Ann Bridgewater, a teacher who traveled to Denver all the way from Hong Kong to attend Science in the Rockies this year, shared a very cool project with us. She uses UV Color Changing Beads to craft Mixed Up Chameleons for a little craft/science/literacy lesson all rolled into one.
Ann weaves embroidery thread in and around the beads to make a chameleon shape. (You can Google this if you need a pattern.) She used black pony beads for the nose, eyes, and feet. Then she reads The Mixed Up Chameleon by Eric Carle. Her students then take their chameleons out into the sunlight to detect UV rays with their beads. The once white and black chameleon is now colorfully mixed up.
What a fun idea to bring a character to life while mixing a little science and literacy.
In honor of our most valued customers (you), Steve Spangler Science is now offering a Deal of the Day.
How does it work you ask?
Each night before bed our super secret Deal of the Day committee relies on the guidance of the stars combined with Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion and the flavor of the day at Yogurt World to choose a product to feature. Sometimes, we go to bed early and let the FedEx guy make the decision. Either way, each day a product is featured and offered at a ridiculously low price. Past products offered have been Insta-Snow, Baby Soda Bottle Test Tubes and Color Changing UV Beads.
The deal is offered for only one day, and only through our website. No calls or purchase orders to get the deal. You must use the WiFi to grab the deal.
We make a limited amount of each product available for the sale, so the deal is over when the counter reaches zero or the time runs out. Whichever comes first. Once it’s over, it’s over. So get in early and take advantage.
Our customers are always coming up with unique and creative uses for our science toy products. Marilyn Daggett from Arizona designed duck necklaces with sun energy beads to trade on an upcoming Quacker Factory cruise in October.
Marilyn purchased a pack of our Color Changing UV Beads a few years ago to monitor her sun exposure at the urging of her dermatologist. She had about 500 left over and decided to create necklaces to trade with friends during the cruise. She mixed the UV Beads with crystal and plastic beads along with the duck lamp work beads.
The cruise sets sail in October to several ports of call including the Bahamas, St, Thomas and St. Martin. Quacker Factory is a very popular brand of clothing that sells exclusively on QVC and offers cruises for about 500 of their most dedicated fans. The ladies (and some of their husbands) bring ducky-related items to trade and share during the cruise. Marilyn has made about four dozen necklaces to trade.
She thought they’d be perfect for monitoring sun exposure and fun to wear. (We agree.) Only a few of
…
The Caring Strategies Summer Camp in Louisiana, held a science summer camp this year. Caring Strategies is a non-profit center that holds trainings, camps and events throughout the year for children.
Among the activities and lessons taught in science camp this summer, the children learned about UV rays, the power of sunlight and the need to use sunscreen. Each student made a bracelet out of Color Changing UV Beads. The teachers at Caring Strategies explained UV light to the students, then had them come up with their own theories and hypothesis for what would happen when the white beads were taken outside.
After theorizing and making their bracelets with the beads, the students ventured outside. What happened next demonstrates the true Wow! factor when children are able to make their own discoveries.
For more on the program, visit the Caring Strategies website and watch their science camp video to see how the students performed their experiment and what they learned.
We really enjoyed teaming with UVSkinz.com to give away some of our Color Changing UV Beads and create awareness about the importance of protecting yourself from the sun. We are so excited to introduce the winner of the UV Bead give-away… Corinna Lyons-Revell. Here’s a little bit about Corinna and her daughter, who are very excited to play with their new beads.
I live in the Midwest and work from my home as a medical transcriptionist
and have a small business as a scrapbooker. I have a husband and
9-year-old daughter (whose favorite subject is science!). We lost a friend
about 5 years ago to melanoma and my hubby’s sister has had skin cancer,
so I have taught my daughter to be VERY aware of the need for sunscreen.
We don’t go anywhere without it, not even on cloudy days. She even nags
her daddy about it! I know my daughter is going to enjoy trying out these
beads and seeing how they work and then showing all of her friends to teach
them about sunscreen importance also. Thanks for the great contest! And
thanks to Steve for bringing awesome science knowledge to children!
