Sternberg Museum Outbound

I have been working at the Sternberg Museum as the Director of Education and Outreach for just over a year now. My first big project was the establishment of the Sternberg Museum Science Camps for elementary, middle, and high school students. Unfortunately, under this system alone, after participants finish high school there were no big programs being offered by the Museum that science adventure enthusiasts could participate in. To address this gap in big, cool science education trips and programs for adults, we have created Sternberg Museum: Outbound!

Love science? Enjoy traveling to new places and learning new things?
Join us on one of our Sternberg Museum: Outbound trips!

Sternberg Museum: Outbound is our way of providing a grown-up version of science camp trips. We will travel to locales outside of Kansas, focusing on topics in the earth and life sciences through the lens of the culture and natural history of each destination. These trips will be lead by Sternberg Museum science and education staff, providing top-notch information and special behind the scenes opportunities at our various stops.

At the Denver Museum, trip participants will get a
behind the scenes look at the fossil collections
and science facilities!

This year,  we are excited to offer a trip to Denver (December 13th and 14th), followed by a trip to Oregon next summer (June 29th-August 8th, 2015)! In Denver, we will be going behind the scenes of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science to see some of their scientific collections. This will be an excellent opportunity to see how a museum research collection of fossils is cared for, and the purpose they have in forwarding our knowledge of the the Earth's past. We will also be touring more than ten different breweries, meeting with brewmasters and getting a behind the scenes look at how different beers go from raw ingredients to finished fermented beverage. Special emphasis will be put into the science of brewing beer, including the biochemistry and evolution of yeast, water chemistry effects, and aspects of plant biology (grains, hops) that go into making the myriad of distinct styles of beer we enjoy today. We will also get a glimpse at how the physical process of brewing has changed since its earliest days, and the engineering feats behind those changes (or in some cases, lack thereof).

Brewmaster of De Steeg Brewery, Craig Rothgery, is a
mechanical engineer, and will be meeting with us in
Denver to discuss somebrewing science!

We will also be stopping by Crooked Stave,
a very unique brewery in Denver that
uses barrel-aging techniques to
create some truly interesting,
tough to make beers.

Our trip to Oregon will also include some stops at some amazing breweries, as well as wineries that litter the Willamette Valley. Our trek will start in Portland, then move southeast to the high desert of eastern Oregon, home of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument (a word-class center of paleontological research), Smith Rock, and Crater Lake! Moving west, we will head through the Cascades mountain range through Eugene, and onwards to the coast to witness incredible sand dunes, thriving tide pool ecosystems, and, if we are lucky, see some whales! Stops at the Oregon Coast Aquarium and the Tillamook Cheese Factory are also on the itinerary. Upon returning to Portland at the end of our grand loop, we will stop by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, and drop by the Bite of Oregon, an annual food and drink festival featuring some of the best the state has to offer! All along the way, we will explore the geology, biology, and natural history of the state of Oregon.

The Painted Hills, a landmark of John Day Fossil Beds National
Monument in eastern Oregon.

In 2016, we will be offering a wine and geology trip led by Sternberg Museum paleontologist Dr. Laura Wilson, as well as a yet to be determined international trip! We are thrilled to be able to offer these exciting new guided adult science education programs. You don't even have to live in Kansas to participate! After registering for any particular trip, schedule your flight (or drive, sail, take a train, whatever suits you) and meet us at our starting point! From there, the group will set out on our adventure!

If you have any questions about participating in the Sternberg Museum: Outbound trips, you can contact me at DALevering@FHSU.edu, or by phone at 785-639-5249. To learn more, you can also visit the Sternberg Museum webpage by clicking the picture below!

Beer and prehistoric creatures! What
more could you want??