Hey, folks, the new Carnival of Education is up and we’re in it! Go check it out… you’ll find all kinds of fantastic resources and information there.

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Preparation for standardized testing has taken a lot of the fun out of the classroom, but good teachers will find a way to sneak the fun back in. REALLY good teachers will sneak the fun back in and teach some awesome lessons at the same time!

Science teachers frequently say, “I love all the activities you do, like being able to make slime, or make water float in a bottle, but of the 220 activities you taught us, only a handful were allowed in my school curriculum. There just isn’t enough time for science because it’s not on the big test!”

A colleague went to her principal and asked: “If it is not in school time, but in private time, do you mind if I teach science?”? The principal agreed.

On average, an elementary teacher spends about 15 minutes per child per year on his/her birthday, and each year that time grows shorter. That’s why “Cup Cakes for Science” was born. The kids were offered a choice between a traditional party or a science party where the birthday child gets to be helper. After one party, the class was hooked, and they even asked for science parties for their brothers and sisters too.

Children are starving for science. It is sad when a teacher has to find sneaky ways to put science back in the curriculum, but if it means trading cup cakes for science, then that is what a teacher has to do. This teacher with 23 children was able to provide those children with 23 additional learning experiences they have never had before and those experiences were unforgettable.

Plus, the Birthday Boy/Girl got to do all the really awesome stuff! And there were still cup cakes!

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What makes a good science fair, a good school, a good science lesson? Hands-on exploration and discovery are a great start and never forget to instill a sense of wonder and curiosity in our students.

Without enthusiasm and even a little risk sometimes, learning can quickly become a dead end street. Where there’s boredom, there’s danger.

No worries about any of that here, though. The teachers who have contributed to this week’s Carnival of Education are all of those good things… and MORE.

Let’s visit some of them, shall we? Read the rest of this entry »

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Just look at these pictures from Science in the Rockies last year and you’ll see why we don’t consider this your typical summer science workshop for teachers. Do not plan to attend Science in the Rockies 2008 if you are motivated by PowerPoint presentation, like quiet reading time from an outdated science text, hate to get your hands dirty, or have a fear of flying potatoes. One teacher described Science in the Rockies as the science methods class she never had but really needed!

Science in the Rockies 2008 is scheduled for July 9-11 in Denver at the Sheraton Denver West conference center. Registration is still open, but as of this morning there are fewer than two dozen spots available. Years ago, teachers who took this workshop called it a “science boot camp” - an intensive experience designed to inspire, motivate and move you into action… and the concept stuck. This boot camp is for K-5 teachers who need creative science integration strategies… who are tired of trying to “squeeze” science into their already packed teaching schedule… and who want to make science even more fun and meaningful in their classroom.

Join us in Denver in July for a truly one of a kind experience.

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Robert Woodhead is always looking for a new challenge with his Casio EX-F1 camera. I found Robert’s first Mentos Geyser reaction on Gizmodo using just a roll of Mentos and a bottle Diet Coke. Watching the reaction at 1200 fps is truly amazing. Robert found a willing subject (the kid running from the exploding bottle) and sent us this video. Huge thanks!

If you haven’t seen the Mentos Slow Motion Video from the people at Perfetti Van Melle, watch it! At 2,000 frames per second, you can actually see the carbon dioxide bubbles forming on the nucleation sites.

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If you couldn’t get enough of flying potatoes the first time, the nice people at the Ellen Show are rerunning the show that originally aired on April 15, 2008. The featured experiments include the Baby Diaper Secret, Fire Water and several versions of our potato guns (okay… call them “launchers”).

Learn how to do the experiments featured on the Ellen Show

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Brandt Callahan and Jackson Bartlett, who go to Parkview Intermediate School in Bedford, Indiana, took the Experiment of the Week and won FIRST PRIZE in the third grade division of the Science Fair!

In fact, Brandt and Jackson added a little OOMPH to the experiment by using several different kinds of cereal instead of just one, and using a blender instead of a baggie and their hands. The boys admit that most of the cereals they used just didn’t seem to have any iron in them, in spite of what their labels claimed.

Next time, they’re going to use Life cereal, because they want to SEE the little black dots of iron! They’ve also decided that there definitely won’t be any raisins involved - the ICK factor was just too high with raisins.

Brandt and Jackson are in the third grade, and they learned about this experiment from their teacher. Jackson had won First Prize in first grade, and Brandt had never entered a science fair before, so they decided they’d be perfect partners!

Both Brandt and Jackson love science, but since Brandt’s mom is a math teacher, he added that math is his favorite subject. GOOD ANSWER, Brandt!

While the boys confessed that science is a lot more fun when they can get up and put their hands in it, they also said that experiments seem to go more smoothly when they’ve done a little reading about it beforehand.

Congratulations to Brandt and Jackson! Science Fairs can be loads of fun, and it takes a lot of dedication and hard work to win First Prize.

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There’s a sneak peek video just posted on the Ellen Show site with the Dancing Fire demo and the last part of the shooting potatoes segment. If you have a second, post a comment on the show site.

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All this week on TV, I had the opportunity to get a behind the scenes look at Denver-based companies who each have a cool science twist to their business. The scientists at Gates Corporation invited our cameras on a tour of the hydraulic testing labs at Gates where they demonstrated how engineers test high pressure rubber hoses for commercial use. During the segment, Joel Edwards, Vice President of Fluid Technology & Product Development and Larry Kachinski, Senior Lab Engineer pressurized a hose rated to 6,000 psi with a safety factor of 4:1. The loud burst produced a perfect rupture at nearly 28,000 psi! 

Watch the Video 

Anything that goes bang is fun, but… I was most impressed to speak with Joel Edwards, VP of Product Development, and his engineers who all share the same passion for getting students K-12 excited about careers in science and engineering. For more information about Gates Corporation, visit www.gates.com 

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Mixing 2,500 pounds of cornstarch with the kitchen mixer just didn't work, so we had to find a cement truck… and a very cool cement truck mixing guy. Oh, and you also need three people who know exactly what the cornstarch mixer should feel like when it's perfectly mixed. Jeff, Carly and Renee served as the mixologists while I called the producer at the Ellen Show to let him know that we were ready to roll to the studio. 

Watch the Cornstarch Water Walk Video

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