We are honored to periodically host the Carnival of Education. Hats off to our good friend Jane Goodwin for all of her work on the latest Carnival. - editor

It’s time to put on our thinking caps and experience the 190th Carnival of Education, right here at Steve Spangler’s blog!

All learning is scientific, you know.  The world is a giant laboratory, and every day, we are all, regardless of our ages, making discoveries never before known to mankind.

Perhaps some of you will make some discoveries right here at the Carnival of Education!

Remember now, we don’t all necessarily have to agree on everything to appreciate it, or realize that it has a value.

Let’s begin with some Games for the Brain.  That will make us alert and ready for some educational action.

Over at Three Standard Deviations to the Left, there is some discussion about low expectations.  Mr. IB lets us know, in no uncertain terms, that HIS expectations are high. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 9% [?]

I remember a time when Halloween was nothing more than dressing up and running from house to house in search of the greatest candy bars. Fast-forward to 2008 and Halloween is a big deal… elaborate costumes, parties galore and merchandising second only to Christmas. Oh, did I mention that it’s a dream come true for the highly-motivated, somewhat neurotic science teacher who can’t wait to make things glow, ooze, pop, scream and gross out everyone who is willing to participate.

If you’re one of these teachers, please keep reading (because I need your help). This year, we’re compiling a list of the best Halloween Science Demos… so far. You’ll find some of my favorites in the list below, but this is just the starting point. I want to know your best Halloween Science Demos.

Just post a comment below and share what makes your students (or children) scream with excitement!

• Atomic Slime
  
• Dry Ice Experiments
  
• Halloween Recipes
  
• Dry Ice Crystal Ball Bubble
  
• Halloween Sounds
  
• Light Sticks
  
• VIDEO: Exploding Pumpkins

Popularity: 7% [?]

Every once in a while I stumble across a new resource or website and say, “Why didn’t I know about this before now?” If you’re a teacher and you don’t know about The Carnival of Education, check it out! As I understand it, the Carnival of Education is hosted on a new education site each week, and it has an amazing readership. Brew a second pot of coffee because once you start reading, you’ll get roped in for a few hours (each time you check it out).

Popularity: 22% [?]

Hats off to Martha Stewart for job well done on her glow-in-the-dark pumpkins (okay, she called them funkins featured on October 26, 2007, on her television show. Our Media Product Coordinator, Brian Firooz, worked with the segment producer for several weeks to create a very cool effect using our Glow Powder and a little Martha Stewart creativity. The end result was a very cool glow-in-the-dark effect that was enhanced even more by using a black light. 

Popularity: 8% [?]

I love Halloween. One of my favorite activities is to “carve” pumpkins using a simple reation inside the fruit. First, you carve the face then carefully replace pieces. After creating a reaction by generating a gas inside and igniting it (ask your local chemistry teacher for the details) the face pieces are blown off with a small explosion.

Halloween is more than 100 days away and I just couldn’t wait. So I initiated the new weather anchor at the local Denver television station by introducing her to carving watermelons. The problem was, we didn’t really carve the watermelon, it exploded. Watch the Video to see how we skipped right over the carving and went straight to exploding.

Popularity: 91% [?]