Spectrum - Volume 19 Issue 29 April 24, 1997 - STAFF APPRECIATION DAY 1997 GROUP WALKING TOURS

A non-profit publication of the Office of the University Relations of Virginia Tech,
including The Conductor , a special section of the Spectrum printed 4 times a year

STAFF APPRECIATION DAY 1997 GROUP WALKING TOURS

Spectrum Volume 19 Issue 29 - April 24, 1997

Please note that due to limited space, tickets are required for each tour. They will be distributed on a first-come first-served basis. PLEASE CALL DEBBIE RHEA AT 1-4853 BY MAY 8 TO REGISTER FOR A TOUR. You will be told immediately if you have a space on the tour you are requesting, and a confirmation ticket will be mailed to your campus address. All group walking tours will depart Rector Field House promptly at 10:30 a.m. Each tour is scheduled to allow you plenty of time to enjoy the tour and return between 11:30 and noon. If you request a ticket and later find that you will be unable to use it, please pass it on to someone who can. Space is limited and we want as many people as possible to be able to participate in the tours. Please bring your ticket with you to Staff Appreciation Day to assure your place in the tour. The central meeting place for all group walking tours will be inside Rector Field House near the bandstand. Look for the sign "WALKING TOURS." We will have tour group leaders to walk with each group to their destination and return. Since these tours are part of the CommonHealth fitness program, participants will receive an additional CommonHealth gift. Tours may NOT BE CANCELLED because of rain, so brign your umbrella just in case. We will make an announcement prior to the beginning of the planned tours.

College of Veterinary Medicine

Visit major diagnostic and treatment facilities in both the small-animal and large-animal components of the hospital. Also visit the Alphin Radiology Center where you will see a variety of modern imaging technologies including ultrasound, fluoroscopy, and CT scanning.

Deet's Place--Coffee Talk

This tour offers a program demonstrating the fine art of roasting coffee beans and an introduction to the specialty coffee industry. Participants will learn about a variety of beans and sample different types of coffee, including Hokie Blend and Deet's Place house blend. The program will be held at Deet's Place in Dietrick Dining Hall.

The Fralin Biotechnology Center

The center, named for the late Horace G. Fralin of Roanoke, was dedicated in the fall of 1995, to the business of turning biology into practical commercial applications. The 45,000-square-foot building on Campus Drive, across the street from Hillcrest, houses the biological sciences faculty, researchers, and students who are interested in biotechnology. Tour guides will take guests through its state-of-the-art research laboratories, which are used for DNA manipulation, cloning, protein purification, and bio-engineering. It also has three teaching laboratories, a computer laboratory, a classroom, and an auditorium.

The Grove

The home for Virginia Tech presidents, The Grove, has serenely overseen the development of Virginia Tech since its construction in 1902. From a hill above the western end of the Drillfield, and near the picturesque Duck Pond, the elegant home witnessed the transformation of the institution from a military school with only 475 students to a comprehensive university with more than 24,000 students. The Grove is a colonial-revival structure on a site that is at once removed from the busy campus, but close enough for easy access. A tour guide will point out interesting features of the home and its furnishings.

Horticulture Gardens

Located on Washington Street, across from Litton-Reaves, the Horticulture Gardens complex is a living museum of plant materials. A tour guide will lead guests through the gardens for the group walk, explaining the various vegetation and gardening methods. Although a tour guide will not be available after the group walk, please feel free to wander through this interesting and beautiful setting at your leisure at any time during the remainder of the day.