BY JENNIFER BURGER Community contributor

Young people of KernCounty, get ready forChemical Circus, a travel-ing interactive programbrought to you by the

Chemistry Department atCalifornia State University,Bakersfield. In its first year ofexistence, and already a hit at theBoys & Girls Club and with localschool science clubs, the programwill now reach out to more youththanks to a $10,000 grant recentlyannounced.

CSUB’s program is one of ninewinners nationwide receivingfunding from “Partnering forExcellence: Innovations inScience, Technology, Engineeringand Math (STEM) Education,” anational competition hosted byAshoka Changemakers, CarnegieCorporation of New York and TheOpportunity Equation.

For the U.S. to remain competi-tive in STEM fields, youth mustbe attracted early and retaineduntil they complete college. The

grant winners have come up withcreative ways to bring STEM pro-fessionals into K-12 schools to usetheir talent, knowledge and real-world skills to engage students,particularly in high-need commu-nities.

CSUB’s Chemistry Departmentreceived the Innovations in LifeSciences Prize, sponsored by theHoward Hughes MedicalInstitute. The prize will allow thedepartment to purchase materials,develop demonstrations, and paysenior undergraduate students totrain and work as program lead-ers.

The Chemical Circus is a seriesof engaging, entertaining, andeducational chemistry activitiesdeveloped by the CSUBChemistry Department to pro-mote interest in chemistry amonglocal youth. A Chemical Circussession consists of demonstrationsperformed by trained faculty andstudents, followed by a safe,hands-on activity. So far, demon-strations have been held at theBoys and Girls Club — and at

some science club meetings atlocal schools.

With the grant, the programwill expand into high school class-rooms and elsewhere in the com-munity. Not only does the pro-gram inspire participating youth,but the experience also offers anopportunity for service learningfor CSUB students which, in turn,increases retention and learningwithin the chemistry major.

“Students get the chance toteach and mentor K-12 youthabout chemistry, reinforcing con-cepts they have learned in classand strengthening leadershipskills and the importance of com-munity-based work,” said Dr.Danielle Solano, assistant profes-sor of chemistry at CSUB.

For more information aboutChemical Circus, contact Dr.Danielle Solano at 654-2785 ordsolano@csub.edu. For moreinformation about the Partneringfor Excellence grant, visitwww.changemakers.com/stemed-ucation.

2 The Bakersfield Voice Sunday, December 18, 2011

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Y O U R S C H O O L S

“Iwas born in a small town, and Ilive in a small town. Probablydie in a small town, oh thosesmall communities.” Ah, thesmall town. Slower pace of liv-

ing. Not so many worries. Can breatheeasier there. Grew up in one myself. John“Cougar” Mellancamp sang it well. Bakohas a small town neighbor to the north-west who deserves some lovin’ — soWasco, this one’s for you!

Undefeated BHS and perennial D-IIpower Garces seem to garner most of theattention in our town when high schoolfootball playoffs come around each fall —and deservedly so. But a nice little story isplaying out this season in Wasco as thefarming community nationally known forits roses has forged a stellar prep footballcampaign of its own. The #3 seeded, 11-1Tigers shall face off against top-seeded,undefeated Fresno-Washington Union forthe Division IV valley championship inFresno. It's been 22 years since WascoHigh competed for a section title. Andthese cats are for real! The Wasco offense

is anchored by aferocious rushingattack featuringtwo, count 'em,two 100-yard run-ning backs inAustin Tijerina(155.4 ypg) andMichael Martinez(116.6 ypg). Theirdefense isn't tooshabby either asthey held numbertwo seed Tulare-Mission Oak to but13 points on theroad in a semi-final tussle. TheTigers will mostcertainly have

their paws full facing defending sectionchamp Washington Union. There is afeeling of David vs. Goliath brewing here— and hopefully at the end of the contestWasco High School, and its small-townfaithful, shall come up smelling like roses!

The fresh breath of air over at themen’s basketball program at CSUB isquite invigorating. I love new head coachRod Barnes’ mantra that “if you practicehard you’ll get playing time.” That linealone keeps all of the players on their toesduring the long practices and gives cer-tain hope to those players who believethat they may be stuck on the pine all yearlong He's certainly been a man of hisword as there have been games where hehas used upwards of 12 players. One nor-mally sees but a seven-to -eight man rota-tion in college basketball unless there is ablowout and garbage time presents itself.At press time, the Roadrunners weresporting a fine 5-2 record against somevery worthy opponents. To date, CoachBarnes has been just what the doctorordered for the once moribund program.

I’d thought I’d seen it all with theplethora of realignment schemes and hop-scotching football programs which has, inmy opinion, belied the sanctity of the col-lege football landscape, until it wasrevealed that Boise State is heading to the

Big East conference! Huh? Doesn’t thatsound weird? Of course, all of these movesare driven by the almighty dollar. Andguess who the real force behind it all is:

Television networks, my friends! Therespective universities see the gold at theend of the rainbow as they join theserealigned conferences who have securedpreponderous television contracts. BoiseState? Big East? Big bucks!

“Halo there. How ya doing?” “Just fine,thank you,” replies the Los AngelesAngels of Anaheim Major League baseballteam. “A little light in the wallet, but hey,we got what we sought.” Indeed. Thesame-day signings of all-world AlbertPujols from the St. Louis Cardinals andace starting pitcher C.J. Wilson from divi-sion rival Texas was a real coup. Pujolsbrings instant offense and Watson sets upwhat portends to be one of the top startingrotations in all of baseball. The Halo’sfront office is obviously banking on hugeattendance spikes and deep playoff runsduring the coming years in order to justifythe $331.5 million that the two contractsare worth. Only time will tell if they soldtheir soul to the pointy-tailed one whoresides down below.

It’s getting hot in here! I’m out.

Awell-watered plant will take freezing temperatures better than a dry one — especially plants in con-tainers. This week’s gardening tip is from Kathy Robinson of Robby’s Nursery. Do YOU have a gardening tipyou’d like to share with our readers? Post your gardening tips and photos of your garden on our website at: www. bakersfieldvoice.com.

Water well through the winter months

PHOTO PROVIDED

Chemical Circus, a traveling interactive program brought to you by the Chemistry Department at CSUB, willvisit local school science clubs and other youth groups through a $10,000 grant the university recentlyreceived.

HENRY A. BARRIOS / CALIFORNIAN FILE

Rod Barnes, CSUB basketball coach.

Y O U R W E E K L Y G A R D E N I N G T I P

CSUB’s Coach Barnes is just what the doctor ordered

Y O U R S C H O O L S

Y O U R S P O R T S

MICHAELELLIOTTSports columnist

Traveling chemistry program to visitlocal schools through CSUB grant BY JOAN CASANOVA

Community contributor

Local kids are growing greengiants in the Bonnie PlantsCabbage Program colossalcabbage contest. Kidsacross America are learn-

ing to garden and some are earn-ing a lot of “green” participatingin this program. This season,more than 1.5 million thirdgraders in 48 states dug in and gothands-on gardening experiencegrowing colossal cabbages, reap-ing hefty harvests and holdinghigh hopes to win “best in state.”

A winning student from eachparticipating state receives a$1,000 scholarship towards theireducation from Bonnie Plants.

A number of Bakersfieldschools participated in the colos-sal cabbage growing program thisyear including: BakersfieldAdventist Academy, BethelChristian School, GreenfieldUnion School District, JeffersonSchool, Noble Elementary School,Ramon Garza Elementary School,Rio Bravo Elementary School,Stella Hills Elementary Schooland Vineland Elementary School.

Any third grade classroom cansign up online and receive cab-bage plants in spring.

Each year Bonnie Plants, thelargest producer of vegetable andherb plants in North America,with 75 growing stations acrossthe country, trucks free O.S.Cross, or "oversized," cabbageplants to third grade classroomswhose teachers have signed upfor the program online atwww.bonnieplants.com.

If nurtured and cared for, kidscan grow green, giant cabbages,some tipping the scales at 40

pounds!First launched in 2002, the pro-

gram awards a $1,000 scholarshipto one student in each participat-ing state. At the end of the grow-ing season, teachers from eachclass select the student who hasgrown ”the “best” cabbage, basedon size and appearance. A pictureof the cabbage and the studententry is submitted to BonniePlants by mail or online. That stu-dent’s name is then entered in astatewide drawing. The winnersof each state’s drawing are ran-domly selected by theCommission of Agriculture’soffice, state by state.

“The Bonnie Plants CabbageProgram is a wonderful way toengage children’s interest in agri-culture, while teaching them notonly the basics of gardening, butthe importance of our food sys-tems and growing our own”, saidStan Cope, President of BonniePlants. This unique, innovativeprogram exposes children to agri-culture and demonstrates,through hands-on experience,where food comes from.

The program also affords ouryouth with some valuable life les-sons in nurture, nature, responsi-bility, self-confidence and accom-plishment”.

Why a cabbage? Cabbages werethe first plant sold by Bonnie in1918. The cabbages used for the3rd grade program are OS Cross(over-sized), which is known forproducing giant, oversized heads,making the process even moreexciting for kids.

Get It growing: Growing acolossal cabbage may seem like agiant undertaking for little kids,but it’s easier than you think.

Let the sunshine in: Cabbagesneed at least six hours of full sun-light, more if possible.

Survey your space: Bonnie O.S.cabbages need at least three feeton each side to spread out. If youdon’t have that much space, use alarge container.

Supplement soil: Work somecompost into the soil – cabbageslove nutrient-rich soil.

Feed the need: Start your cab-bage off right with an all-purposevegetable fertilizer, then fertilizeit every 10 days to keep it growingstrong.

Water wisely: Your cabbageneeds at least one inch of rainfalleach week. If it doesn’t rain, use awatering can or a garden hose togently water your plant.

Tend to trouble: Keep weedsout of the cabbage patch – theycompete for the food and wateryour cabbage needs. Be on thelookout for brown or white moths– these come from worms thatlove to munch on cabbage. If yousee any, get rid of them rightaway. Cold weather can damageyour cabbage. If the weather getsbelow 32° F, cover your cabbagewith a bucket.

Hefty harvest time: In just 10 to12 weeks, you should have ahumongous head of cabbage youcan be proud of.

Green thumbs and persever-ance can pay off, providing partic-ipating children with as greatsense of pride and accomplish-ment, a colossal cabbage, and forthe lucky state winner — thebeginning of an educational fundfor college. To see the 2011 win-ners and learn more about the2012 contest, visit: www.bon-nieplants.com.

Students dig in, earn some “green”with cabbage growing contest

Rishab of Folsom,Calif. Chatty, shownhere with his win-ning cabbage, wasthe California statewinner of the BonniePlants CabbageProgram. Thenationwide programprovides cabbageseedlings to class-rooms, includingparticipatingschools inBakersfield, to helpteach students howto garden and nur-ture “green”thumbs. A winnerfrom each state isawarded $1,000towards the stu-dent’s college edu-cation.

PHOTO PROVIDED

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