Our annual Weather and Science Day reached a new height this year with the launch of a weather balloon during the event. The weather balloon was launched with help from The Edge of Space. During it's flight, it reached the edge of space at a height of 93,000 feet. That's higher than Mount Everest and higher than what
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By Blog Editor Susan Wells
Every time I help out in the classroom, I am in awe of what my children's teachers do every day. Not only do they have the responsibility of molding, shaping and educating young minds, but they also must deal with a constant influx of
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Q: Tell us a little about who you are…
A: I am a very personable and outgoing person who loves to make the best out of every situation. I feel as though no man or woman is better than the next and that we all need to work close
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By Blog Editor Susan Wells
It's January and it's Science Fair season. The keywords, "science fair projects," "easy science fair ideas," and "science fair help" are some of the top searched terms on Google in the month of January as students and their parents get online to look for help on their science fair projects.
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We want to extend our congratulations to Team “NO Limits!” from Westridge Elementary in Littleton, Colorado. They are headed to Destination Imagination’s Global Finals this week to represent their school and state. The team won honors in problem solving and creativity in local, state and regional tournaments to achieve the national invitation.
The competition will be held May 23 – 26 in Knoxville, Tennessee.
The team is made up of three girls and four boys – two 6th graders, one 5th grader, one 4th grader and three 3rd graders. Team members include Kate & Lexi Lubotsky, Davis & Tate Morrison, Jack Isenhart, Tyler Shepard, & Elizabeth Dougherty. The two 6th graders on the team required that they compete against 6th through 8th graders, despite having younger children on the team.
Team NO Limits! from Westridge Elementary with their cart from regionals April 14. (L to R) Tyler Shepard, Lexi Lubotsky, Jack Isenhart, Tate Morrison, Davis Morrison, Kate Lubotsky and Elizabeth Dougherty
Destination Imagination is a non-profit extra-curricular organization that encourages students to learn through creativity, teamwork and problem solving. More than 125,000 kids in
Don’t fear the werewolves and vampires this weekend. An annular eclipse will make it’s way across the western United States.
This Sunday, May 20th in the late afternoon, an annular eclipse of the sun will be visible to the United States and a narrow path across the northern Hemisphere. A partial eclipse will be visible in East Asia, the North Pacific, North America and Greenland.
Solar eclipses happen all over the globe all the time, but this will be the first in the continental U.S. in more than 18 years.
An annular eclipse is a “ring of fire” solar eclipse. A total eclipse is when the moon’s shadow completely covers the sun and makes it dark during the day. This eclipse will cover about 85% of the sun leaving a visible ring.
If you want to see it, set a reminder, because it won’t last long. The eclipse will be visible first along Oregon and northern California at 1:23 p.m. local time. It will last 4 1/2 minutes as it tracks across the U.S. to Redding, CA, to Central Nevada, southern Utah
It’s one of the most memorable scenes from Finding Nemo. We also love bubbles at Steve Spangler Science. The science of bubbles is as fascinating as bubbles are engaging.
First, start with a good bubble solution. The secrets behind great bubbles are dish soap and glycerin. Just don’t use the antibacterial dish soap. Dawn works the best.
Glycerin is the true secret to the best bubbles because it keeps the bubble hydrated. A bubble will pop in the air because the water evaporates. The glycerin will hold onto that water and extend the life of the bubble. But don’t let it touch your skin. Oil and dirt are the enemies of bubbles.
The best bubble blower is a pipette with the end cut off. Just remember to blow through the pipette and not suck.
Solar Bags are 50 feet long and are made from a very thin plastic. When inflated, the black plastic heats the air up inside the Solar Bag. The air expands and the bag floats in the air. Our fabulous and dedicated Steve Spangler Science crew ran across the outfield at Coors Field last week to fill the balloons up with air. We filled the stadium with Solar Bags.
Steve also gave 800 teachers, cub scout and girl scout leaders Solar Bags to take back to their group for a hands-on learning experience. If you are a teacher or educator that received a Solar Bag, we have a homework assignment for you. Give your students or kids a little lesson in the
We recently came across this video by SooToday.com‘s reader Phil Sabine making its rounds on the Internet. In the video, Sabine takes a cold bottle of water, turns it upside down and then taps the bottom. The water instantly begins freezing from the bottom down to the top.
Is it magic? A slight of hand? Or did he switch the liquid in the bottle to something other than water?
The answer to all of the questions is no, there is no trick. The solution lies in the science behind the freezing temperature of water and how ice crystals form. This is also referred to as Supercooled Water.
Everyone knows the freezing temperature of water is 32 degrees Fahrenheit or 0 degrees Celsius. When this temperature is reached, the water molecules freeze by forming ice crystals. It’s easier for the water molecules to turn to ice on top of already formed crystals. Ice crystals build on existing ice crystals to eventually freeze the entire bottle of water.
What starts the freezing ice crystal process?
The process of starting the ice crystals is called “nucleation.” This starts from an impurity or scratch or piece of dust on the container holding the water. In this case, the
