Bob Gotwals (our senior computational science educator - aka Bob 2) introduced the new students to the Shodor Scholars program. We need more computational scientists, and Shodor's system for training young scientists is an apprenticeship program. To become an apprentice: 1) you have to like doing science with computers, 2) you have to like us, 3) we have to like you. SSP is like an audition for an apprenticeship; after sampling a variety of sciences and models, the students will have a chance to apply to the apprentice program. The scholars will also present research projects at the end of SSP. Bob used rope tricks to introduce the different types of science. There are four types of science: observational, experimental, theoretical, and computational.
Bob had the kids observe the movement of the ropes in the bird's wing trick, they experimented with the length and speed of the ropes, and they used their imaginations to explore theoretical problems with closed loops of rope. The students discussed the difference between possibility and probability in their rope experiments. The final kind of science, computational science, encompasses all the other sciences.
As scholars, the students will do three things: 1) use a computer model to accomplish some task, 2) modify a computer model to perform a certain task, and 3) create a model from scratch. The students will choose/create a model to use in their final projects.
After the rope tricks, Bob 2 gave the students packs of 23 cards with one card missing; the students arranged the cards so they could determine six characteristics - color, number of stars, number of circles, number of triangles, printed integer, and printed decimal - of the missing card. This activity was a freestyle matrix exploration. Next, the scholars found Osborne Place - a farm - in Google Earth. Farmer Mark is concerned about the amount of soil he loses every year on his sloped field. Bob 2 asked the students to find the direction of the runoff and the amount of soil lost.
The students used pictures and maps to collect elevation data for the farm. The scholars used the data to form 3-D graphs of the surface of the land first in excel, and then in gnuplot. In gnuplot, the students again used matrices to find a solution. Bob 2 took the students to the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) from Purdue. They used WEPP to build a thrid model of the farm and to calculate the amount of soil loss. The WEPP model also allowed the students to experiment with the type of crops planted on the land to minimize soil loss and maximize profit. Pat helped Bob 2 present information on the different types of soil in North Carolina, and they lead the students through an analysis of Farmer Mark's soil. Finally, the scholars presented the results of their experiments with the WEPP model to the class.