein Museum of Design, shares a glimpse into the world of specialty textiles and how they are being used by leading designers from around the globe. On display are the NuMetrex (TM) Heart Rate Monitoring Sports Bra, which incorporates a lightweight heart monitor woven into the fabric for a comfortable way of monitoring the user’s heart health, and the Zoombang (TM), material for soldiers and athletes that instantly rigidifies upon contact with a blunt object or blow. The exhibit is on display now through July 27. For more information, visit http://goldstein.design.umn.edu/
Book Club
A new online book club from the College of Continuing Education, “Beyond the Book,” debuts this summer with Michael Pollan’s bestseller, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals.” Participants have the opportunity to discuss the book with two U of M professors in a 4-6 week online forum, followed by a dinner and discussion with the program hosts. This first installment of “Beyond the Book” starts Thursday, June 19 with more installments continuing throughout the summer. For more information, visit http://www.learninglife.umn.edu/participate.html#1
U of M journalism students will participate in weeklong training exercise at Camp Ripley with Minnesota soldiers
June 3, 2008
During the Iraq War journalists have experienced unprecedented access to the battlefield. Allowed to be “embedded” within specific military units, journalists have been able to bring war coverage home to the public like no other war before it. Due to a unique partnership between the U of M’s Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs Center for Democracy and Citizenship and the Minnesota National Guard, several U students will get their own “embed” experience from June 2 through June 7 as they participate with Army National Guard members training at Camp Ripley near Little Falls.
The weeklong program was designed with the help of National Guard Lt. Col. Kevin Olson. Six University of Minnesota students will be embedded with the 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 194th Armor Regiment during training. Like “real” embedded journalists, the U students will sign safety waivers and contracts restricting what they can report. The students will write, produce and edit stories on their experiences.
The “embed” is the brainchild of Lt. John Hobot, an Iraq War veteran and now full-time Minnesota National Guard member. Hobot saw firsthand how difficult it was to be exposed to media for the first time during battle and felt soldiers could benefit from media training.
Hobot contacted Dennis Donovan, a research fellow at the U of M's Humphrey Institute and lead organizer of the Warrior to Citizen Campaign, a program designed for a statewide grassroots effort that provides community support to returning soldiers and their families and challenges Minnesotans to think creatively about how returning veterans can contribute their new skills and experiences as citizens.
One of the students participating in the "embed" is Kevin Keen. “As a journalism student I could not have asked for a better real-world experience”, said Keen. The broadcast journalism and Spanish major hopes to put together a story on how young soldiers prepare to go to war and plans to develop it into his senior project.
To interview Keen or Donovan about the “embed” contact Ryan Mathre at (612) 625-0552, or mathre@umn.edu, or Ellen Tveit at (612) 626-1147 or tvei0002@umn.edu.
|
