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NEW FROM
THE ECHO BLOG |
LIFE SAVING CATERPILLAR GUTS |
POSTED AUGUST 7, 2010 AT 3:49 PM |
Many unknowns in the natural world have potential… |
READ MORE + |
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ECHO
NEWS |
Thanks for checking out our online newsletter,
the ECHO Update. Check here for current events happening
in and around ECHO as well as the larger science and
stewardship community. Or better yet, sign up by typing
your email address into the field on the left and have the Update delivered right to your inbox every month! Rest assured
— we would never sell or otherwise share your email with another entity. |
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YOU'RE INVITED!
Voices for the Lake Sunset Celebration August 20th
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Please
join us for a Sunset Cocktail Party on August 20th from 6-9 p.m.
to celebrate the summer and Voices for the Lake! Enjoy an
evening on the Lake and try our new interactive multi-media
exhibit that features stories from across the Lake Champlain
watershed. RSVP here:
http://conta.cc/a8uY5o
Voices for the Lake launched a website on Earth Day designed for
the community to share stories about Lake Champlain and its
rivers, connect with others who cherish water and affect the
health of our waterways.
We've seen the collection grow over the summer and are excited
that this unique new exhibit on ECHO's floor supports the
opportunity to share even more stories!
Join us on August 20th for hors d'oeuvres, a cash bar, a night
of storytelling and interactive fun topped off by a phenomenal
sunset from ECHO's deck overlooking Lake Champlain!
Pictured: Top: Stand Up Paddleboarding, a contribution to
Voicesforthelake.org, and part of the new exhibit at ECHO, ©
Jason Starr; Sunset from the deck at ECHO, © Nick LaVecchia 2006.
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INTERNS BRING NEW ENERGY TO ECHO |
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This
summer, ECHO welcomed eight new interns to the Education Team to
assist with programming and bring new energy to our busy season.
The team includes five college interns majoring in Environmental
Studies, Chemistry and History. It also includes
three recruits from ECHO's teen environmental literacy program,
who spent the last academic year studying environmental science
and leadership. In June, interns participated in ECHO's
week-long informal learning training, which prepared them to
coordinate daily activities on ECHO’s exhibit floor, facilitate
interactive activities and develop and deliver daily public
programs.
Here through the end of August, interns bring fresh, new
programming to ECHO's daily schedule. A few examples:
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Look for "Wacky Wednesday" programs, each Wednesday at 1:00
p.m., when college interns engage family audiences in fun,
creative, hands-on programs, such as the ECHO Egg Drop, where
visitors used recycled materials to design, construct and test a
contraption to help a raw egg survive a three-story drop from ECHO's balcony.

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At 1:00 p.m. every day (except Wednesday) join ECHO's teen
interns for ECHO Outdoor, which gets visitors playing with
science in the fresh air!
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At 2:00 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, UVM Chemistry students
(sponsored by a National Science Foundation grant) facilitate "Green Chemistry"
laboratory programs for teens and adults, which demonstrate the
recent steps scientists have made to create safe and
environmentally friendly laboratories and products.
Pictured: Education Intern Sara leads a Wacky
Wednesday on Far Out Fish; Michelle performs a Green Chemistry
demonstration.
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INSECT OF THE MONTH The Cicada |
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By Bridget Butler, Voices for the Lake Project Manager
During
the run of Backyard Monsters, our latest changing exhibit, ECHO
Update features a different insect each month — some local, some
exotic and some available to see at ECHO. For August, we’ll
profile the cicada.
Cicadas are part of the Hemiptera order—“hemi,” meaning half,
and “pteron,” meaning wing—and are closely related to true bugs,
leafhoppers, spittlebugs, and aphids. There are two kinds of
cicadas—annual and periodic. Annual cicadas, sometimes called
dog-day cicadas, are the species we hear as the summer heat
peaks. Periodic cicadas get all the attention, however, because
they emerge in large numbers in 13 or 17 year cycles. The last
big periodic cicada party happened in 2004 on the East Coast,
which gives us about 11 more years to plan for their next
appearance. Until then, they’ll remain as nymphs underground.

Right now, you can enjoy the singing of the male dog-day cicadas
who are the percussionists of the summer insect band. The
fiddlers in the band are the crickets and grasshoppers who use
stridulation, or the rubbing of two body parts together, to make
sound. Cicadas have timbals, complex drum-like membranes, which
create sound when they flex the muscles in their abdomen. The
cicada’s body acts as a resonating chamber which amplifies the
sound. Cool, huh? And, get this: the hotter it gets, the more
they like to sing!
Pictured: Cicada, © Bruce Marlin; Cicadas, © Flickr User
Anita363.

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NEW FUNDING FOR TEEN AND ADULT PROGRAMS |
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This
month, ECHO received a grant from the Institute of Museum and
Library Services "Museums for America" program to continue and
expand programming for teen and adult audiences. Over the next
two years, the Life-long Learning in Science grant will expand
existing programs such as Café Scientifique and Meet the
Scientist, as well as develop new programs to engage older
audiences in lake-focused laboratory activities. The grant aims
to enhance both onsite and online programming for teens and
adults and, in partnership with key academic and media partners,
expand regional adult education about Lake science. Look for
these exciting programs this fall!
Pictured: Adults enjoy an evening at ECHO at Café
Scientifique, one of our popular life-long learning programs.

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WHAT’S HAPPENING IN AUGUST?
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This month, things are still “getting buggy” with our Backyard
Monsters exhibition, as well as a variety of daily ECHO
Encounters including our famous Wacky Wednesdays! As always, you
can visit our
website
calendar
for a complete listing of all the happenings at ECHO. All of
these activities are free for Members and included with ECHO
admission.
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Science and Stories: Sink or Float
Tuesday, August 17, 2010 Start: 11:00 a.m.
When an object floats, it can stay on the surface of a
liquid all by itself. We will explore sink and float
properties of different objects, make predictions and test
our predictions.
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Meet The Scientist: Green Chemistry
Thursday, August 19, 2010 Start: 2:00 p.m.
What recent steps have scientists made in creating safe
and environmentally friendly laboratories and products? Come
join Matthias Brewer as he explains and demonstrates how he
can make a polymer from common kitchen ingredients.
Appropriate for children 14+.
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How do Sailboats Use the Wind?
Saturday, August 28 and Sunday, August 29, 2010 Start: 11:00 a.m. & 1:00 p.m.
How close can you get to the wind? Come learn the exciting
ways that sailboats move through the turbulent waters of
Lake Champlain and some of the trials and tribulations of
sailing when the direction of the wind is constantly
changing. Join the Lake Champlain Community Sailing Center
staff at ECHO.

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SUPPORT ECHO ON TOURISM SITES
ECHO, like so many of Vermont's attractions, relies heavily on the tourism audience. Many travelers these days are choosing destinations via the Internet and through online reviews by the general public, so we could use your grassroots support! Please visit your favorite travel website and add another positive voice to our attraction reviews — and encourage relatives or friends who have experienced ECHO to do so too! This greatly helps bring folks to both Vermont and to ECHO. The following are a couple of websites to get you started
— thanks in advance!
IgoUgo
Find & Go Seek
TripAdvisor
Yahoo! Travel
Yelp
Photo: © Jeff Clarke 2007
WPTZ/NewsChannel 5 Live at ECHO
Mark your calendars to watch WPTZ/NewsChannel 5 on
the second Thursday of every month, when Chief Meteorologist Tom Messner
traditionally broadcasts his Precision Weather forecast live from ECHO during "First at Five," "5:30 Now," and "NewsChannel 5 at 6PM."
ECHO Update Feedback
Consistent with our stewardship mission, we are
saving resources by communicating
electronically. We
will never give away or sell your e-mail address.
Let us know if there is anyone whom you think
would
enjoy getting our ECHO Update, and please pass it on
to a
friend. We welcome your comments about this
e-newsletter. Would you like to see additional
topics included or some omitted? Do
you like the format? ECHO wants to know!
Click
here to send us your feedback. Thanks for
your input.
Update Staff:
Contributors: Bridget Butler, Voices for the Lake Manager; Molly Loomis, Director of Education; Kate Villa, Director of Development
Design: Travis Cook, Information Technology Coordinator
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