Happy New Year!

Happy New Year and welcome to the National Youth Science Foundation's Newsletter. The last few weeks have been very busy and we have more news to share (with more in the New Year), so we decided to publish a second edition of the December newsletter.

The extraordinary photograph of the snowcrystal at the left is courtesy of Dr. Kenneth G. Libbrecht (NYSC ND 1976).

Reminder - 2010 National Youth Science Camp^®

The National Youth Science Foundation and Governor Joe Manchin III of the State of West Virginia are excited to announce the 2010 session of the National Youth Science Camp. The NYSC will again be held at Camp Pocahontas in the Monongahela National Forest near the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in the eastern mountains of West Virginia. Delegates will arrive in Charleston, WV, the State's capital, on Wednesday, June 29, 2010, and will depart on Friday, July 23, 2010. If you know anyone who may be qualified and interested, please direct him/her to www.nysc.org/2010 for more information.

With Generous Help, Foundation meets Dr. D.B. "Zoon" Nguyen's Challenge!

Contributions from generous individuals allowed the Foundation to meet Dr. D.B. "Zoon" Nguyen's (NYSC WA 1979) recent matching challenge grant of $7,000. Zoon pledged to match each contribution dollar-for dollar.

As a reward, Zoon has provided his first online puzzle! Go to twitter.com/zoonschallenge and see if you can solve his puzzle!

Reminder - So, you want to be a Staph member...

The National Youth Science Camp is a magical experience, and the dedicated members of the Staph* are the magicians. Each year, 30 talented individuals come together to transform Camp Pocahontas from a modest CCC camp into the remarkable home of the National Youth Science Camp. While many members of the Staph are very recent delegates of the NYSC, others are more experienced individuals who find themselves transitioning between graduate school programs or careers. If you have what it takes to be a part of this extraordinary team, please consider submitting an application.

Applications for positions on the Staph of the 2010 National Youth Science Foundation programs are now being accepted and are due by January 11, 2010. For more information, including position descriptions, important dates, and application material, please see www.nysf.com/work. Send questions to Andrew.Blackwood@nysf.com.

*This is a traditional spelling meant to convey their infectious enthusiasm.

Foundation is a Partner in Trail Development Project

Alongside the Canaan Valley Institute, the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, Monongahela National Forest, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, and others, the Foundation is a partner in a project to develop a multi-use trail (hiking, cross-country skiing, mountain biking, canoeing and kayaking) connecting northern end of the Canaan Valley with existing trail systems in the Davis, WV, area. This trail development project has received funding through the West Virginia Department of Transportation Department of Highways Recreational Trails Program and will be a vital component of the Heart of the Highlands trail network. The 3.1-mile trail segment will cross through the Foundation's property along the South side of the Blackwater River and will connect the property to existing trails of the Canaan Valley Institute (CVI), Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, the Town of Davis’s riverfront park, and Blackwater Falls State Park. This trail is a vital link in the larger Heart of the Highlands Trail System network, and will become part of CVI's trail system, which has been designated a National Recreational Trail by the US Department of Interior.

Trail construction will involve clearing of the trail corridor, the establishment of a sustainable trail tread approximately 60 inches wide, building foot bridges, and signing and marking the completed trail. The tread surface will be a combination of compacted mineral soil, native stone, and quarried crushed stone. The trail and trail structures will be constructed to U.S. Forest Service accessibility standards (effective May 2006).

National Youth Science Camp Archive

The Foundation has initiated an online archive of the National Youth Science Camp where it will post materials from individual sessions of the program. Click on the photographs below to discover when they were taken. More to come!

If you have materials that you would like to share, please send them to alumni@nysc.org. Hard copies can be mailed to:

NYSC Archive Project
c/o National Youth Science Foundation
P.O. Box 3387
Charleston, WV 25333-3387

Please Donate to the Foundation

As 2009 nears its end, please consider making a contribution to the National Youth Science Foundation. Contributions help support the continued operation of the National Youth Science Camp and allow the Foundation to offer programs of similar focus for different audiences such as the Youth Science Leadership Institute and to further develop the National Center for Youth Science Education. The Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization and donations are tax deductible as allowed by law. Contributions to the Foundation can be dedicated to general operations, to a specific science education program or initiative, to the Adler Endowment Fund, or in support of Zoon's Challenge.

Click a button on the left to make a contribution through PayPal or Google Checkout. Or, mail a donation to:

National Youth Science Foundation
P.O. Box 3387
Charleston, WV 25333-3387