Eighth Annual Children’s Film Showcase

The Center for the Humanities and Program in Film & Media Studies will host the Eighth Annual Children’s Film Showcase Nov. 18, 19 and 20. Titled “An Exploration of Children’s Films and Their Audiences,” the showcase is presented in conjunction with Cinema St. Louis, as part of the 20th Annual St. Louis International Film Festival. In all, the Children’s Film Showcase will feature 11 screenings as well as lectures and Q&A sessions with several of the filmmakers.

Washington People: Vetta L. Sanders-Thompson

Perceptions and identity play a pivotal role in people’s access to and use of health and mental health care. “Helping people to be comfortable with the health-care service environment so that they seek it out when they know that they need those services is key,” says Vetta L. Sanders-Thompson, PhD, associate professor of public health at the Brown School.

Moving health into art

HealthStreet, a Washington University School of Medicine initiative to link the community to social and medical referrals and research opportunities, recently called for submissions of art depicting health from students in the St. Louis Public Schools. The art is on public display between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays in HealthStreet’s offices at 4306 Manchester Ave.

Forum focuses on homeless winter outreach

LuAnn Oros, community consultant on hunger and homelessness in the Community Service Office, will lead a discussion about the challenges homeless individuals face during extreme temperatures. This open forum will be held from 4 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16, in the Danforth University Center Millstone Visitors Center on the first floor.

Cosmic voyager has a layover in St. Louis

Last January two amateur meteorite hunters dropped by Randy Korotev’s office at Washington University in St. Louis to show him their latest purchase, a 17-kilogram pallasite meteorite found in 2006 near Conception Junction (population 202) in northwest Missouri.Korotev, an expert in lunar meteorites, identified the stone as a piece of an asteroid. His lab also analyzed crystals within the rock to help identify its body of origin, eventually referring the meteorite hunters to UCLA for analysis of the metal in which the crystals are embedded.

Founders Day 2011: Pioneering women

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin delivered the keynote address at this year’s Founders Day gala Nov. 5. She was onstage during the awards presentation and joined in the robust applause for WUSTL professor and alumnus Jessie Ternberg, MD (left), a pioneer in medical research and first female professor of surgery in pediatrics, who received a Distinguished Alumni Award.

WUSTL classmates salute World War II veterans

In commemoration of Veterans Day Nov. 11, students in a Lifelong Learning Institute class on World War II honored their fellow classmates who are World War II veterans. Six World War II veterans are enrolled — the greatest number in a single session. In a recent class, each veteran was recognized individually and a military medley of service songs was played. The institute, part of University College in Arts & Sciences, offers classes to those age 55 or older. 

Crowd funding creative but risky

Crowd funding, in which a group of investors pools money to fund a project or startup business — often online through social media and sites such as Kickstarter.com — has gained attention recently as a possible source for stimulating economic growth. But an expert on entrepreneurship at Washington University in St. Louis says crowd funding may not be all its cracked up to be.