June 2009 Archives

In her appearance on The View from the Bay, Science Buddies Vice President, Courtney Corda, talks about the value of making science an everyday subject and topic of family discussion. Courtney encourages parents to approach science first and foremost by linking science and underlying scientific principles to an area of interest for their students and to engage students with hands-on activities and scientific projects.

Courtney reminds viewers that fostering a love of science is important. Supporting a love of reading or instilling and modeling healthy eating habits are vital concerns for parents, says Courtney. So, too, is science education.

Watch the video clip for practical tips on bringing science into the home and see Courtney, her son, and another mother-daughter team put cabbage to work as a pH indicator.

Image of LCROSS separation from Centaur during lunar approach. Image created for NASA and the LCROSS mission by Northrop Grumman, sponsor of Science Buddies' Aerodynamics Interest Area.

If everything goes as scheduled, the countdown to liftoff between June 17 and June 20 will mean NASA has launched a rocket intended to crash into the Moon — on purpose. The goal of the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission is to confirm the existence (or non-existence) of water ice on the Moon.

LCROSS is being aimed at an existing crater at the Moon's South Pole. Because the crater is in permanent shadows, researchers believe it may be cold enough to have frozen ice.

The rocket won't make contact for approximately four months. Those interested in monitoring the approach can follow the countdown clock on the NASA LCROSS site. In the interim, the Science Buddies' Craters and Meteorites project idea provides background information and gives students of all ages a concrete way to observe the formation of craters and the ways in which the size and density of the approaching object (e.g., meteor or LCROSS rocket) impacts the resulting size of the crater. (Note: This project can be done with students as young as preschool!)

According to NASA, when LCROSS's Centaur upper stage rocket makes impact, it may be possible to view the plume created when the rocket hits. The impact will potentially throw "tons of debris and potentially water ice and vapor above the lunar surface." Specialized instruments will analyze the contents of the plume, looking specifically for water (ice and vapor), hydrocarbons and hydrated materials.

NASA expects that the plume may be visible from Earth for astronomers using amateur-grade telescopes with apertures as small as 10-12 inches. Amateur astronomers who are interested in officially logging their observations and contributing to the project can find out more at: http://groups.google.com/group/lcross_observation.

With several months between launch and impact, there's plenty of time to get the necessary gear in place. Ambitious students might even want to build their own telescope using Science Buddies' abbreviated Build Your Own Telescope project idea. (Note: If you or your students pursue this project, make sure the mirrors used are at least 12 inches in diameter.)

For additional hands-on activities that tie in with principles of science and astronomy related to the LCROSS mission, check out the following PBS Kids' Design Squad activities for students age 9-12 (4th grade and up):

• Build an air-powered rocket designed to hit a distant target in Launch It


• Create a safe and cushioned astronaut landing zone in Touch Down


• Configure a paper cup so it can travel a line and drop a marble onto a target in On Target

The LCROSS spacecraft was designed and built by Northrop Grumman. The LCROSS payload, which weighs in just under 28 pounds and contains nine science instruments, was developed by NASA Ames Research Center, which will be managing and monitoring the mission.

Tomorrow, June 16, Courtney Corda, Vice President of Science Buddies, will be a guest on ABC 7 / KGO-TV's "View from the Bay." As part of a special segment on Science Buddies, "View from the Bay" will air footage of Courtney and her son Matthew and mother-and-daughter team Haleh and Jenny Hughes.performing the Science Buddies' "Cabbage Chemistry" experiment.

Last month, CNN and National Geographic reported on a 47-million-year-old fossil discovered in the Messel Pit in Germany, in 1983. The fossil, described as small-cat sized, was of something that has been pinpointed as a predecessor of humans and primates, an animal they've determined would have grown to the size of a lemur. Though the initial discovery happened more than two decades ago, the fossil has been privately held. Last month's report in PLosOne followed two years of intensive forensics study on the primate fossil led by Dr. Jorn Hurum, Natural History Museum at the University of Oslo.

For many students, two years of intensive analysis may sound like a long time to study a set of bones. These bones, of course, are 47-million years old, and the circumstances of their discovery initially masked the fact that the fossil represents a critical splitting point in the evolutionary chain.

To introduce classes and students with a paleontology, genomics, or forensics bent to the concepts and processes involved in evaluating such fossils, check out these Science Buddies science fair project ideas:

• Get Some Practice at 'Fossil' Reconstruction with Owl Pellets (Science Buddies' difficulty level: 6)
• BLAST into the Past to Identify T. Rex's Closest Living Relative (Science Buddies' difficulty level: 8)
  

Bio-Rad, a manufacturer and distributor of products for life science research and clinical diagnostics, recently announced winners of its scholarship competition. Celebrating students with a passion for science and plans to pursue higher education in science with an eye to science-related careers, the essay-based competition was open to graduating students local to the Bio-Rad headquarters in Hercules, CA.

Science Buddies was on hand as the awards were presented and met with some of the winners. Winning essays from the following scholarship recipients are posted on the Science Buddies website:

• Lauren Croda, De Anza High School in El Sobrante, CA Plans to study pediatrics
• Sanjit Rai, John Swett High School in Rodeo, CA
  Plans to study biomedical engineering at UC Davis
• Kiana Ward, El Cerrito High School in El Cerrito, CA
  Plans to study international relations and the sciences at Brown University

Winners of the Bio-Rad competition each received either a $2,500 or a $1,000 scholarship to help further their studies.

View a full list of scholarship winners.

Read winning essays.