Parents invited to Mines for parents weekend

That headline might ignite a mad rush to hide various things on most campuses, but this is Mines, so there’s nothing to worry about. Right? The general consensus at Mines concerning visits by parents is, “Thank God. There will be good food at Slate until at least the following Tuesday.” Perhaps the Slate thinks that by then, it is safe to revert back to the standard fare, or it could just be exclamations by overly dramatic students frustrated with school; who knows?

Next week is the annual fall “Parents and Family Weekend.” The schedule of events this year is teeming with activities for parents to enjoy with – or without – their son or daughter. Parent’s weekend this year is almost a full month later than the last few years’ weekend. While the later date may bring with it some cooler weather, it is certain to show parents more of what Mines has to offer. The athletics at this year’s parent’s weekend include not only a football game, but also a basketball game and a swim meet.

This year’s football game is on Saturday at noon against the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Anyone interested in checking out all of the athletics going on might have to leave the football game a little early to make it to the swim meet at 2:00 PM vs. Colorado College and Adams State. The meet will take place in the Student Recreation Center and is sure to be some fast paced aquatic action. The final athletic event of the weekend will be the Mines men’s basketball team against Tabor College. This event will also take place in the Student Recreation Center’s Lockridge Arena.

As is customary, there will be a comedian on Friday night at eight in Bunker Auditorium. This year’s “funny-man,” Josh Sneed, took 2nd place in Comedy Central’s 2008 Annual Stand-up Showdown. He has also made appearances at the Montreal Comedy Festival, the South Beach Comedy Festival, and the Aspen Comedy Festival, so those who attend should be sure to bring their funny bones. Officially, the show has been given a rating of PG-13, but there’s no telling what will happen once a comedian gets rolling. So, if those embarrassed easily in front of their parents, might want to catch some Coldstone Ice Cream instead.

Throughout the weekend there will be several opportunities for students, and their visitors, to score free food on campus. At 7:00 PM on Friday, there will be a reception in Friedhoff Hall [Green Center] for the visitors. Drinks and snacks will be served, and various student ensembles will provide music for the evening. Following that, you can start your Saturday morning right with the annual parents and family brunch in the Slate Cafe. As one student, who wished to remain anonymous, boldly stated about last year’s brunch, “They can actually make good breakfast there! Where was that the whole rest of the semester?!” Later on Saturday, from 4:00 to 7:00 PM, are “International Day Festivities.” Delicious food from around the world, prepared by our international student organizations will be available for purchase and your tasting pleasure.

The last thing on the agenda for the weekend are numerous tours around campus, both guided and unguided. For those who start with an early check-in on Friday, tickets will be available for several guided tours on campus. Excepting the ROTC open house, these will be limited to the first 25 interested individuals.

The ROTC will be hosting an open house at their new premises on campus. Located at 1232 West Campus Road Building 1, the open house will showcase what our future army officers have to offer.

The first guided tour will be the Colorado Fuel Cell Center tour starting on Friday at 2:00 PM. The tour will begin inside of the Geology Museum and will be led by Neal Sullivan, the Colorado Fuel Cell Center Director. This will be a unique opportunity to learn all about current research in the field of fuel cells straight from the source.

Also starting at 2:00 PM and meeting at the Geology Museum is the Geology Trail tour. This tour will show visitors about some of the very unique geology present right on campus including footprints from bygone eras. The tour will be led by Dr. Stephen Sonnenberg, Professor & Boettcher Chair in Petroleum Geology and is certain to be a very informative learning experience. On a related note, there will be a guided tour of the Geology Museum at 4:00 PM Friday.
Starting at 3:00 PM Friday will be the National Earthquake Information Center tour at the offices of the United States Geological Survey. The USGS offices are at 1711 Illinois street, and the tour is sure to give students and visitors a chance to see something that is not typically open to the public.

For those who are not interested in brunch, at 9:00 AM Saturday in Idaho Springs there will be a guided tour of the Edgar Mine. This tour is free, but limited to the first 50 people to pick up their tickets at check-in. The mine, located at 365 8th Ave is a functional mine. “The Edgar” is operated and maintained by students and faculty at Mines and allows students to gain experience in a real mining environment prior to heading out into the real world of mining. The tours are highly informative and are fun and interesting, even for those who have been in a mine before.

During the rest of the weekend, the Geology Museum and Library will be open for self-guided tours by those that were unable to make it to the guided events. And if none of these tours sound interesting, there are always free tours at the Coors Lab in Golden.
Student should call their parents and get them out to Golden. If nothing else, students stand a good chance of eating some real food while parents visit, and that in itself makes the weekend a worthwhile venture. For more information, don’t hesitate to check out http://inside.mines.edu/parents-weekend.