BEND, Ore. – Oregon State University-Cascades on Sept. 28 will host Discovery Day, a community festival including talks, research demonstrations and hands-on activities that showcase OSU’s growing Central Oregon campus.
Discovery Day will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28. It is free to the public. The festival will include tours of the campus public art collection and of the future expansion area, a rock climbing wall, children’s activities and food created by chefs from the OSU-Cascades’ Beaver Dam dining hall that feature Oregon-sourced products.
Highlights include family-friendly keynote presentations by OSU researchers:
- “The Six Qualities of Healthy Families” by Dennis Lynn, a senior instructor in human development and family sciences.
- “First Victims of Climate Change” by Elizabeth Marino, an assistant professor of anthropology.
- “Robots and Comedy” by Heather Knight, an assistant professor of computer science in OSU’s College of Engineering.
Additional presentation topics include how spending time outside can improve mental health; how virtual reality can enhance classroom learning; and the impact of artificial beaver dams on local streams.
Activities also include demonstrations using a life-size 3-D digital model of the human anatomy, opportunities to launch micro rockets, cooking s’mores with a solar oven, and fitness stations where adults and children can assess their fitness levels.
OSU Extension experts — a master gardener, a nutritionist, and Juntos high school volunteers — will hold hands-on sessions demonstrating flavored vinegars and pressure canning, Spanish bingo and more.
To learn more about Discovery Day visit OSUcascades.edu/discoveryday or contact 541-322-3100 or info@osucascades.edu. Discovery Day is coordinated in partnership with OSU Extension in Central Oregon.