Upcoming Science-related Events
Contact: Dave Munson at (207) 581-3777
Neuroscientist to discuss teen brain development
Contacts: Kay Hyatt (207) 581-2761, David Munson (207) 581-3777
ORONO, Maine — How many frustrated parents have asked their teen-agers, “What in the world were you thinking?” Well, the kids probably weren’t thinking, at least not in the way adults reason. They might not have the capacity, according to cognitive neuroscientist Herbert J. Weingartner, Shibles Distinguished Visiting Professor in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Maine.
Weingartner, a clinical psychologist, will shed some light on the dilemma in a lecture, “Planning and Evaluation: Frontal & Prefrontal Lobe Functions,” scheduled for Wednesday, June 7, 11 a.m. in Room 202 Shibles Hall. These brain regions, still developing in adolescents, affect the ability to plan and evaluate behavior — to think things through and make judgments instead of being impulse driven. Because this developmental process is not complete, adolescents can be at a disadvantage in planning and controlling their lives, according to Weingartner.
An acclaimed researcher who has held top leadership positions at the National Institutes of Health, Weingartner also will ponder how adults, particularly educators, might be helpful in providing more direction.
Women and the Woods Announces 2006 Training Series
Contacts: Vivianne Holmes, (800) 287-1458 or (207) 353-5550, Jennifer O’Leary (207) 581-3106
ORONO, Maine –The Woman and the Woods program is holding a “kitchen table” meeting with training on marketing, marking your boundary lines, deeds, and soils in your woodlot. This event will be held at Midsummer Night’s Meadow Farm in Garland on Thursday, June 15 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. This workshop is sponsored by University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s Women’s Agricultural Network (WAgN) and the Maine Forest Service. Peter Lammert, Project Forester with the Maine Forest Service, will provide the training.
The Women and the Woods Program is designed to teach women woodland owners about options for caring for their woodland, in a way that is supportive of women’s preferred learning styles. The program provides opportunities for discussion and networking with other women woodland owners, and offers participatory, hands-on and/or outdoor learning activities. Women and the Woods was created in direct response to requests from women landowners for a forestry program for women.
Everyone is welcome; participants should be prepared to walk in the woods. For more information and to pre-register, call 800-287-1458 (in Maine) or 207-353-5550.
Locally organized kitchen table meetings are scheduled around the state. The dates for 2006 Women and the Woods Kitchen Table Meetings are as follows: