Mines’ Spring 2023 STEAM Café Lineup Features Dark Skies, Early Radio, Local Pottery, Survival Skills and More
South Dakota Mines Spring 2023 STEAM Café lineup includes a wide range of exciting topics.
STEAM Café, an ongoing series of free, informal talks by Mines faculty, staff and visiting experts, is a partnership between the university, South Dakota Public Broadcasting and Hay Camp Brewing Company. An acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics, STEAM Café is held at 6 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month at Hay Camp in Rapid City unless otherwise noted.
The 2023 spring STEAM Café lineup includes:
Jan. 17, 6 p.m.
Dark Sky Magic: 70 Years of the Night Sky Above the Black Hills
Presented by Hank Fridell, Black Hills Astronomical Society member
For nearly 70 years, the Black Hills Astronomical Society (BHAS) has introduced thousands of area residents to the wonders of the night sky at the Hidden Valley Observatory just outside of Rapid City. Hank Fridell, BHAS member, will present a series of astronomy photos taken in the Black Hills and discuss how observing the night sky has changed over the years and, with it, our understanding of the universe. Attendees of this presentation will also discover how to obtain a free copy of the book chronicling the history of the BHAS, which was written during the pandemic by Fridell, Ron Dyvig, director of the Badlands Observatory in Quinn, SD, and Richard Walker, director of the Hidden Valley Observatory.
Feb. 21, 6 p.m., Performing Arts Center
Mines Chemistry Magic Show during Engineers Week
Presented by Mines students with the ACS university chapter
Join us as Mines students with the university chapter of the American Chemical Society present their popular “magic show” featuring science-based demonstrations, including the liquid nitrogen cannon. Please note: this presentation will be held at the Performing Arts Center as part of Mines' Engineers Week activities.
March 21, 6 p.m.
Primal Skills: Confronting Personal and Global Challenges Eye to Eye
Presented by Dr. Tim Masterlark, Mickelson Professor of Geology and Geological Engineering at Mines, and Dr. Scyller Borglum, vice president at WSP USA and a Mines alumna.
Current environmental, societal and economic challenges making global headlines have hit home and become overwhelming for many people. How can we navigate uncertainty and turmoil? Dr. Tim Masterlark, Mickelson Professor of geology and geological engineering at South Dakota Mines, spent the past year as a Jefferson Science Fellow with the U.S. Department of State, training diplomatic security agents who operate in some of the most lawless places on Earth. Dr. Scyller Borglum, vice president at WSP USA and a Mines alumna, is focused on the next generation of scientists and engineers who can solve modern transportation, energy, environmental and infrastructure problems. They will share simple but effective “primal skills” - personal responsibility, mental toughness, situational awareness, run/hide/fight and mitigating medical trauma - that can help us all tackle difficulties in our personal lives and beyond.
April 18, 6 p.m.
The U.S. Invasion of Canada: Border Broadcasting in the Early Days of Radio
Presented by Dr. Bryce Tellmann
KFBB in Havre, Mont., is often credited as the first radio station on the Northern Plains. When the 50-watt station atop Buttrey's Department Store started broadcasting in 1922, it quickly became an important means of civic, cultural and personal connection on both sides of the U.S./Canada border. Dr. Bryce Tellmann, a lecturer in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at South Dakota Mines, will focus on the regionalizing effect of early radio broadcasts, how KFBB became part of a deep-rooted tradition of international regionalism on the Northern Plains and other radio-related highlights from the 54th Annual Dakota Conference.
May 16, 6 p.m.
Potted and Glazed: The History and Use of Black Hills Minerals for Ceramics
Presented by Dr. Jon Kellar and Dr. Katrina Donovan
Creation of pottery and ceramics is as ancient as human settlement, and minerals found in the Black Hills have been used to make ceramics for hundreds of years. Drs. Jon Kellar and Katrina Donovan of the South Dakota Mines Materials and Metallurgical Engineering Department recently received a National Science Foundation grant to study minerals' chemical makeup and apply it to creative uses within their undergraduate engineering program. They will discuss the history of the local ceramics industry, the efforts of area ceramics artists, and the science and creative process behind turning raw minerals into ceramics.