Seeing stars and grooming CEOs: Governor's Schools look both at outer space and innovation on Earth

Mar. 7—From pulsars to profit margins, two learning academies by the Governor's Schools this summer will offer diverse intellectual opportunities for the state's middle school and high school students.

Both academies will be exclusively online, owing to the pandemic, but that doesn't mean the excitement won't be three-dimensional, organizers said.

The Governor's STEM Institute is hosted by WVU and the Green Bank Observatory in Pocahontas County.

It's open to seventh-and eighth-graders interested in pursuing careers in the science, technology, engineering and math fields.

Eighth-grade participants will explore the universe via their laptops, with the observatory's iconic Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope serving as the guide.

It's the world's largest instrument of its kind, with a dish carrying a two-acre expanse.

Students will listen the music of spheres, organizers said.

And pulsars, those compact stars roughly the size of a large city on Earth, yet packing more density than the Sun.

The seventh-graders blast off to a creative array of science and math exercises that will be both fun and challenging, with the mission of getting them thinking about what it might be like to do these pursuits professionally.

"Imagine that you are a scientist and that each morning for a week you'll be going to a virtual laboratory to work with seven or eight others, " organizers said.

"While under the direction of a knowledgeable, thought-provoking mentor, " they added.

If exploring business opportunities on the terra firma tells your story, then the virtual Governor's School of Entrepreneurship is awaiting your application.

Marshall University is hosting the three-day offering, which celebrates creativity and the just-plain knack of marketing a concept all the way to the profit margins of success.

Think Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg, organizers said.

Well, that duo, and others you might not automatically think of, they added, including people who had the intuitive power to recognize a moment when they were in the middle of one.

Such as the time William Harley and Arthur Davidson decided to link up on that idea about powering a bicycle with an engine.

So long, bicycle.

Hello, motorcycle.

As in, Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

The objective, organizers said, is to create a framework — then pitch it.

Visit http://govschools.wv.gov for more information. Registration for both schools will be accepted through March 25.

One can't go wrong with four decades, said Clayton Burch, the state's superintendent of schools.

"The Governor's Schools have been a vital part of West Virginia's educational system for more than 40 years, " he said.

"And we are proud of their continued growth and success."

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