We might like to play the same game during the holidays… Guess which toy the kids will play with the most after everything has been ripped open and the house is a disaster. That’s the criteria we used in selecting this year’s Top 25 Holiday Gift Ideas from SteveSpanglerScience.com. If you’re looking for a toy or gift that makes the person receiving it say, “This is so cool!”, you can’t go wrong with anything on the list.
Fun Fly Stick It’s an ingenious, battery-operated static electricity generator that allows you to float cool tinsel shapes on a cloud of electrons. Bring the family over for Christmas, pull that tinsel off the tree and get ready for the applause… it doesn’t get much better than this. Oh, and if you don’t want to tear apart the Christmas decorations, the Fun Fly Stick comes with five tinsel shapes that are
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.
Once again, the educators that help put together the Carnival of Education have included one of our blog posts in this week’s edition of the Carnival. Check it out and support our fellow bloggers and educators by reading some of the other great blogs over there!
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 …
