Science Buddies Blog

Pass the Bacon: Swine Flu Not Food-Based

April 30, 2009 2:54 PM

With news of H1N1 flu, more commonly known as "swine flu," spreading like wild fire through the fibers of every communication and networking stream we use day to day, levels of fear and panic about this strain of influenza are on the increase, arguably with good reason. On Thursday, April 29, the World Health Organization (WHO) raised the swine flu to level 5 on the pandemic alert scale. In response to this assertion that a pandemic outbreak is "imminent," school systems and school communities… Read more

Renewable Energy

April 30, 2009 10:45 AM

PG&E recently asked the state of California to approve plans to turn to space-based solar systems as a source of clean energy. With plans for the satellite which would relay the solar energy to be designed and completed by Solaren Corp by 2016, it sounds far off, but, as reported by Scientific American, the promises of such a near-constant source of renewable energy are abundant. Analysis of renewable energy sources takes center-stage in the Science Buddies science fair project idea: Free… Read more

Swine Flu: BLASTing viruses

April 28, 2009 10:31 AM

No matter what you open, turn on, or tune into, chances are you'll catch a headline about swine flu. The outbreak can be tracked at HealthMap or with their newly launched Twitter stream, which, according to Discovery News, was created in response to swine flu to enable more frequent updates than the hourly ones on the official HealthMap website. A respiratory illness once limited to pigs, with occasional transmission to humans, the strain of swine flu that has appeared today and in cases… Read more

DNA Day!

April 24, 2009 11:55 AM

In celebration of the completion of the Human Genome Project in April 2003, today is National DNA Day. The following Science Buddies project ideas offer an excellent point of entry for DNA discussions and an introduction of relevant concepts. Do-It-Yourself DNA Design a DNA Extraction Kit and use it to purify DNA from strawberries Extracting Onion DNA Extract DNA from onion in sufficient quantity to be seen and spooled. A Magnetic Primer Designer Test how matches and… Read more

Earth Day Project Idea #5: Phantom Power

April 24, 2009 9:42 AM

Appliances may be the largest objects in a house and the most visible signs of electricity consumption, but today's typical household uses a constant flow of electricity to power all the gadgets and conveniences that have become, for many of us, a way of life. There has been growing awareness and discussion of the continuous drain on electricity that happens even when you think you've turned a system "off." Many standard items go into a low-power or standby mode when you click "off" - which… Read more

Earth Day Week Project Idea #4: Making Paper

April 23, 2009 11:14 AM

How much paper do you throw out each week? Are you good about using both sides? Is your recycling bin overflowing? Despite the ways in which technology has changed traditional paperflow, paper is ubiquitous. We use paper day in and day out. Not surprisingly, one of the biggest categories of solid waste in the U.S. is paper, and statistics regarding the percentage of landfill taken up by paper, paper products, and packaging materials are eye-opening. Testing alternative methods and approaches… Read more

Very Cool Collection of Bird's-Eye-View Photos

April 22, 2009 3:31 PM

There's a very cool slideshow on the Discovery Channel site in recognition of Earth Day 2009. The collection of photos that make up the "On Earth Day, a Bird's-Eye View" slideshow are beautifully done and are accompanied by explanatory text that highlight the impact of climate change -- from dust storms to floods to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. The imagery is amazing - and certainly good for classroom sharing. Read more

Earth Day Project Idea #3: Biomass and Biogas

April 22, 2009 11:06 AM

Happy Earth Day! I was surprised this morning to log into my iGoogle page and see that of the science sites I'm following, "Earth Day" wasn't in the headlines. At Twitter, I saw much more hubbub about Earth Day, in a wide range of categories. Today is the third in our series of Science Buddies science fair project ideas hand-picked to help you celebrate Earth Day week with your students and in your classrooms. Science Buddies Project Idea From Trash to Gas: Biomass Energy Using… Read more

Earth Day Week Project Idea #2

April 21, 2009 10:06 AM

The California Academy of Science's Living Roof is home to 1.7 million native plants specially chosen to flourish in Golden Gate Park's climate. The phrase "Going Green" takes on new relevance when you consider roofs that are also green gardens. This Science Buddies science fair project idea takes a look at the benefits and advantages rooftop gardens offer. Science Buddies Project Idea Rooftop Gardens: Are They a Cool Idea? In this science fair project you will determine whether or… Read more

Earth Day is this Week!

April 20, 2009 10:49 AM

April 22 marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. Earth Day offers a perfect opportunity to talk with students and young scientists about environmental, ecological, and energy issues, conservation efforts, and what it means to think "green." The Science Buddies library of science fair project ideas contains a number of projects that offer a launching point for relevant conversations with students of all ages. These projects bring the issues into focus, making them down-to-Earth and "real" as… Read more

Science Buddies Blog (11 results)

Explore Our Science Videos