Pathways 2025 Workshop Listings

10th Grade Workshops

CAN YOU SOLVE THE MYSTERY OF PRICYTONNE?                                         

What is encryption? Why is it necessary? Can you crack a message encoded with the Caesar Cipher and a Random Substitution Cipher? Why is it important to make strong encryption when sending bits over the internet? If you love a mystery, this workshop is for you.

  • Joe Royer, B.S., M.S.
  • Lecturer in Cybersecurity
  • Penn State York 

DIGITAL SYSTEMS AND M1K                                                         

The term digital systems encompasses various elements, including hardware, software, and networks, and their utilization. A system can comprise numerous components; for instance, a computer typically consists of a central processing unit, a hard disk, keyboard, mouse, screen, and more. In this engaging hands-on workshop, we will explore fundamental digital gates, and additionally, we will utilize the M1K device to conduct the experiment. 

  • Neda Bazyar Shourabi, Ph.D.                                                                      
  • Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering
  • Penn State York

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: UNDERSTANDING HOW WE PERCEIVE THE SOCIAL WORLD 

Do you believe the world you see with your eyes is the same as the world your peers see? Many of us would say yes, although social psychologists would argue that each of us sees the world around us through a different lens, which can change depending on who we are, what we’ve been through, and where we are in the world. In this workshop, students will gain a deeper understanding of automatic social processing, as well as how these automatic processes might play a role in our social interactions with our peers and family members. Starting with a brief activity on perception, we will introduce students to attribution errors and, finally, we will investigate the influence of the implied presence of others on behavior. This workshop intends to demonstrate that our world is partially created (e.g., constructivism) through the lens of our own experiences, the beliefs we have about ourselves and others, and the consideration we have for our place in groups which are important to us.

  • Avery Volz
  • Senior Psychology Student
  • Penn State York

 

  • Amanni Lozano
  • Senior Psychology Student
  • Penn State York

TICK TOCK OF THE SPIDER CLOCKS: EXPERIENCING THE INTERDISCIPLINARY NATURE OF SCIENCE THROUGH THE STUDY OF CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS IN SPIDERS 

In this workshop, Jessica Petko will introduce students to the collaborative and interdisciplinary nature of research through her team’s studies on spider circadian rhythms. All animals have circadian rhythms, daily patterns of behavior and bodily functions. These biological clocks persist in a near-24-hour pattern even in the absence of time cues such as light, suggesting that there is a built-in, cellular time keeping mechanism. However, many spider species do not follow the 24-hour rule in constant darkness and do not experience jetlag when exposed to significant time shift. This workshop will present the work of an interdisciplinary group of researchers from three different universities aimed at understanding the behavioral, ecological, evolutionary, physiological, and molecular aspects of the unique circadian rhythms of spiders. Students will gain experience with recording and analyzing circadian patterns as well as techniques used to study the molecular gears of the cell’s clock mechanism.

  • Jessica Petko, Ph.D.
  • Associate Professor of Biology
  • Penn State York

WHO EATS WHOM? USING PARASITES TO IDENTIFY FOOD WEB CONNECTIONS IN AN AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM                                                                                                 

Did you know that parasites can be helpful? While most people think of parasites as simply disease-causing creatures, their presence/absence in certain environments is utilized by ecologists to better understand the community. In fact, over the past decade, parasites have been employed to better understand nutrient cycling and food webs in both terrestrial and aquatic environments! In this workshop, students will learn about the diversity of parasitic life, including an introduction to parasite life cycles and transmission biology. Through an exploration of four parasite species present in two different aquatic environments, students will then attempt to determine what waterways our target host species (shorebirds) fed from during their long migration. This will involve the detection of parasites in mock fecal samples and identification of the parasite life stages (in the forms of candy) from each host. Using this information, our amateur ecologists will then determine the food web dynamics for each of the two shorebirds under study. This hands-on workshop will illustrate the importance of parasites beyond simply causing disease, but as ecologically important species that can help researchers understand food web dynamics (who eats whom) and what species are key to energy cycling within an ecosystem. 

  • Anne M. Vardo-Zalik, Ph.D.
  • Associate Professor of Biology
  • Penn State York
  • Penn State Teaching Fellow