Wood Week 2007, a five-day series of events focusing on wood as a material, begins Tuesday, Sept. 4, at Virginia Tech’s Blacksburg campus. Fine Woodworking editor Asa Christiana will give the keynote address on Tuesday to begin the events. His remarks will be open to the public. Wood Week 2007 also features a special program for elementary students and teachers, a career fair, department-only events, and a forest products technology conference.

The third annual Career Awareness Fair lets students meet industry representatives.

In his keynote, Christiana will touch on furniture design, how wood science leads to solid joinery, and how furniture makers must blend engineering and esthetics. His focus on hand-crafted furniture as the FWW editor is a great way to celebrate the material, said Prof. Paul Winistorfer, head of the university’s Department of Wood Science and Forest Products. While woodworkers usually pick up timber at the end of its manufacturing cycle, Winistorfer’s students often head into careers at the front end of the wood processing chain, working for lumber companies or wood product manufacturers. “What’s important is that we’re really all connected,” Winistorfer said in a phone interview.

A Wood Week staple is Wood Magic, a program that teaches fourth and fifth graders and their teachers about wood science and math. Students learn through hands-on, science-based lessons such as taking a tree seedling home, looking at termites under microscope, or breaking up wood pieces in a lab. “The kids just love it. It is just really engaging,” said Winistorfer. The program began in 1998 and has served more than 11, 000 youth and almost 500 teachers. “The feedback has been just off the charts from the kids and the teachers,” he said.

Students learn how wood impacts their daily lives in the Wood Magic program.

This year for the first time,  the Virginia Forest Products Association and Virginia Tech Forest Products Industry are sponsoring a Technology Conference on Sept. 7 and 8. It will cover globalization, biofuels, and workforce development. Register by Aug. 31 to join the conference.

Virginia Tech also hosts a career fair that’s open to the public. Almost 50 companies in the woodworking industry are sponsoring booths. Visit the the Department of Wood Science and Forest Product’s Web site to learn more about the events.

–Photos courtesy of the Department of Wood Science and Forest Product at Virginia Tech

-Posted August 29, 2007

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