Discovery Day returns to OSU-Cascades on Saturday, Oct. 7 with talks, demos, hands-on activities

Oregon State University–Cascades will host its Discovery Day, a campus-wide festival including talks, demonstrations and hands-on activities that showcase OSU’s growing Central Oregon campus, on Saturday, Oct. 7.

Discovery Day will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is free to the public. This year marks the return of the event for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The festival will include tours of the growing campus, an exhibit showcasing the future expansion, a rock-climbing wall, children’s activities and a menu created by chefs from the OSU-Cascades Beaver Dam dining hall featuring Oregon-sourced products.

Discovery Day 2023 coincides with the “First Peoples of Central Oregon – Cultural Experiences” event, being held at OSU-Cascades the same day, which will include offerings presented by members of the Confederated Tribes of Warms Springs that honor their history and traditions. Leona Ike, a tribal elder and student at OSU-Cascades played a key role in making the event possible. The event culminates with a Traditional Native Salmon Bake from 4 to 5 p.m. The salmon bake is $10 per person, and registration is required at OSUcascades.edu/event-registration.

Highlights of Discovery Day include family-friendly keynote presentations by OSU researchers and a member of the Confederated Tribes:

• “Social Media and Your Mental Health” by Dr. Brian Primack, dean of the OSU College of Public Health at 10 a.m. An expert in education, technology, human development and medicine who has been quoted by NPR, the New York Times and BBC, Primack will explore what it means to live in balance with social media.
• “‘Discovering’ the Indigenous Cultures of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs” at noon with Jefferson Greene, executive of the Columbia River Institute for Indigenous Development and a member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. Greene, a leading advocate for the language and traditional arts of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, will discuss the history and culture of the Confederated Tribes as well as the complex associations with the word “discovery.”
• “How Bats Inspired Radical Conservation Collaborations” at 2 p.m. with Tom Rodhouse, co-director of the OSU-Cascades Human and Ecosystem Resiliency and Sustainability Lab. The HERS Lab’s Bat Hub is taking a novel approach to conservation, mobilizing researchers and citizen scientists across the Pacific Northwest.

Additional presentation topics include “Lead Like a Beaver: Personality Assessment and Leadership Styles,” a lesson in how and why certain talents and skills can or may have been parlayed into a particular career field.

In a mock lecture popular among parents and prospective students, business instructor Todd Laurence will delve into the role of fear and greed in business sales.

Activities also include biomechanics demonstrations using a life-size 3-D digital model of the human anatomy, and human movement testing demonstrated by students in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program and including strength testing, reflex testing and balance testing.

During “Coffee with the Chancellor” at 1 p.m., community members will have an informal opportunity to meet OSU-Cascades Chancellor and Dean Sherm Bloomer.

Attendees will also be invited on a self-guided tour of the public art collection on display at OSU-Cascades.

Children’s activities include cooking s’mores with a solar oven, robot races, face painting and lawn games.

OSU Extension experts – a nutritionist, 4-H Youth Development staff from Warm Springs and Juntos high school volunteers – will host healthy eating activities, Spanish bingo and more.

To learn more about Discovery Day visit OSUcascades.edu/discoveryday or contact 541-322-3100 or info@osucascades.edu. Discovery Day is coordinated in partnership with OSU Extension in Central Oregon.

About OSU-Cascades:  Oregon State University’s campus in Bend brings higher education to Central Oregon, the fastest growing region in the state. Surrounded by mountains, forest and high desert, OSU-Cascades is a highly innovative campus of a top-tier land grant research university, offering small classes that accelerate faculty-student mentoring and experiential learning. Degree programs meet industry and economic needs in areas such as innovation and entrepreneurship, natural ecosystems, health and wellness, and arts and sciences, and prepare students for tomorrow’s challenges. OSU-Cascades is expanding to serve 3,000 to 5,000 students, building a 128-acre campus with net-zero goals.