Filed under: Arizona, Arizona State University, ASU, Science | Tags: ASU, Community, Earth, explore, Science, scientists, Space
TEMPE, Ariz. – Kids of all ages, and their parents and teachers too, are invited to learn more about Earth and space through hands-on activities, experimental demonstrations and public lectures by ASU scientists from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 3, in the Bateman Physical Science Building, F-Wing, at ASU’s Tempe campus.
The annual Earth and Space Exploration Day, hosted by ASU’s School of Earth and Space Exploration, provides a variety of educational activities “for kids ages 5 to 95,” says professor Tom Sharp, a mineralogist and associate director of the NASA Arizona Space Grant Consortium.
“The purpose of this event is to provide an up-close opportunity for the public to see some of the great science we do at ASU, while we engage students of all ages in fun, hands-on scientific learning activities,” says Sharp. “There is plenty of depth for adults too.”
For example, ASU planetary scientist David Williams will present a lecture on solar system exploration at 10 a.m., and give an overview of results from NASA’s and the European Space Agency’s 2007 planetary missions. Other lectures on black holes, volcanology, the Mars rovers and whether there will be an energy crisis are scheduled on the hour throughout the event.
In conjunction with the day of exploration, ASU’s Space Photography Laboratory is hosting an open house and will show the latest NASA planetary images.
There also will be special shows in the planetarium, including one on “Stars over Arizona.” Other educational activities include learning about minerals while panning for gold, examining rocks and meteorite sections under a microscope, viewing the sun with a solar telescope, and learning about volcanoes and their explosive eruptions.
The public can “take a tour” of Mars with the aid of a GeoWall 3-D projector. Children, and adults can bring in rocks for “Dr. Rock” to identify or water samples for “Dr. Water” to analyze. Minerals, gems, fossils from around the world, the only active seismograph in central Arizona, a six-story Foucault pendulum, and Columbian mammoth bones from Chandler, Ariz., will be on display in the Dietz Museum of Geology.
Also scheduled is a geology field trip to “A” Mountain (Hayden Butte) to learn about sedimentary rocks, volcanic rocks and geological structures exposed in Tempe.
There will be handouts and outreach information for teachers from the School of Earth and Space Exploration and other academic and research units in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, including the Institute for Human Origins and the School of Geographical Sciences.
“We hope the event will encourage children to learn that science is fun as they learn about how the Earth works and how we study it,” Sharp says.
For more information, contact the School of Earth and Space Exploration at (480) 965-5081 or http://www.sese.asu.edu <http://www.sese.asu.edu/> .
Filed under: Art, Artists, Arts, Arts and Entertainment, City of Tempe, City of Tempe News, Community, Community Service, Entertainment, Events, library, Public Library, Tempe, Tempe Arizona | Tags: Adult Learning, Exhibition
TEMPE, Ariz. – “Visions of Arizona: People, Places and Things from our own
experiences,” the 2007 senior art exhibition will be on display from
8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Friday (except on city-observed holidays), from
Oct. 25 through Jan. 24 in the Public Library Second Floor Gallery, 3500 S.
Rural Road.
Admission is free.
This exhibition features Tempe senior artists from five city-sponsored art
classes at the Pyle Adult Recreation Center. The classes provide the
opportunity for individuals to enhance their skills and experiment with new
and traditional techniques and materials.
The students come from widely varied backgrounds and all parts of the world.
Nearly all of these students have found their creativity to be a source of
deep personal satisfaction and growth, keeping them young in both mind and
heart.
Artists display work in acrylic, oil, water color, colored pencil and other
drawing media. This year’s exhibit is a collection of artwork designed from
artists’ personal “Arizona” experiences.
Information: http://www.tempe.gov/arts/exhibitions/Library.htm or call
480/350-5211
<http://www.tempe.gov/arts/exhibitions/Library.htm%20or%20call%20480/350
-5211> .
Tempe galleries are operated and maintained by the city of Tempe Cultural
Services Division.
Filed under: Arizona, Arts and Entertainment, City of Tempe, City of Tempe News, Community, Community Service, Entertainment, Halloween, Holiday, Holidays, Parks, Parks and Recreation, Tempe, Tempe Arizona | Tags: Arizona, City of Tempe, Community, Entertainment, Fun, Halloween, Kiwanis, Kiwanis Community Park, Public Affairs, Tempe
Tempe’s 30th Annual Halloween Carnival a treat for all
Families invited to the best “monster mash” in town
TEMPE, Ariz. – Don’t get spooked this Halloween! Come to one of the most
exciting and safe places in the Valley to celebrate Halloween with your
family. Tempe’s 30th Annual Family Halloween Carnival will be Wednesday,
Oct. 31, from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at Kiwanis Community Park, 6005 S.
All-America Way (Mill Avenue and All-America Way).
Some spooktacular highlights include entertainment, food, face painting,
carnival games and a 7:30 p.m. costume contest for goblins of all ages.
Local groups will provide live entertainment.
Admission is free and is offered to Valley families as a safe alternative to
trick-or-treating. Carnival tickets are 25 cents each, and proceeds will
benefit non-profit groups around the state.
More than 5,000 families are expected to attend this year’s event, and Tempe
hopes that number will grow even more in the years to come.
For more information visit www.tempe.gov/events or call the City of Tempe
Parks and Recreation Office at 480-350-5200. Text telephone/TDD is available
at 480-350-5050.
Filed under: City of Tempe, City of Tempe News, Friends of the Library, library, Public Library, Tempe, Tempe Arizona | Tags: Arizona, book, Book Sale, book sales, Books, Friends of the Library, sale, Sales, Tempe, Tempe Public Library
Book Sale – Friends of the Tempe Public LibraryCity of Tempe
480-350-5599
Book sale at Tempe Public Library
TEMPE, Ariz. – Purchase paperback and hardcover books for children and adults at the Tempe Public Library on Saturday, Oct. 27, from 10 a.m. to
2 p.m. The Friends of the Tempe Public Library is holding its annual Fall Book Sale in the Program Room on the lower lever, used book sales at bargain prices, with selections ranging from classics to recent bestsellers. A selection of audio-visual items will also be available.
The event will begin with a special Members Only sale from 9-10 a.m.
Community members who wish to become a member of the Friends may purchase a membership on the day of the sale. The sale will be open to the general public from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Friends of the Tempe Public Library is a non-profit organization that sponsors library programs for adults and children, purchases library equipment and furnishings, and promotes the library’s activities.
The Tempe Public Library is located at 3500 S. Rural Road. For more information on the book sale or purchasing a membership, call the Friends of the Tempe Public Library at 480-350-5599.
Filed under: ASU, City of Phoenix, City of Tempe | Tags: air traffic controller, ASU, Aviation, FAA, Federal Aviation Administration
FAA sanctions air traffic controller program at ASU
MESA, Ariz. – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) gave Arizona State University’s thumbs up on Oct. 16 to receive the Air Traffic Controller Collegiate Training Initiative (CTI) designation for its new air traffic controller degree program. The designation as a CTI program is highly coveted and only select institutions are awarded such status.
The FAA works with schools and universities all over the country as part of the CTI, which designates an institution as an FAA partner. Such a designation gives preferential hiring to students who successfully complete the degree program.
ASU’s program is unique in that it was designed by current and former air traffic controllers and faculty members. Students graduating from the program will have a combination of academics, theory and practical application, said Michael Pearson, clinical associate professor in the Department of Aeronautical Management Technology and an air traffic controller at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
“The program has been specifically designed to greatly reduce the time required for ASU students to enter the workforce and obtain full performance level (FPL) status,” said Pearson. “The first graduating class of CTI students is expected by spring 2009.”
The FAA estimates that over the next 10 years, more than 17,000 air traffic controllers (ATC) will be needed to replace retiring ATCs.
Mandatory retirement is part of the profession. And many of the ATCs hired by the Federal Aviation Administration in the early 1980s are coming up on retirement.
To help meet the expected demand, the Arizona Board of Regents approved the Air Traffic Management bachelor’s degree in June 2006. As a new program, the aeronautical department in the College of Technology and Innovation continues to develop relationships with the aeronautical industry as well as professionals in the ATC field.
“The CTI program is evolving, and it is likely in the near future that it may be possible for graduates of these programs to move faster through the FAA training than they have in the past,” said Richard Charles, chair and professor of the Department of Aeronautical Management Technology. “Graduates would still be considered trainees but they will be able to go to actual employment sites quicker.”
The program is tailored for traditional age students and those wanting a career change. Applicants for ATC jobs must be hired prior to reaching their 31st birthday due to federal law.
Students like Matt Bell, a junior in the program, started out as a professional flight student and is almost finished with his pilot ratings, but decided to switch his major. As part of the program, he is gaining first-hand experience through a three-semester internship in the air traffic control tower at Sky Harbor International Airport. It’s the only program in the country that offers an extensive internship as part of the curriculum, he said.
“Seven students are currently working in the tower or in the radar area,” said Bell. “As a tower intern, I’m learning the operation at Sky Harbor to become a controller, as well as doing other support functions like creating training materials and working with the simulators. At any other institution, I would not have this opportunity.”
If this internship program is successful, the FAA may use it as a model and implement it at other CTI designated colleges and universities.
“The CTI designation is a tremendous opportunity for our program, and the ancillary opportunities beyond the training of air traffic controllers are only limited by our own performance,” said Pearson.
For information about the program at ASU, visit www.poly.asu.edu/aviation or call (480) 727-1021.
***
ASU’s Polytechnic campus, located in southeast Mesa, offers bachelor and graduate degree programs, unparalleled by other Arizona state universities, through the Morrison School of Management and Agribusiness, the School of Applied Arts and Sciences, the College of Technology and Innovation, and the School of Educational Innovation and Teacher Preparation. Visit us online at http://www.poly.asu.edu.
Filed under: City of Tempe, City of Tempe News, Tempe, Tempe Arizona | Tags: Affordable Housing, City Council, Fair Housing, Housing, Tempe Public Library
Nikki Ripley
Communication and Media Relations Director City of Tempe
480-350-8846
Tempe City Council hosts affordable housing summit
TEMPE, Ariz. – Tempe community members will gather Saturday, Oct. 20, for a
half-day summit on affordable housing that is meant to spur discussion and
solutions for this pressing need.
City Councilmember Shana Ellis will lead the forum, which takes place from
8:30 a.m. to noon at the Tempe Public Library’s lower level Program Room,
3500 S. Rural Rd. Ellis is Chair of the City Council’s Transportation and
Affordable Housing Committee, which also includes Vice Mayor Hut Hutson as a
member.
Councilmember Ellis will present a current picture of the city’s affordable
housing projects, policies and needs. The city’s non-profit and faith-based
partners also will present local affordable housing projects. A roundtable
discussion will solicit ideas for creating partnerships and pooling
resources to create a workable affordable housing solution in Tempe.
Filed under: Art, Artists, Arts, Arts and Entertainment, City of Glendale, City of Mesa, City of Phoenix, City of Tempe, City of Tempe News, Community, Community Service, Mesa, Phoenix Arizona, Tempe Arizona | Tags: Exhibition, Glendale, Mesa, Phoenix Arizona, Post Office, Tempe
TEMPE, Ariz. – “Element,” an exhibition inspired by the extravagant holiday
window displays in Macy’s and other New York City department stores, will be
on display from Oct. 19-Jan. 31 at the United States Post Office, 500 S.
Mill Ave. (5th Street & Mill Avenue).
Artists Nicole Royse (Tempe), Jeff Falk (Phoenix), Adil Rahee (Mesa) and
Manny Burruel (Glendale) have prepared elaborate window displays that
celebrate one of the following elements: air, fire, earth and water.
Water
Royse earned her Bachelors of Arts degree in Art History from Arizona State
University. She currently works on several research projects in the field of
art history.
Fire
Falk is a long-time active artist in Phoenix that has studied art at
Glendale Community College, Arizona State University and Phoenix College and
has shown his artwork in more than 200 exhibitions in venues across North
America.
Earth
Since moving to Arizona and becoming an American citizen, Rahee has shown at
the Arizona State University Art Museum, as well as at the January Solo
Exhibition at Shemer Art Center and Museum. He is currently earning his
Masters of Fine Arts degree in Ceramics at ASU.
Air
Burruel is a member of the Glendale Arts Commission and is a past member of
the Arizona Commission on the Arts. He was president of the Shemer Art
Center and Museum Associations Board of Directors and is a past vice
president and artist member of Movimiento Artistico del Rio Salado. His work
has been shown in countless exhibits throughout the Phoenix Metropolitan
area. His work has appeared in numerous publications, as well.
Information: Visit http://www.tempe.gov/arts/exhibitions/USPO.htm or call
Michelle Dock 480/350-2867.
Filed under: Arizona State University, Art, Artists, Arts, Arts and Entertainment, City of Tempe, City of Tempe News, Community, Community Service, Entertainment, Tempe, Tempe Arizona | Tags: Ariz, ASU, ASU Gammage lawn, Exhibition, Gammage, Mighty Manimal March, Tempe
TEMPE, Ariz. – “Mighty Manimal March,” the second of a two-part temporary,
shared-terrain public art exhibition was installed on Friday October 12
Friday on the ASU Gammage lawn, at the northeast corner of Mill Avenue and
Apache Boulevard.
Seattle artist Nicole Kistler, formerly of Tempe, will install a more than
160 commercially produced plastic, latex and fiberglass animal lawn
ornaments, such as deer, flamingoes and coyotes on the Gammage lawn. The
menagerie features 64 flamingoes, 30 penguins, five pelicans, seven iguanas
and lizards, two pythons, 10 chicks, a baby elephant named “Bessie,” 11 wild
boar, 20 rabbits, four squirrels, six reindeer and three bears. She intends
to arrange this “river” of animals so that they appear to be on a protest
march or leaving class together and chatting about the course material.
The installation will be on display through December (date pending).
Shared Terrain exhibitions are intended to explore the blurred territory and
shared history where the university meets the city. Pedestrians and
passengers of the thousands of vehicles that pass through this area can
receive a new perspective on the familiar territory and expand their
awareness of site-responsive artwork.
This exhibition furthers the arts district concept of Mill Avenue, which
begins at Gammage Auditorium and includes the Music Building, ASU Art Museum
and the Ceramics Research Center and several School of Art galleries.
Shared Terrain information:
http://herbergercollege.asu.edu/public_art/temporary/sharedterrain.html
Nicole Kistler information: www.nicolekistler.com
<http://www.nicolekistler.com/>
Filed under: City of Mesa, Community, Community Service, Education, Events, Family, Homeless, library, Mesa, Public Library | Tags: agencies, Assistance, Citizens, Domestic Violence, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Employment, Exhibition, Family Resource Center, Homeless Shelters, Mesa, Murderers, Murders, October, support
In Arizona, a woman is murdered by her husband or boyfriend every four days.
In an effort to bring attention and awareness to this staggering problem,
the City of Mesa and Save the Family Foundation of Arizona have joined
forces to create a display at the Main Library, 64 E. First St., which will
run through the month of October. The display contains artwork and
stories from the mothers and children in Save the Family’s program.
Visitors to the display will learn to recognize domestic violence, see how
domestic violence victims are working to turn their lives around as well as
find out how they can volunteer and help be part of the solution. The
display coincides with October being Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Save the Family provides transitional housing and case management services
to more than 300 families a year. With 159 housing units serving homeless
families with children throughout the Valley, Save the Family is changing
the face of homelessness and helping many women and children of domestic
violence get a fresh start. Through programs like Career Development, Legal
Assistance and domestic violence and parenting classes, clients in Save the
Family’s program learn to become both economically and emotionally
self-sufficient.
For more information, contact Save the Family Volunteer Director Andrea Sok
at 480-898-0228, extension 215.
Filed under: City of Mesa, Community, Mesa, Tax, Taxes, Volunteering, Volunteers | Tags: Mesa, tax returns, VITA, Volunteer, Volunteers
Volunteer tax preparers are needed in Mesa for the Volunteer Income Tax
Assistance Program (VITA), which offers free tax help to hard working
community members who cannot prepare their own tax returns. During the last
tax season, the VITA program returned almost $1 million in federal tax
refunds directly to 934 households in Mesa.
New volunteer tax preparers are required to commit to a minimum of 2 to 4
hours per week. They will prepare the basic 1040 tax returns and related
schedules and know the eligibility rules for claiming the Earned Income Tax
Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC). New volunteer preparers must
attend training in January.
There is also a need for other volunteers with the VITA program, includin= g
greeters, screeners and translators. All volunteers must attend an
orientation session.
VITA tax sites will be open in February, March and April on weekdays and
weekends throughout Mesa. They are generally located at community and
neighborhood centers, libraries, schools, shopping malls and other
convenient locations. All locations also offer free electronic filing.
For more information, contact Mesa Neighborhood Services Volunteer
Coordinator Katie Brown at 480-644-3705 or
www.cityofmesa.org/volunteer/neighsvc
Phoenix Arizona 