Author Archives: invasivehunter

February 12, 2012 · 8:34 pm

Lots of Fun coming to Kid’s Day during National Invasive Species Awareness Week

Kids’ Day will be here in two weeks! Woo hoo! It’s a great way for kids (of all ages!) to learn about invasives species as part of National Invasive Species Awareness Week.

***View the Kids’ Day agenda to find out who’ll be there***

I’ve been working on my Kids’ Day presentation and activity, “Invasive Hunter Academy”. I do Tae Kuan Do, as you may see from my videos, and I was sparring on Friday. That is when you put on gear, similar to football gear, except softer and no face guard.

During the sparring match, I got kicked in my hand when I was doing a narabam spinning hook kick combination. Ouch that hurt and it swelled up a little. I’m doing better now, but I’d better watch out, because that’s when the invasives may try to ambush me. 😉

I hope to see you at Kids’ Day! It’s going to be a lot of fun!

Commander Ben signing off…

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February 11, 2012 · 9:36 pm

Young Commander Ben and Dr. John Grotzinger Rocket to Mars at Hot Science – Cool Talks

When I was looking through some of our old family photos, I found some of these wonderful pictures of me enjoying Hot Science – Cool Talks, when I was younger (and before I became an invasive hunter!).

The talk was The 2004 Mars Exploration Rover Mission: Evidence for Water and Prospects for Life by Dr. John Grotzinger on October 13, 2005.

As part of his talk, I think he showed a NASA animated video of the rover landing, but I’m sure that I enjoyed making and launching a baking soda rocket with one of the Hot Science volunteers:

Here I am with Dr. John Grotzinger (blinded by his awesome science):

Update: How exciting to learn that Dr. Grotzinger is a project scientist for the Mars Science Laboratory that is part of the Curiosity Mars rover that landed on the red planet on August 6, 2012.

Upcoming Spring 2012 Hot Science – Cool Talk presentations

I’m sorry that I’m going to miss this month’s Hot Science – Cool Talk because I’ll be preparing for my presentation at Kid’s Day for National Invasive Species Awareness Week in Washington DC, but I hope that you’ll be able to make it.

Here’s what’s coming up this month:

From Fracking to the 40 Acres

Dr. Michael Webber, Co-Director of the Clean Energy Incubator at the Austin Technology Incubator, and Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin
Friday, February 24, 2012, at 7:00 p.m. CST

And then in April, I look forward to joining you and learning more about our universe:

Life on Europa? Exploring Jupiter’s Icy Moon

Dr. Britney Schmidt
Friday, April 13, 2012, at 7:00 p.m. CST

Be sure to get there early to enjoy all the fun activities before the talks.  Last month included making a moon lander before Dr. Howell’s presentation!

Commander Ben signing off…

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February 5, 2012 · 9:18 pm

Invasive Hunter Academy launches during National Invasive Species Awareness Week

Learn how to become an invasive species hunter at Commander Ben’s Invasive Hunter Academy at Kid’s Day during National Invasive Species Awareness Week (NISAW) in Washington D.C.  With this video, get a preview of some of the techniques that I’ll teach you.

Join me as an elite defender of native species, and learn more about NISAW and Kid’s Day at the U.S. Botanic Garden on February 26, 2012.

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Filed under Battles with Invasive Species, Giant Reed, Invasive Hunter Academy, National Invasive Species Awareness Week, U.S. Botanic Garden

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January 23, 2012 · 7:23 am

Commander Ben Invited to National Invasive Species Awareness Week

I have great news! I was invited to talk about invasive species during National Invasive Species Awareness Week (NISAW) from February 26 – March 3, 2012 in Washington, DC. Wow! What an honor to be invited to our nation’s capital!!!!

I’m going to bring my Invasive Hunter Academy to NISAW Kids’ Day at the U.S. Botanic Garden on Sunday, February 26th. I’m going to train kids with fun activities to teach them how to be an invasive hunter.

I’m looking forward to learning more about invasives too and to going to Washington for the first time. I want to visit the Natural History Museum, Smithsonian, Air and Space Museum, and the Lincoln Memorial.

I’d like to climb up the Washington Monument too, but I don’t know if my Dad can make it all the way up. (I hear it might be closed for repairs after the earthquake too. At least that’s what my Dad told me.)

If you’re a kid near Washington, and you want to learn more about invasive species, go to Kids’ day. (It’s free!) I would love to meet you and help train you to battle invasives too!

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January 22, 2012 · 5:37 pm

Commander Ben Selected by Austin Family Magazine

Earlier this month, I was in the library looking for some new audiobooks. I really liked Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance Cycle, and I’m sorry that it’s his last book in the series.

In any event, while at the library, I picked up the January 2012 Austin Family magazine and was surprised to find that they picked me as one of the winners of their cover contest. (Wow! That was a cool surprise. Thanks for entering me, Mom, and thanks Austin Family for picking me!) I learned that I’ll be on one of their covers later this year.

If you’re looking for a camp this summer, don’t miss Austin Family’s Summer Camp Fair 2012 at the Palmer Events Center on Saturday, January 28. There will be a lot of booths and a lot of fun activities for kids.

I’ve been there before, and there’s a lot to do and a lot of goodies to get. I’m looking forward to science, acting, and sports summer camps. (And of course, I’ll be learning more Tae Kwon Do for my future Battles with Invasive Species videos!)

Hope to see you there!

Commander Ben signing off…

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Filed under Austin Family Magazine, Battles with Invasive Species, Christopher Paolini, Tae Kwon Do

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