Have a Maverick Summer

Optimize your summer activities with science-backed tips, tricks, and advice from our UTA experts.
Illustrations by Michelle Diaz

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This summer, while you’re out there having fun in the sun, we want to make sure you’re getting the absolute most out of every experience. To help you maximize your summer fun, we asked some of our Mavericks to take a break from their cutting-edge research, teaching, and studies to provide their expert guidance and insight on some of our most beloved summer activities.

 

Build a Better Sandcastle

Do your sandcastles often end up looking more like rapidly crumbling lumps of sand? Xinbao Yu, professor of civil engineering, has science-backed tips to help you turn those misshapen towers into awe-inspiring structures.

Constructing the perfect sandcastle is something that fascinates many kids and even adults, but did you know it’s a subject being studied by geotechnical engineers?

When it comes to sandcastles, the strength of the structure is related to the strength of unsaturated sands, or sands with water and air. The void space between sand particles consists of air, water film, and the surface of sand particles. Capillary force acts on sand particles to hold them together. Simply put, the behavior of sand is controlled by the interplay of sand particles, water, and air, and the amount of water and the sand particle size play a significant role in determining its strength or “cohesion.” The smaller the sand particles, the easier it is for them to stick together with more water bridges among sand particles. For a given sand, an appropriate amount of water will achieve the best results. Too much water will make sand easy to fall apart.

Now that you know the science, here are some tips for building a perfect sandcastle.

1. Try to select sand with a good amount of fine particles (size less than 1 mm)
2. Spray water mist to wet the sand and mix thoroughly until sand can be compressed into a block without falling apart
3. Add an appropriate amount of silt into the sand if it does not stick
4. As you build, compact the wet sand in layers

— By Xinbao Yu
Professor of Civil Engineering

 

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Optimal Marshmall Doneness for a S’more

It’s a debate humankind has been waging for at least as long as 1927, when a Girl Scout published the first recipe for a s’more. What's the ideal roasting level for a marshmallow? Burnt to a crisp? Barely warm at all? Somewhere in between? Chemistry doctoral student Ryan Madigan has the answer.

Many people believe that the best marshmallow is one shoved directly into a fire, rendering it a shriveled black mess. These people are wrong, and now you can prove it with science. What is a marshmallow? It is mostly air and sugar, which is why it will shrivel when burnt, releasing air trapped in the sugary matrix. The more important part of this combination of course, is the sugar. So how can we use this fact to influence our cooking decisions? Well, slightly browning sugar will lead to caramelization. This leads to the breakdown of the marshmallow into new molecules that react with each other, producing nutty and buttery flavors. So why not just shove the marshmallow in the fire? Well, another reaction occurring is the Maillard reaction—sugars reacting with the amino acids in the gelatin that occurs at much lower temperatures and leads to complex flavors found in steak, coffee, and caramel. So what is scientifically the best way to cook a marshmallow? Slow and steady over the fire until golden brown, allowing the insides to melt and the outsides to caramelize, creating complex flavors.

— By Ryan Madigan
Doctoral Chemistry Student

 

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Launch a Lucrative Lemonade Stand

Many budding entrepreneurs got their first taste of business world by hosting lemonade stands in their neighborhoods, peddling refreshing drinks to passersby. Jeffrey E. McGee, professor of management and Maverick Entrepreneurship Fellow, offers some quick tips for best practices when you or the kids in your life are ready to dominate the lemonade stand scene.

1. Prioritize lemonade quality with the freshest ingredients and unique flavors to nurture customer loyalty.
2. Enhance visual appeal by using vivid colors, enticing signage, and themed displays for a memorable customer experience.
3. Choose strategic locations with high foot traffic and easy accessibility.
4. Train yourself and your team with the skills to deliver engaging customer service.
5. Establish competitive prices, balancing your costs and what customers are willing to pay.
6. Use social media to build awareness and create buzz, sharing visuals, testimonials, and exclusive deals.

Consistency, adaptability, and continuous improvement are crucial for long-term success in any business. With a superior product, exceptional service, and effective marketing, your lemonade stand is poised for market domination!

Of course, enrolling in UTA’s entrepreneurship program will also help.

— By Jeffrey E. McGee
Professor of Management

 

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Level Up Your Chalk Art

In the waning evening, when the Texas heat fades to something closer to bearable, why not spend some time outdoors decorating your driveway or sidewalk into a gorgeous work of art? "Chalk art is a fun activity that artists at any level can enjoy," says Carlos Donjuan, a noted artist and assistant professor of art. Here, he provides tips for taking your chalk art to the next level.

1. Do some research on the ideas that you want to explore and find some good references. For example, if you are making a piece based on birds, select the type of bird(s) that you like and find some good reference images.
2. Plan your composition. It can be helpful to photograph the space where you plan to draw and see how your design will fit on the space. If you have access to digital art tools, you can mock up your design ahead of time.
3. Supplies and techniques are important to the process. Most chalks will work for sidewalk art. Do your best to find the colors that best match your design and purchase enough materials. If you are working on the floor, having a towel or pads for your knees can make the experience much more comfortable.
4. Chalk art can be a little messy, so make sure you wear clothes and shoes that you don’t mind getting a little chalk on.
5. Check on the weather and watch out for rain. If you are working in the Texas summer, plan on working in the morning or evenings to avoid long exposure to the heat.
6. This type of work can be very physical, so take your time, take breaks, and stay hydrated.
7. Make sure to document your work and take photos and video. Chalk art is for the most part temporary, so make sure to preserve the work and the memories.
    

— By Carlos Donjuan
Assistant Professor of Art

 

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Start a Summer Reading Club

Whether you are a lifelong reader, want to become a reader, or just want an excuse to hide from the heat in an air-conditioned library for a bit, summer is the perfect time to start a book club. Holly Hungerford-Kresser, associate professor of curriculum and instruction and member of the Summasummasummatime Book Club, offers a few tips on how to get started.

1. I like to select the first book and then put out feelers asking if anyone is up for chatting about it. Remember, you do not have to start from scratch when selecting a book—there are plenty of celebrity book lists available (e.g., Reese Witherspoon, Oprah, and Barack Obama to name a few), as well as curated lists on sites like Goodreads and from outlets like The New York Times.
2. When we meet the first time, in addition to talking about our book, we select someone to choose the next book and host the next discussion; a host comes prepared to guide the discussion as needed.
3. Decide how long people will need to read or listen to the book and how many books you want to read over the course of the summer. Then select dates and times to accommodate most people’s needs. Having these dates set early on is particularly helpful in summer when schedules tend to be more scattered.
4. In thinking about the where, it is important to decide if your book club will be in person, virtual, or hybrid. This can change meeting to meeting, depending on host and participants, and each has benefits. However, I have found hybrid meetings allow for the most flexibility for everyone concerned and in-person meetings allow for the best snacks.
5. As for the why: If you like books and (most) people, the question is really why not give it a try?

— By Holly Hungerford-Kresser
Associate Professor of Curriculum and Instruction

 

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Take a Road Trip Through American History

Summer is often a time to hit the road and see what the United States has to offer beyond your corner of the world. While you’re already planning to head out, why not also plan to make the trip meaningful and educational? Stephanie Cole, associate professor and chair in the Department of History, maps out an epic road trip that brings significant pieces of American history alive—all of which coincide with themes covered in one of her favorite courses to teach, “U.S. History to 1865.”