Summer Camps for Kids

Summer is finally on its way. After a long and snowy winter, we are all ready for the sun and the fun that goes with it. Soon, children will be out of school and enjoying their well-deserved break.  Our young citizens will fill their summer with friends and family, outdoor activities, vacations, and summer camps.

The Benefits of Pollinator Gardens

Most of us are familiar with the benefits of bees. These little pollinators are responsible for helping produce 1 in every 3 bites of food we take. The economic benefit of bees is massive; bees contribute to the production of over $15 billion worth of crops each year.  Sadly, 1 in 4 species of bees is at risk of extinction. Mitigating the risk of extinction seems overwhelming and complicated but there are easy ways we can help; by planting a pollinator garden. 

CEWT Summer Classes

Now Open for Registration

It is that time of year again, the time of year when campus becomes quieter.  Gone is the chatter of students and they clammer in the building early morning. The halls and gathering areas sit empty for the summer months. Staff and faculty will temporarily disappear during the summer vacations. And a staff favorite by far, summer hours have started. While the quietness of campus masks the flurry of activity happening in the departments and colleges that makeup ISU. 

Join us for this free event and hear professionals speak on mental health issues in our community. Get informed about local mental health resources. Register: cetrain.isu.edu/mha/

Labor Day was established in 1894 to recognize the American Labor Movement. Celebrated on the first Monday in September, it creates a 3-day weekend for many Americans. Labor Day is celebrated with BBQs, picnics, camping trips, and many other activities. For those of us in Southeast Idaho, Labor Day activities may include a trip to the Eastern Idaho State Fair. For those of you who may not have a weekend full of activities planned, a list of Labor Day activities in S.E Idaho is below.

The POW/MIA flag serves as a remembrance of US missing and captive service members. The flag has become synonymous with American missing service members from conflicts and wars, especially the Vietnam War. While many of us may know the symbol, we may not know the history of the flag.

This is CEWT’s third post and second blog post in our Games Series. Our last blog post focused on the history of games. This week’s blog will focus on the ‘why’ of playing games. But first, I want to give our readers a bit of context on our ‘why’. Why is a continuing education and workforce training program writing about games? This answer is simple…and maybe a bit complicated. 

The simple part is much easier to explain so let's start there. We are writing about games because of the people who work here, and because it does relate to our work but we’ll visit that later on in this article. For now, let’s focus on CEWT’s employees.

Games have been around for over a millennium. This issue of the CEWT blog will focus on the evolution of games.

The oldest playable board game in the world, The Royal Game of Ur, dates back 4,600 years. Its gameplay rules were found written on a cuneiform tablet (dating to 177 BC) and deciphered by curator Irving Finkel. While The Royal Game of Ur is the oldest playable board game known to man, it is not the oldest game in existence. The gameplay rules of many ancient games are lost to history. We know the games exist, we just don’t know how to play them. Senet, a game dating back to 3,100 B.C is one of the earliest known games1. A favorite of King Tut and Queen Nefertari, Senet rules do exist for modern play, but the rules are reconstructed and many variations exist2. It should be noted that royalty’s love of games was not limited to the Egyptians.