TCRSF 2024 – Science Fair is History Now

Throughout March we've been pitching in on the Twin Cities Regional Science Fairs, thanks to everyone who helped.  Mary Pucel and Phill Goldman read through the research papers.   Jim Kline and Phill judged projects the night of the event.  Lynne kept the data systems flowing and trained the next generation of data entry folks. And Pam Kline kept us all on track from the bleachers.

How many of these winning project titles do you want to read

  • Development of Novel Biodegradable Bioplastics using Mango Peels Intended for Packaging Film (Alyssa Wang)
  • SignalGrab: A Machine Learning Approach to Helping Color Blind Drivers (Bora Mandic)
  • The Required Distance between the Fluxonium Qubit and the Ground Plane for Optimal T1 Times (Dylan Tate, Garrett Garms)
  • The Effectiveness of Biochar as an Amendment on the Growth of Raphanus Sativus in MGS-1 Mars Global Stimulant and the Development of a Model for Regeneration of Water and Oxygen for Life Support Sustenance on Mars (Sriram Sureshkumar)
  • Using iron and graphene oxide nanoparticles to induce targeted apoptosis in cancerous cells (Georgia Constantin)

Impressive, every one - and all of them sound like Star Trek Dialogue!  The future is now, kids!

After setting up for the awards and tearing down, I'm struck by how much talent these young scientist have, and how much they are willing to help.

Looking ahead, the 2025 edition will take place back at the Warner Colloseum at the State Fairgrounds, Friday February 28th through Sunday March 2nd. And in 2026, we'll have a new venue while the Colloseum is renovated.  Come see what's new, and help out where you can.

  • Phill

 

After Meeting Activities – Name That Story

Get your Trivia Mind ready, it's Name That Story, after the February Meeting!!

This will be a little bit new and a little experimental.  It will very definitely be Star Trek related, and having a ready stock of trivia in your head may or may not help since I like to level the playing field just a bit. If you remember overall stories, that's all you'll need (no ship IDs, stardates, minor characters, or backstage stuff - Sorry Jim).  For practice, try this one:  Intense twin rivalry winds up as a fistfight in the corridor.   

We'll have a couple of rounds, and self-score between.  The prize is bragging rights, and the privilege of planning the next online game.

Seriously, whether you Win this one or not: If you have an idea for an after-meeting game, I'm happy to help you make it real, and it's always welcome even if we have other things later in the day.  Give it a shot, I can tell you folks in the group enjoy the work and are really forgiving of glitches.

"Boeing, when the Doors Fell"

  • Phill

Your Practice Answer: The Alternative Factor.  Remember Lazarus?   Good Luck.

Twin Cities Regional Science Fair, March 1st and 3rd

Join us at the Twin Cities Regional Science Fair!  Let's pitch in to help in our 31st year involved with the Fair.

Setting Up

We don't have to move tables and chairs in and out of trucks like before, but we do have to cover the the tables and mark the competition spaces;  we need to add the numbers to the table locations.   We also need to set up the IT systems (easily 12 PCs, several large-size displays, and three printers).  Finally, a fair like this with sponsors has a lot of signs to put up  around the area.  More hands make light work, please come along and help on March 1st starting about 7-8AM.   Breakfast snacks and coffee are usually provided, along with a lunch prior to the students' arrival.

Judging

The main judging is on March 1st starting at about 4PM. The Fair needs "judges to judge both within their expertise and educated judges to judge outside their field of expertise so that the students will have to clearly present their projects to scientists who may not know the jargon of the project." They ask that judges for the complicated high school projects have experience, and this is defined on their website. However, don't let the lack of a science background stop you if you'd like to participate, as there are also middle school projects to judge. It's super fun to chat with students who dissolve teeth in Coke and lemon juice, or grow plants under various colors of light, or experiment with bugs or worms. You're guarteed to learn something!

Logistics

In a fair this big there are definitely a lot of moving pieces and a lot of data.  We need people to help check kids in, to record data during the event, and hospitality.   If you have time to help keep the main show moving, please consider joining in from about 2PM until judging is complete.

Award Ceremony and Take Down

We get a Saturday off, then return at about 9AM on Sunday March 3rd for the award ceremony, thene we undo a lot of what we did on Friday starting at 11:30.

Both parking and a light supper & snacks are provided (catered) for judges and volunteers.  Naturally, we'll go out to eat as a group after the judging is over, because we do that.

Go to www.tcrsf.net to sign up and find out all the info you need.

Internet Practices and the News

Starting February 1st our newsletter sender, along with the rest of the email-sending Internet, implemented new authentication rules.  If I did my job right you'll never see the changes under the hood.  If I didn't, what might you see?

  • A garbled newsletter, or one in text-only (I'll always have some graphics)
  • A newsletter sent to the SPAM or JUNK folder
  • Links in the newsletter don't work
  • Hardest of all to debug, you don't get your newsletter.

If you have these issues between now and June 1st, let Phill know right away and he'll do two things:  Send you a newsletter individually, and fix the glitch (or advise you how to fix it).

Please check your email address to be sure it's current.  We all change where we want our newsletter delivered, and you can update that on your own, as often as you want.  Go to the My USSNOKOMIS page to update your email address or password.

Thank YOU for Keeping Current on your Dues

Each Fall we ask you to pay your dues, and everyone in the Nokomis thanks you for staying up to date.  Dues ensure that the basics of the Club are covered.

Producing and sending the Newsletter – Forty years ago this was printing and postage and was our largest single expense. Now it covers the Website’s hosting and registration.  We’re keeping that expense as low as possible by using NO pay-for-use software, and a very inexpensive hosting service.

Banking and Finance – When the Nokomis was born and we were Searching for Spock, the main banking costs were physical checks and a monthly fee since we were a low-volume use organization.  Now those costs are gone, but we have new costs in electronic service fees like everyone else.  Did you notice we didn’t raise the dues to cover those charges?

Cards, Flowers, and Memorials – We occasionally receive requests to recognize life events. When this happens, the Nokomis may send flowers or a card as appropriate, or make a contribution to a charitable organization if the recipient prefers.  Like all costs, these have risen dramatically since 1984.  Many years the Dues covers this completely, but not always.  We’ve chosen to keep dues the same and supplement from fundraising or donations.

Meeting Locations – Though most of our locations are free, we will rent a site for regular meetings when needed, like the Anniversary Picnic.  At the founding we met in people’s homes and yards.  We outgrew that and started using public sites like libraries. Sometimes these library rooms charge nominal fees to groups like ours to raise revenue.

ZOOM – Clearly a new expense, Virtual Meetings became a necessity during the Pandemic and now form the basis of our hybrid meetings.  Every month we have up to a dozen people attend online.  The Nokomis pays for the subscription, and the added hardware and effort to set up are donated.

Individual Dues started at $10 per year in 1984 and has only been raised once, to $15 per year roughly 20 years ago.  Would you guess that $10 dues in 1984 would be the equivalent of $29.61 in 2023 according the US Bureau of Labor statistics?  Diligent effort on keeping costs low allows us to keep dues at the same level for decades at a time, and there’s no increase planned for the foreseeable future.

In a very real sense, YOU keep the club running with your dues.  Thank You!

If you need help with paying your Dues, the Nokomis may be able to help.  It’s never our intent to exclude anyone for financial reasons. 

Looking Ahead in ’24

All done with the Smiles and Holiday Parties?  The Spring in the Nokomis has a lot of really fun stuff on the calendar.

Our Fortieth Anniversay is This Year!  Mary's started to get the formal events organized, see what she has going at the next meeting and at this post.  Nothing's entirely certain yet, but likely we'll have a defined event (dinner, party, or something else) and some solid recognition at the Anniversary Picnic in June.  The Club doesn't feel that old until you realize the Club and Star Trek 3 The Search for Spock opened the same weekend in 1984.

Conventions? There are a few.  Notably the MarsCon in March.  Come to the January meeting to hear how the Nokomis can participate. Later, we'll get set for ConVergence in July.

Community Service?  We have Feed My Starving Children, Blanket Making for Kids, and a blood drive or two. The Twin Cities Regional Science Fair needs hands for setup, logistics, and judging too.

Parties?  We have the Valentine's Dinner, St. Patrick's Day (Eve) Beer Tasting, maybe a Journey To Babble the Next Generation.  And like I said, the 40th Anniversary Events.

The calendar's up to date and the excerpt below is right as of the newsletter date.  Be sure to mark your own calendars, and check back to the Website for changes and for any signup sheets tied to them.

Signup Sheets

Holiday Train Outing

Four of us hearty souls made it to the Union Depot for the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train.  Hearty, because December 10th was only day in December that was fuly below freezing during the warmest December in Minnesota history.

It was a great party atmosphere as the train arrived, albeit a bit late due to traffic on the line.  The Country Music conference was easily heard throughout the event.  The Christmas Marketplace was larger than past years and had several tasty vendors. Parking was easy right at the Depot.

Next year maybe we'll select a different point on the line, closer to a nice meal.  It's a good event to supplement our holidays, but maybe we should make an event that's less weather-sensitive for our main holiday gathering.  Let me know please if you have ideas, or if you'd just rather have an indoor party and are willing to help run it. - Phill

Canadian Pacific Holiday Train Christmas Outing This Weeked!

What says Holidays more than trains?  And this time, a real train - the CPKC Holiday Train! The train arrives from the South at 6:45PM, though it's visible along the road from Cottage Grove for perhaps 10 min before that.   Before that, the St Paul European Market happens just north of the Station, easy walking distance for both. The Marketplace is open until 6PM.

Gathering

Let's make a loose plan of meeting at the Christmas Marketplace right around 5PM.  Don't worry, if we don't get together the event is still fun.  I'll post where I land on the website.

Schedule of events:
5:00-6:45 PM: VIP Lounge opens, enjoy concessions, holiday shopping, model trains, family activities including oversized games and craft stations.
5:30 PM: Free General Admission gates open
6:45 PM: Train arrival
7:00-7:45 PM: Outdoor live concert by Tenille Townes and Breland!
7:45-8:00 PM: CP Holiday Train Departs
We STRONGLY encourage that you bring a non-perishable food or cash donation for our local food shelf partner, Keystone Community Services.

The Canadian Pacific Holiday Train will stop in 20 Minnesota towns on its annual ride (2023 is its 25th anniversary!) through the northern U.S., bringing live entertainment and Christmas cheer in exchange for donations to local food banks.  The train arrives about 6:45 PM on Sunday, December 10th and spends the evening there.  We'll have plenty of time to view the train and the show.

Need more details?  The State of MN has even more info at MN Holiday Train Schedule | Explore Minnesota, and the Christmas Marketplace details are European Christmas Market.

Since the train moved to Sunday the 10th, this will be the Club's holiday event, freeing Saturday the 9th for your own holiday purposes.

Parking

Thanks to a couple of our intrepid memebers, we know that parking will be full at the Depot.  By they time 5:00 PM rolls around the likeliest spaces are at the far north end of the Union Depot parking lots.   THere are a couple of options to consider.

  • Parking, good walking shoes, and patience (my particular choice)
  • Light Rain trains roll to CHS field, just a couple of blocks from the Depot.  The green line continues regular service until well after 10 PM westbound.
  • Uber to the station is easy, but finding one after may be a challenge
  • There is a taxi stand at Union Depot

Dinner After

Since the train, and I presume most of us, are departing at 8 PM on a 'school night', I will try to find a casual place to grab a bite rather than a sit down dinner close to the event. I've been advised by most places nearby that they will be either very crowded, or close at 8PM on Sundays.  Suggestions are always welcome.

Our Christmas Event – CP Christmas Train, Sunday Dec 10th at 6:45PM

All Aboard the Nokomis' Christmas Holiday Event for 2023!  We'll be viewing the train at St. Paul's Union Depot.  The train arrives from the South at 6:45PM, though it's visible along the road from Cottage Grove for perhaps 10 min before that.   Before that, the St Paul European Market happens just north of the Station, easy walking distance for both. The Marketplace is open until 6PM.

The Canadian Pacific Holiday Train will stop in 20 Minnesota towns on its annual ride (2023 is its 25th anniversary!) through the northern U.S., bringing live entertainment and Christmas cheer in exchange for donations to local food banks.  The train arrives about 6:45 PM on Sunday, December 10th and spends the evening there.  We'll have plenty of time to view the train and the show.

Afterwards we can retire to one of the fine dining establishments in the area.  Just a couple of blocks away, I am recommending Dark Horse Bar and Eatery, a good dinner and burger place that won't require reparking. We can visit that at the November meeting.

Need more details?  The State of MN has even more info at MN Holiday Train Schedule | Explore Minnesota, and the Christmas Marketplace details are European Christmas Market.

Since the train moved to Sunday the 10th, this will be the Club's holiday event, freeing Saturday the 9th for your own holiday purposes.

 

 

Annual Bake Sale after November Meeting

Don't forget to bring your baked goods and money to the November meeting! Every year, yummy things show up and are gobbled up by the dozen. You can also not gobble, but bring them home to be gobbled with the turkey or holiday meal. Either way, we can't have a sale without donations and buyers, and it's up to you. Bring your items separated into small portions (6 cookies, one pie, etc) with prices marked on each item.  Please keep the prices to whole dollars, make it easy on your Science Officer!