Senior Seminar Challenges Science Students

What effect does El Nino have on pineapple crops in Hawaii? What is the history of Pi? What can make a baseball thrown at 90 miles per hour curve drastically as it reaches the plate? What is the Monte Hall Probability Problem?

These are the types of intriguing questions ten Buena Vista University science students examined for their senior seminar projects in 2000. Each student chose a topic relative to their program — biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics or physics — and worked for a semester with their faculty sponsor to research and analyze information, sometimes using a combination of humor and science to prove their theory.

The culmination of the semester's work was a banquet in honor of senior science students. Each senior presented a two- or three-minute synopsis of his or her seminar project, utilizing multimedia technologies.

In recognition of the impact teachers have early on in a scientist's education, many of the BVU students invited their high school mentors to the banquet.

Experiential Learning: Biology | Chemistry | Computer Science | Mathematics | Physics