Get SEATed

I found an activity today that I’m planning for next week.  We’re beginning our study of elements and the periodic table.  So I turned to the ever trusty Google and typed in “periodic table activities.”  This simple search brought up several great results and one in particular caught my eye.  The element windsock is going to be a fun way to find out some basic information on common elements.  We’ll be using the same basic idea given on that website, but we’ll also be adding an everyday object that hangs from the center of the windsock. 

For example, the windsock for aluminum may have a piece of foil hanging down surrounded by tails with information on them such as atomic mass, number of protons/neutrons/electrons, etc.  We’ll be hanging them from the ceiling to liven up the room with some student produced work.  There’s already plenty of that on the walls, but I’ve yet to venture to the ceiling for displaying work.  I mentioned this activity to the students today before class ended and they were already planning where they wanted to hang their windsock. 

It’s little things like this that I get excited about and make me look forward to the start of a new week.  I’ll get some pictures of our creations and post a follow up to this once they’re all completed.

I have a grant proposal to write with a maximum value of $750.  I have a few ideas on what I’d like to get, but there’s nothing that I desperately need for my classroom. 

If you were given $750, what would you want to get?  It is a science related grant, so it has to apply to either a physical science or environmental science class.  I like incorporating technology, but it doesn’t have to be tech stuff. 

Share your ideas and let’s get a big list of things going here.

Talk about a departure from my usual topics.  Perhaps this will generate some discussion though. 

Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: Deep Space 9
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Enterprise

I’ve always enjoyed scifi and my favorite out of this bunch would have to be The Next Generation.  I grew up with this series (and the movies).  Of course, I greatly enjoy the other series as well, but TNG is my fave.  Who out there hasn’t at one time or another wished they could have a transporter to beam back and forth between work and home?  I probably could use the stun setting on a phaser on a daily basis in my classroom, so there’s definite application to learning in that area. 

I’ve even heard of teachers who have discussions specifically on the science of Star Trek, so if it’s something that the students would be interested in, I’d give it a try.  I might even use that as an end of the year “mini-project.”  Hmm, I think I like that idea.

State testing is over for my groups of students.  No more worries and it’s all downhill from here, right?

Nope.  The challenge now becomes what to do with the last few weeks of school.  The last few weeks have consisted of reviews and prep work to take the tests.  The kids are tired, so I have to make sure that the material we cover prepares them for next year and is engaging enough to keep their attention. 

The attention part is hard enough as it is, but with each passing day, the students are focusing more and more on “The Countdown.”  How many out there have already started marking off days on the calendar?  I imagine quite a few calendars have fallen prey to the big red numbers that dwindle down to 0. 

In my physical science class, we’ll be doing some group projects, various experiments, etc.  I might even get them to work on one more big project to summarize what they learned throughout the year.  We’ll even have our egg drop contest to see which group can build the best container.  We did that last year and the students enjoyed that quite a bit. 

What will you be doing to battle the end of the year blues?

Tonight, perhaps about the time you head off to sleep, NASA will be launching the Kepler spacecraft into orbit.

In a time when things look bleak here in the United States, we send up a new, powerful telescope to search for signs of other Earth-like planets in hopes of finding exoplanets filled with water and, possibly, life.

In my post Little Green Men, I wrote about the possibilities of life existing outside of our planet.  This Kepler mission is going to shed a lot more light on the number of exoplanets that are out there and bring our understanding of them to greater heights. 

As stated in the article, we’re not sending Kepler up there to find aliens.  We just want to find where they live.  I find this whole topic fascinating.  As a science fiction fan, I dream of the possibilities (and probabilities) of alien species roaming the galaxy.  In the not too distant future, I hope to see science fiction turning into science fact. 

The more technological advances that we achieve, the farther out in the universe we’ll be able to see.  The farther we can see, the more we can learn.  Isn’t that what science is all about?

So as you drift off to sleep tonight, let the thoughts of strange, alien planets fill your dreams. 

Let’s hope this launch fairs better than NASA’s last one that ended up in the ocean. 

In recent years, we’ve been hearing more and more about exoplanets – planets that orbit far away stars outside of our solar system.  In a place the size of our galaxy, there are bound to be a few planets out there and we’re getting better at finding them. 

Of course, the more planets we find, the more we wonder about whether or not these planets contain life.

Religious beliefs aside, it really is just a numbers game.  In just the Milky Way Galaxy alone, you’ve got billions and billions of stars.  If just a fraction of those have planets orbiting them, and a fraction of those are within the right distance and temperature, and a fraction of those…well, you get the picture.  That’s still a lot of planets containing some form of life.

An interesting article was written today on CNN’s website.  Entitled “Galaxy may be full of ‘Earths,’ alien life,” it reminded me of why I like looking up at the stars and wondering what’s really out there.  In the article, one study that is pointed out relies on technology to help answer the guessing game:

“Researchers at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland constructed a computer model to create a synthetic galaxy with billions of stars and planets. They then studied how life evolved under various conditions in this virtual world, using a supercomputer to crunch the results.

In a paper published recently in the International Journal of Astrobiology, the researchers concluded that based on what they saw, at least 361 intelligent civilizations have emerged in the Milky Way since its creation, and as many as 38,000 may have formed.”

Sure, these are just the results of a computer model.  We have trouble creating weather forecast models to tell us if it’s going to rain a few days from now, so how much credibility can we place in a model of a make believe galaxy?  Still, to have a computer model lead us to a conclusion that at least 361 intelligent civilizations are out there in the Milky Way is, at the very least, intriguing. 

On top of all this, keep in mind that there are billions of galaxies in the universe.  It’s impossible for us to fully realize the number of planets that are out there.

I’m not saying that little green men in UFO’s have come to visit us, but I do firmly believe that intelligent life exists somewhere out there.  Articles like this have always held a fascination for me and they always will.  My question is how long will it be before we find little green men out there?

I just read a great article in the latest issue of The Science Teacher from the NSTA.  It is entitled, “Thinking, Teaching, and Learning Science Outside the Boxes.”  It focuses on interdisciplinarity and leads off with an introduction about Young.

So, why a class full of Youngs? 

Thomas Young is commonly referred to as “the last person to know everything.”  Of course, when he lived around 1800, there was a lot less “stuff” to know about than there is today.  Anyone would be hard pressed to “know everything” in current times.  It would still be great to have my students relate science to other subject areas.

In many high schools, there is a clear distinction between science, math, social studies, and English classes.  A student leaves biology and heads to algebra as if they are two separate worlds, without thinking about how those subjects, and others, are tied together.  This is the case at my school and in the surrounding schools.

I have been making a greater attempt to relate other subjects to science in my class this year.  For example, we recently constructed timelines on the history of the study of motion.  Students always see dates given for major scientific discoveries, but do they realize how that relates to history?  We also did a project relating forces (physical science) to plate tectonics (earth science).  I do tend to stay within the realm of just one subject a majority of the time and it’s something I need to work on. 

The article makes a great statement by saying, “…growing evidence shows that we must give students opportunities to see the world more holistically as we count on these students to solve increasingly complex problems.”  In my opinion, that is exactly right.  The entire world is more accessible to these students and with that, its problems.  If we don’t apply these classes to real-world experiences, the students will not see the lessons as meaningful and connections to their own lives may not be made.

It doesn’t matter what subject you teach, try to make the relations to other subjects clear and as often as possible.  If you can tie three or more subjects together, even better!  Let students know that what they learn in one class does relate to material covered in their next one.

Let’s hear what you do in your classroom to bring out the Thomas Young in your students. 

Roughly 150 students, a handful of judges, and about two hours…

That pretty much entails the basics of our school’s local science fair.  We are one of the few schools in the area that hold a science fair.  I sometimes wonder if it’s worth the effort, but I already know the answer is a resounding “YES!”  At least it is from my point of view.

It is a requirement for all students in a science class to complete and present a science fair project.  We’re talking about the culmination of work that is started on the first day of school.  A science fair project is an excellent opportunity to learn about the scientific method and hands on experimentation.  

When I was a student in school, science fair was a big deal.  It was important for me to do well in it.  I worked hard on the research, the experiment, the display board, and the final report.  For some of these students, though, this project is seen as “extra work.”  There’s a lack of motivation present on their part and little parental support in some cases. 

Out of the 20 or so students that I have in my science class, 10 completed the project and gave presentations.  Here’s a project that is worth several hundred points total and I only have a 50% completion rate.  Sadly, this is the case every year. 

Below is one of the many display boards from today’s fair.  This student worked hard to produce a good quality project.  Every step of the scientific method was applied.  It was well researched and accompanied by a great presentation.

From the teacher’s perspective, planning and preparing for a science fair is hard work.  It’s this kind of project that makes the effort worthwhile.  I wish that all of the projects could be at this level.  They could be if more interest was taken in the work. 

Does your school hold a science fair every year?  Is it a requirement or optional?  I’d be interested in hearing how different areas handle this event.