May 31, 2008
Heather, who blogs at OhMy StinkinHeck, proudly tells the blogosphere about her daughter Emelie’s efforts to earn some extra credit in science (with a great recycling twist). Emelie needed only 2 more points to have a 100% in science, and she was determined to get those points. But was she content with something mediocre, worth ONLY two points? Not this young woman! 
Emelie decided that her project would involve materials that were already around the house, and what she ended up with was a birdhouse that any environmentally conscious bird would be proud to call home. Using plastic bottles and lids, bubble wrap, leftover paint and wafer board, and a few other “odds and ends,” Emelie built a birdhouse like no other. We are ESPECIALLY proud of Emelie because she did this entire project herself. When a parent does any kind of project for a student, there is no deserved pride. Emelie did a wonderful job and she earned the praise she very naturally received. Way to go, Emelie. And thank you, Heather, for sharing …
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May 8, 2007
Only a very cool teacher gives this kind of homework to her students… “Using only construction paper and tape, I want you to design a rocket.” Lisa Heaton, the Gifted and Talented teacher showed her students a specially designed rocket launcher made out of PVC plumbing parts from the local hardware store. The idea for the PVC rocket launcher comes from U.S. Space Camp for Educators curriculum. I had the privilege of assisting Mrs. Heaton with the launch of the paper rockets. As the students will share in the comments below, the first launch revealed their design strengths and flaws. The five students with the best launch served as mentors for the rest of the students as they returned to the classroom to repair and redesign their paper rockets. The second launch proved to be the real learning experience - be sure to read comments from the young rocketeers below. 
“This rocket launch activity coincides with the students reading Rocket Boys (also known as October Sky) by Homer Hickam. I want these kids to experience first hand the feeling of failure and success …
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Tags: Homer Hickam, October Sky, paper rockets, PVC rocket launcher, rocket, rocket boys, Rocket Scientists, safe science, Science, Science Class, science classroom, Science Education, science experiment, science fair experiment, science fair experiments, science fair projects, science fair projects for kids, science fair projects ideas, science fair topics, science for kids, Science in the Rockies, science projects for kids, Science Teacher, science teachers, Science Video, steve spangler, Steve Spangler Science, steve spangler science experiments, young rocket scientists
Filed under: Teaching Moments
January 31, 2007
The students at Wilder Elementary in Littleton, Colorado proved that Mom is right, “Wash your hands with soap and warm water!”? The third grade class did an experiment using Petri dishes prepared with agar (a seaweed derivative). Agar is an ideal “food”? source for the bacteria. The students collected samples around the school including on top of the tissue box, door knobs and more. You won’t believe what they found growing in the common areas that we all touch. They also tested how well common cleaners eliminated the bacteria. The students also learned how to properly handle the growing bacteria. Always seal the Petri dishes and throw them away when you are done. The teachers had the students take pictures of the dishes, so they could refer back to their findings, without having to store bacteria that can make them sick. Watch the Video to see what they found Read more about how to do your own experiment with nutrient agar.
Tags: bacteria, Littleton, nutrient agar, Petri dishes, school science experiment, Science Class, science classroom, Science Education, Science Video, steve spangler, Steve Spangler Science, Wilder Elementary
Filed under: Teaching Moments
January 15, 2007
It has the potential of being the most popular science fair project of all time. The Mentos Geyser is definitely fun to watch, but some teachers are missing the opportunity to use the activity to teach science. Over the last few weeks, I’ve received emails from students explaining that their teachers are forbidding them from doing the Mentos Geyser as a science project. Why? The common response is… “there’s no science to blowing up pop.” What? How did these teachers miss the rich science content that oozes from the bottle with every eruption? Combine the strong science with the student’s motivation to want to use the scientific method and you’ve got an amazing activity. Brian Rice, a math teacher at Gwinn Middle School in Michigan, recently used the Mentos Geyser as a great teaching opportunity. As one of the experiments, the middle schoolers measured how high pop would spray when a Mentos candy is dropped into the pop bottle. In one day, eighth-grade classes and some seventh-grade classes conducted the Mentos and pop experiment with the objective to see whether different types of pops have greater eruptions. They ended up testing a total of 44 different varieties, ranging from …
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Tags: Brian Rice, Coke, Diet Coke, Gwinn Middle School, Mentos, Mentos candy, Mentos Geyser, Mentos Geyser Experiment, Michigan, Mining Journal, rich science content, root beer, school science projects, Science, Science Class, Science Education, science experiment, science fair project, science for kids, science teachers, steve spangler, Steve Spangler Science
Filed under: Mentos Geyser, Teaching Moments
