Aimed at improving equal opportunity and multicultural understanding, it involves Concordia College, Minnesota State University Moorhead, North Dakota State University and Northwest Technical College.

Called Training Our Campuses Against Racism (TOCAR), the initiative is being co-coordinated by two MSUM professors, Amy Phillips and Phyllis May-Machunda.

A committee involving students, staff and faculty from all campuses, called the TOCAR Collaborative, has already had five monthly meetings. It will help steer the direction of the initiative.

TOCAR evolved out of the community study circle process that took place last spring in response to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Report, “The Status of Equal Opportunity for Minorities in Moorhead, Minnesota.”

That process created 11 citizen action teams­­one of them focusing on higher education­­which eventually developed into TOCAR.

The goal of the initiative is to dismantle institutional racism by assessing the campus climate at each institution and by promoting multiculturalism and anti-racism. It will also engage students, faculty and staff in these issues with the help of community and campus forums and TOCAR planning and action teams..

For details, contact Phillips at the MSUM social work department 236-2724, or May-Machunda in humanities and multicultural studies department, 236-2975

“I was about a sixth grader when my parents bought me a microscope for Christmas,” said Davis, now director of Minnesota State University Moorhead’s Regional Science Center. “I found a grasshopper and looked at its leg under the scope. It just blew me away. It was one of the hooks that got me interested in science.”

Today, Davis’s job is to get other people interested in science.

“I still spend a fair amount of time browsing for gifts that might encourage an interest in science and nature,” he said. “It started when I was a high school teacher. Every Christmas season I would get dozens of calls from parents who wanted suggestions for educational gifts. So I started to pay attention. There’s a lot of junk out there, but there’s also a lot of quality.”

Here’s a list of gift suggestions that Davis, along with MSUM Planetarium director Dave Weinrich and biology professor Alison Wallace, compiled for this Christmas season:

Microscopes:  One appropriate for children 11 years old and up should have a range of objectives from 4 to 40 power. That will allow students to observe objects ranging from insect parts to single cell organisms. A useful one will cost between $85 and $100.

Then there’s the new Intel Play QX3 Computer Microscope, developed by computer chip giant Intel and toy designer Mattel. The plastic-housed QX3 magnifies objects 10, 60, or 200 times. Images appear instantly on the computer screen and can be digitally projected, enlarged, printed, even e-mailed. Attach it to a PC or laptop via USB port. Cost is around $100.

Telescopes:
If you have a pair of binoculars, you have a bigger telescope than Galileo did. With a pair of 7X50 or 10X50 binoculars, costing as little as $30, you can observe craters on the Moon, the moons of Jupiter, star clusters, nebulae and galaxies millions of light years away.

Telescopes that use lenses to capture light are called refracting telescopes or refractors. A common beginner’s refractor telescope is a 60 mm (2.4 inch), which gathers 144 times as much light as your unaided eye. Cost is about $100.

Telescopes that use a mirror to gather light are called reflecting telescopes. The mirror is curved like a shaving or makeup mirror. A typical beginner reflecting telescope is 4.5 inches in diameter. But it can gather 600 times as much light as your unaided eye. Cost ranges from $100 to $200.

One of the biggest drawbacks of many consumer telescopes is their wobbly mount. The easiest to use is the altazimuth mount, which uses up and down motion and horizontal motion to bring the object into view. The mount is usually included in the price of the telescope.

Science books:
Here’s a list of some suggested science books for children.
* "Loon Magic for Kids" by Tom Klein, one of the best books of photographs and information about loons.
* "The Stars: A New Way to See them" by H.A. Rey, a great beginners book in astronomy.
* Golden Guides, from St. Martin's Press, cover whales, weeds, weather, sky, venomous animals, reptiles and amphibians, mammals, spiders, insects, Indian art, geology, flowers, birds, butterflies and moths.
* “Owl Moon” by Jane Yolen. A girl and her father walk through a snowy forest in search of owls on a cold winter night. Beautiful watercolor illustrations accompany a heartwarming text, which teaches the value of patience and hope in outdoor exploration. "When you go owling, you don't need words or warm or anything but hope. The kind of hope that flies on silent wings under a shining Owl Moon." Caldecott Medal. Ages 3-7.
* “Whose Tracks Are These?” A Clue Book of Familiar Forest Animals by James Nail. A serendipitous look at a woodland community for new trackers, age 3-7. Squirrels, chipmunks, deer, raccoons, fox, rabbits introduced using creative inquiry approach.
* “Fun With Nature: Take-Along Guide” by Burns, Boring, Dendy. This compilation of six of the most popular books in the "take-along" series helps children identify over 150 plants and animals including caterpillars, insects, butterflies, frogs, toads, turtles, snakes, salamanders, lizards, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks and clues such as tracks and scat left behind. Activity pages as well as scrapbook pages for making notes and drawings. Perfect take-along for ages 6-12.
* “Verdi” by Janell Cannon. From the creator of Stellaluna comes a wonderful book about the life and adventures of a beautiful emerald tree python. Verdi, born with the classic yellow pattern found in this species, lives through a series of encounters to eventually grow into a beautiful emerald green adult. This inspired book closes with factual information about the biology of this amazing jungle creature. Perfect introduction to reptiles for children ages 4-9.
 * “Who Really Killed Cock Robin? An Ecological Mystery” by George Craighead. The death of Cock Robin is a significant clue in an ecological mystery, and a young boy is determined to find the culprit. The town he lives in is riddled with problems, including an overpopulation of ants and a sudden absence of frogs. Using the scientific method and determination, the boy figures out who killed Cock Robin. Ages 8-12.