Environment

Will Schmidt Receives Community Youth Award

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PEEC Volunteer Coordinator Christa Tyson sits with Will Schmidt the June recipient of the Community Youth Award, presented last Friday. Courtesy photo
 
Sue Watts, winner of the Spirit of the West earlier this year holding her handcrafted award by Richard Ronquillo for her work at PEEC. Courtesy photo
 
C’YA News:

Will Schmidt took home the Community Youth Award for June, from Champions of Youth Ambitions (C’YA).

Schmidt, 15, has been a PEEC volunteer since 2012 volunteering regularly, caring for the educational animals and conversing with visitors, participating

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LANL Students Bring Virtual Reality To Nature Center

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The community is invited to try out the new Oculus Rift virtual reality machine at 7 p.m., July 19 at the Los Alamos Nature Center. Courtesy/PEEC

PEEC News:

Thanks to Los Alamos National Laboratory students, the technology of the future, virtual reality, is now available at the Los Alamos Nature Center.

The community is invited to grab a pair of headsets, kick back and enter a virtual world brimming with possibilities in which the boundaries of visualization technologies are pushed at 7 p.m., July 19, at the Los Alamos Nature Center.

HTC’s Vive and Oculus’ Rift are two up-and-coming programs that Read More

Hunter College Creates Super Sniffer Mice

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Destined to be the bomb detector of the future. Courtesy/commons.wikimedia.org

HSNW News:

Researchers at Hunter College, part of the City University of New York, have created super-sniffer mice that have an increased ability to detect a specific odor, according to a study published 7 July in Cell Reports. The mice, which can be tuned to have different levels of sensitivity to any smell by using mouse or human odor receptors, could be used as land-mine detectors or as the basis for novel disease sensors.

The technology, a transgenic approach to engineering the mouse genome, could also Read More

Calling All Teens Interested In Science And Art: Projecting Particles Lab At ScienceFest 2016

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Scene from ScienceFest 2015. Courtesy/LACDC

LACDC News:

This year’s Los Alamos ScienceFest will host a one of a kind workshop for high school aged teens.

Artist Agnes Chavez will lead the workshop, which will explore how to create a live projection art performance using an iPad app called Tagtool. Participants will learn about particle physics concepts, and how physics theories are expanding our understanding of who we are and where we come from.

The students will work in teams over the course of a 2-day workshop to storyboard, design and perform their science based projection installations. Read More

PEEC: New Laser Light Shows July 31 – Aug. 7

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PEEC News:
 
Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC) is bringing all new Laser Light Shows to the Los Alamos Nature Center July 31 through Aug. 7.
 
Choose from up to four different shows each day. Enjoy laser shows choreographed to music as a full-dome experience in the nature center planetarium.
 
With 14 unique laser light shows, there is truly something for everyone. Music fans will love to see how laser light transforms their favorite bands in Laser Rock, Laser Retro, and Laser Viny. There are separate shows dedicated to the music of Metallica, Led Zeppelin,
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Craig Martin Guides Hike To Bandelier’s Upper Crossing

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View of Upper Frijoles Canyon. Photo by Craig Martin
 
PEEC News:
 
Saturday, July 16, local trails expert Craig Martin will lead a hike to Upper Crossing. The four-mile hike includes 400 feet of elevation gain, incredible views of Frijoles Canyon, a walk through an old growth Ponderosa Pine Forest, beautiful wildflowers, and a chance to glimpse some unusual plants near the end of the trail. This hike, organized by the Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC) is one of many events to help people get outside and enjoy nature.
 
To hike Bandelier’s Upper Crossing with Martin,
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PEEC Family Night With Melissa Mackey July 12

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PEEC offers hands-on fun July 12 at the Los Alamos Nature Center’s Family Night. Photo by Sandra West

PEEC News:

Family Night is 6-7 p.m. Tuesday, July 12 at the Los Alamos Nature Center and features a night of games and songs around the campfire with Mesa Public Library’s Melissa Mackey.

The nature center will be open until 8 p.m. for exploring the exhibits.

Family Night is held the second Tuesday of every month at the nature center and thanks to a generous sponsorship from the Kiwanis Club of Los Alamos, this program is free to attend.

For more information about this and other programs offered by the Read More

PEEC: Volunteerism And Youth

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PEEC volunteer. Courtesy/PEEC
 
PEEC volunteer. Courtesy/PEEC
 
 
By CHRISTA TYSON
PEEC Volunteer Coordinator
  • You’re never too young to change the world. – unknown

Los Alamos is known as “one of the best places to raise children.”As a parent, I can attest to the blessings this area offers. We have amazing schools, easy access to the natural beauty of our surrounding open spaces, and endless programs geared toward educating, enriching and enlivening the youth here. We have many programs that support and uphold families.

A benefit often overlooked, is the opportunity for the Read More

Dawn Maps Ceres Craters Where Ice May Accumulate

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This artist’s concept shows NASA’s Dawn spacecraft heading toward the dwarf planet Ceres. Courtesy: NASA/JPL-Caltech
 
NASA/JPL News:

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Scientists with NASA’s Dawn mission have identified permanently shadowed regions on the dwarf planet Ceres. Most of these areas likely have been cold enough to trap water ice for a billion years, suggesting that ice deposits could exist there now. The findings were published this week in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union.
 
“The conditions on Ceres
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Keeping Pets Safe In Summer Heat

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A trio of dogs ride in a boat. Courtesy photo
 
By ERIN ASKLAND
Dog Training and Behavior Expert

 

Each summer, hundreds of dogs are harmed as a result of being left in hot cars or outside without enough water or protection. Heat waves, like the one most of the country is experiencing, are especially dangerous for pets, as high temperatures can lead to dehydration, heat stroke, sunburn and even death in just a few minutes. A few preventative measures can easily protect dogs from heat wave hazards.
Watch for Heatstroke
Dogs can develop heatstroke fairly quickly. Signs of this include excessive
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