September 24, 2008

Carnival of Education, #190

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. (more...)

June 12, 2008

Easy Science Experiments on the Carnival of Education

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).

October 27, 2007

Glowing Pumpkins - Martha Combines Arts & Crafts with Science

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. 

July 11, 2007

Exploding Watermelons

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.

October 17, 2006

Hands-on Halloween Science

I'm not sure if Halloween was better for me as a kid or right now as an adult... okay, it's better now! It's no secret that I make the most out of every Halloween - from the oozing slime at school to the ghoulish fun at home, Halloween is the perfect time to let your creativity out for an evening of fun. I think it all started growing up in a family where my parents turned Halloween into a full fledged show. I learned not to bother my Dad after about two o'clock in the afternoon on Halloween because he was getting the entry way of our home ready for those poor unsuspecting Trick-or-Treaters. My favorite memory was getting to sit in his home-made electric chair - complete with blinking lights and giant sparks of static electricity coming from the metal hat. It was great! When the doorbell rang, it was showtime... and my job was to yell at the top of my lungs, "Hey Mister... all I wanted was a lousy piece of candy!" We never gave away much candy on Halloween - no one ever stuck around long enough … (more...)