On April 1, 2019, C4K youth and staff discovered Monticello through the lens of inventions and innovations. We had a wonderful experience learning new things about Jefferson’s inquisitive mind and life as a continuous learner, including his architectural designs and his polygraph machine.
When asked, “What did you most enjoy about today’s visit?”, Eva, a C4K member replied, “Everything…But, the polygraph was really impressive.”
Isaiah shared, “If Jefferson had a computer, he’d probably take it apart, figure out how it works, and make it better.”
Thanks to our tour guide, Stu, for creating such a personalized experience for us. Also, thanks to Faye and Linnea for providing the opportunity for us to visit and be inspired.
UVA Athletics Day: Video Production | Student Athlete Panel | Football Facilities & JPJ Tour
On April 2, we visited UVA and spoke with student-athletes who shared their sporting and academic experiences from the lens of a college student. We especially enjoyed a lively Q&A session between members and players.
Plus, we got an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the football facilities and JPJ (John Paul Jones) arena. We saw video production and sports broadcasting. We loved being inside the broadcast room and seeing how the cameras were controlled by joysticks. The team showed us how to cut and zoom from camera to camera for a live broadcast and video editing for replays.
A huge thank you to Ellen Cook, UVA’s Director of Community Engagement, who helped make this amazing day happen!
On Thursday 4 April, C4K youth and staff spent a portion of their Spring Break giving back to the community.
Andrew Kim, of Camp Holiday Trails, welcomed us to help his team prepare for the installation of new shelves. C4K youth described the experience as, “A wonderful opportunity to give back to the community…work as a team…and make something hard into something fun!”
“Filmmakers follow nine high school students from around the globe as they compete at an international science fair. Facing off against 1,700 of the smartest teens from 78 countries, only one will be named Best in Fair.”
We had popcorn and watched a documentary that inspired us to follow our ideas and passions. After the viewing, we had a conversation about what inspires us to make our dreams a reality.
During the debrief of the documentary, Daniel, a new Clubhouse mentor shared: “What really connects with me is how I might use technology to design something I’m interested in. For example, I like LeBron James, so I might get really into machine learning and programming to figure out a way to see all of LeBron’s 30-point games. For me, it’s about how can technology connect with what I care about?”
Morven Farms Tour
“In 2001, John Kluge gave his 7,379 acre Morven Farm to the University of Virginia. As a resource for the University’s collaborative research and teaching, Morven’s archival records, social and cultural history, landscape and gardens bring together a wealth of scholarship with innovative research and recent advances in technology.
UVA currently retains 2,913 acres, which includes forty-three buildings and a core property to be held in perpetuity. From the breathtaking Formal Gardens, a real Japanese Garden, immense horse barns, historic homes, the meeting barn complete with a plush movie theater, and a one-acre kitchen garden – Morven is a one-of-a-kind place tucked away just down the road from Monticello.”
We explored the social and cultural history of the property. The Morven team gave us a scavenger hunt to do in the garden and were concerned the weather would put us off.
“I loved everything! We were so excited about the scavenger hunt we didn’t even mind the rain!” – Niedia
We saw the historic homes and barn-turned-conference center and the flower gardens around the property. We were particularly interested in the food lab where UVA students take classes in food sustainability and the greenhouse and gardens where they grow food for UVA dining.
On April 6, a few of C4K’s aspiring engineers and staff visited UVA’s Campus to attend its Engineering Open House.
We got a first-hand look at how engineers are changing our world! Youth chatted with UVA engineering students and enjoyed interactive exhibits that included flight simulators, circuit soldering, presentations on spacecraft design, drones, dancing robots and so much more!
“Engineers are leaders who make the world a better place by creating knowledge and technologies to advance every aspect of human life. At UVA, our engineers are developing medical technologies to treat and cure some of the world’s most devastating diseases; making it possible for autonomous systems such as self-driving cars to become part of everyday reality; securing computer systems worldwide from cyberattacks; and helping communities mitigate waste and deal with climate change.” – UVA
See more at the Schedule of Events