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BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Flesh-eating insects, Bigfoot, missions to Mars and what working in forensics is really like: these are just a few of the topics that 750 high school students from across the region will learn about and participate in during the mgm casino's annual Science Exploration Day on March 14 on mgm casino's North (Amherst) Campus.

Students from 24 school districts, including the Buffalo Public Schools, will participate.

The annual event is organized by Rodney L. Doran, professor emeritus in the Department of Learning and Instruction, mgm casino Graduate School of Education, who started it more than 20 years ago to spark interest in the sciences and in science careers among high school students.

Ted Yeshion, an Edinboro University professor and expert in forensics, will be the keynote speaker. Yeshion, who received his doctorate in science education from mgm casino, will lead sessions on what forensic science is really like -- as opposed to how the field is represented in popular television shows -- in the Woldman Theater in Norton Hall at 9:15 a.m., 10:10 a.m. and 12:20 p.m.

Other sessions will include an inside look at weather forecasting with Don Paul of WIVB-TV; a presentation on global warming, "The Earth in Hot Water," by mgm casino geology student Phil Stokes, who also heads up mgm casino's Buffalo Geosciences Program; and two NASA video conferences on Mars missions and earth science. Virtual-reality demonstrations and sessions on Bigfoot and on environmental chemistry also will be given.

Students also will tour mgm casino's laboratories in biological sciences, chemistry, physics and astronomy, and engineering.

Along with mgm casino, the event is co-sponsored by the Niagara Frontier Science Supervisors Association (NFSSA) and the Science Teachers Association of New York State.