When you picture a tornado, most of us imagine a whirling column of air poking down from the clouds. Air tornadoes are created when warm air on the ground rises, and cool air comes in from above at a perpendicular angle. The hot air mixing with the cold air creates the rotation of a tornado. But not all tornadoes come from the sky.
Fire tornadoes are created when heated air from a fire rises and mixes with strong air currents (often whipping through the trees). This causes the air molecules to spin and shape the flame into the shape of a tornado. Firefighters are cautious of fire tornadoes because they can whip through the tops of trees catching other trees on fire. Watch the video for a cool demonstration on how fire tornadoes work.
Every week our customer service team shares cool stories that our customers share over the phone or through e-mail. Zarah Brown (@ZarahwithaZ) shared a story from the wife of a Northwest/Delta Airlines pilot who participates in a program called Pilots for Kids.
My husband is a pilot with Northwest/Delta and they do a charity function called Pilot for Kids –we are in our 15th year of throwing a Christmas party for over 350 Headstart children and their families–Steve Spangler products are always a big hit and show great examples of aerodynamics for the children….and the pilots get a kick out of playing with the kids! We are most pleased and look forward to another successful year.
Houston teachers and science trainers came out in force as we wrapped up our 2008 Hands-on Science Boot Camp tour. It’s not the first time that weather preempted a teacher training, but the severity of hurricane Ike impressed upon us the impact this storm had on the Houston area. It was amazing to see how quickly the businesses and people of Houston rebounded. Just two months earlier, the Sheraton North Houston had a foot of water running through the front lobby and today you’d never know that anything happened. Workshop participants arrived early and were ready to roll up their sleeves and do some science. The audience consisted of primarily K-5 teachers, but we also had a strong showing of early childhood professionals, some middle school teachers and a handful of informal science educators (presenters at museums and science outreach professionals). When asked what brought them to the workshop, many participants told us that they were looking for ways to spice-up their curriculum with more hands-on activities. Getting the students engaged in their own learning was at the top of the list for almost everyone.
It was easy to spot Doc Gizmo as you wandered through the exhibit hall at the Colorado Science Convention. He was the only person dressed in a tie-dyed lab coat with multi-colored socks and a smile that beamed from ear to ear. Even before watching his program, there was no question that this guy had found his calling.
Doc Gizmo, whose real name is Phil Arnold, has been traveling around the Midwest for several years doing his science assembly program for a wide variety of audiences. Phil told the audience that his wife teaches chemistry and physics in Bucklin, Kansas, and he was recruited to build a few science demonstrations for her to use in the classroom. One thing led to the next and Doc Gizmo is traveling the Midwest with his science show speaking to anyone and everyone who wants to learn why science is fun.
During the hour long program for an audience of science teachers at the Colorado Science Convention, Doc Gizmo skillfully weaved a handful of classic
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How to be amazing teacher? Try this! Get organized. The hardest thing is to take all the ideas we learn at conferences, workshops and seminars and put them to use.
Don’t put science demonstrations in a closed box – because they will stay there. Throw the lid away, so you constantly have to look at those materials. If they are staring you in the face, you are more likely to build them into your curriculum.
Once you get organized, you start using your resources better. And you will be a more effective science teacher with those tools right at your fingertips.
