Purdue Best Bets for Journalists
April 11, 1997
JOURNALISTS: Here are Purdue news ideas and events for the next two weeks.
Earth Day message: More than recycling
Teaching children to be good stewards of the environment means more than telling them
to recycle. "The more they know, the more they care," says Natalie Carroll, a 4-H
Youth Development specialist for the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service. "Youth
need a good understanding of natural systems to know how human actions affect the environment."
She says environmental stewardship grows out of a respect for natural resources and
a feeling of connection with nature. "Children also need to respect people's different perspectives and values and develop a sense of personal responsibility." she
says. Carroll, whose emphasis is on 4-H environmental programs, says children learn
these lessons from many sources. (NOTE: Earth Day is April 22.) CONTACT: Natalie
Carroll, (765) 494-6871; e-mail, ncarroll@purdue.edu
Purdue Bug Bowl not for the faint-of-stomach
Insects as entrees will be a featured attraction at Purdue's annual Bug Bowl, April
18-20. A snack that once crawled may not sound enticing, but bug cravings draw more
than 10,000 people to Bug Bowl each year. This celebration of insects includes a
cricket-spitting contest, insect petting zoo, insect crafts, and, the crowd favorite, cockroach
racing at "Roach Hill Downs." New this year will be a parade of Volkswagen Beetles
decorated as bugs. Bug Bowl is held in and around the Entomology Building. A Big
Bug Bake-Off will be held from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 18. The rest of the
activities take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 19, and from noon to
4 p.m. Sunday, April 20. For details about a satellite feed of b-roll from the event,
contact Grady Jones, Purdue News Service, (765) 494-2079. CONTACTS: Tom Turpin, professor
of entomology, (765) 494-4568; the Entomology Department, (765) 494-4554; Andrea
McCann, Agricultural Communications Service, (765) 494-8406; or e-mail bug_bowl@entm.purdue.edu
Events
Saturday-Sunday, April 19-20.
84th Annual Purdue Horticulture Show. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days at the Horticulture
Building. Display gardens, landscaping ideas, horticulture therapy, and plants for
sale will be featured. Children's activities include face painting and making bird
feeders. CONTACT: Bruce Bordelon, assistant professor of horticulture, (765) 494-8212
Saturday-Sunday, April 19-20.
Animal Sciences Open House and Boiler Barnyard. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days on the
lawn of Smith Hall. Activities include sheep-shearing and milking demonstrations,
interactive displays, and children's games. CONTACT: Bud Harmon, head of the Department
of Animal Sciences, (765) 494-4809
Saturday, April 19.
Brick Bowl. 10 a.m. In front of the Horticulture Building. Teams of landscape architecture
students try to convert 250 bricks and some mortar into mailboxes, based on designs
they prepared earlier. CONTACT: Purdue landscape architect Rob Sovinski, (765) 494-1341; e-mail, sovinski@agad.purdue.edu
Saturday, April 19.
Agronomy Open House. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Lily Hall of Life Sciences. Activities include
painting with soil-based paints and a hands-on soil-texture guessing game. CONTACT:
Darrell Schulze, professor of agronomy, (765) 494-8062
Saturday, April 19.
School of Veterinary Medicine Open House. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Lynn Hall. Activities include
exotic animal exhibits, oxen team demos, S.M.A.R.T. (a canine search and rescue team),
and a milking contest. CONTACT: Beth Morrison, graduate student in veterinary medicine, (765) 447-0593; or the School of Veterinary Medicine, (765) 494-7893.
Saturday, April 19.
Forestry Open House. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Forestry and Forestry Products buildings. Activities
and displays about Indiana's natural resources and timber industry, including a portable
sawmill. Lafayette's Colombian Park Zoo will bring live animals to the event. CONTACT: Bill Hoover, professor of forestry and natural resources, (765) 494-3580
Saturday, April 19.
The 1997 University Sing competition, sponsored by the Purdue Student Union Board.
Starts at 1:30 p.m. in the ballrooms of Purdue Memorial Union. About 20 student organizations
will compete. Changes this year allow for costumes, choreography and presentation of a spirit award. CONTACT: J.J. Foster, U-Sing director, PSUB, (765) 494-8976
Tuesday, April 22.
Astronaut and Purdue alumnus John Blaha will give a free public talk at 8 p.m. in
Fowler Hall about the space program and his four-month experience on the orbiting
Russian space station Mir. Blaha also will visit Burtsfield Elementary School, West
Lafayette, for a 10:30 a.m. assembly; he will be available to journalists only at 3:45 p.m.
at Lafayette's Imagination Station. CONTACTS: Robert Foerster, principal, Burtsfield
Elementary, (765) 775-1450; Nan Ross, School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, (765)
494-9124; e-mail, ross@ecn.purdue.edu
Saturday, April 26.
Expanding Your Horizons in Science and Mathematics Conference for 350 sixth- through
ninth-grade girls. 8 a.m.-3 p.m. beginning at the Purdue Armory. CONTACT: Kay Conner,
conference coordinator, (765) 494-7128.
Saturday, April 26.
The 1997 class parade and memorial service at John Purdue's grave, including unveiling
of a plaque commemorating the Class of 1946 for their part in redesigning the grave
site. 11 a.m. CONTACT: Nikki Horner, Purdue Alumni Association associate director,
(765) 494-5181; e-mail, nhhorner@paa.purdue.edu
Saturday, April 26.
Academy Park Dedication, 11:30 a.m. Academy Park is Purdue's newest green space,
in honor of all Purdue faculty. It will be used as an outdoor teaching arena and
leisure area. The new park is north of Stewart Center and the Purdue Memorial Union.
CONTACT: Greg Zawisza, University Relations, (765) 494-2086.
Saturday, April 26.
40th Purdue Grand Prix. Main race to begin about 2:30 p.m. on the kart track north
of Ross-Ade Stadium. Sprint race for final qualifications to begin about noon. Alumni
race to start about 1:20 p.m. CONTACT: Aaron Whitesell, Grand Prix promotions director, (765) 494-2708.
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu
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