December 2011 Archives

The staff of scientists, editors, and writers at Science Buddies work throughout the year to develop exciting new Project Ideas that encourage and enable hands-on student exploration of inspiring areas of science and cutting-edge topics of research.

We have more than 1000 Project Ideas for K-12 students in our library of free science, technology, engineering, and math Project Ideas. As the year winds down, we asked our staff to pick their favorites from the Project Ideas introduced in 2011 and share why they selected the projects they picked.

• Ken, Founder and President: Build a Gauss Rifle!

  Why? "The Project Idea uses neodymium magnets to visually demonstrate important physical principles about acceleration, mass, velocity, and the conservation of momentum."

• Courtney, Vice President: Do Migratory Birds Like It Hot?

  Why? "Because my dad is a bird scientist and bird migration expert!"

• Marisa, Director of Development: Smart Medicine Cabinet: Build a Sensor That Reminds Patients When to Take Medicine

  Why? "Remembering when and how often to take medications—especially if you are prescribed a number of them—can be challenging!"

• Sandra, Lead Staff Scientist: Water to Fuel to Water: The Fuel Cycle of the Future, Do Your Storm Drains Keep the Ocean Trash Free?, and Here Today, Gone Tomorrow: Saving Migratory Animals

  Why? "These Project Ideas are favorites of mine because they highlight real-world environmental problems and then encourage students to experiment and work on real solutions. The fact that we can work on finding solutions makes me hopeful for the future."

• Hugo, Chief Software Architect: Making It Real: Incorporating Physics in Video Games

  Why? "Physics was my favorite subject in high school. Now I develop software. This Project Idea brings both of them together—this field is what makes the current generation of video games so awesome."

• Claire, Product Design Engineer: Creating a Video Game for the Blind
  Why? "I love that this project idea takes something often thought of as purely entertainment—video games—and shows how they can be used to solve common social issues like blindness."

• Debbie, Web Editor: How Far Will It Fly? Build and Test Various Paper Planes

  Why? "Making paper airplanes is a great, creative way to spend free time with my son and a great way to recycle paper around the house—especially holiday wrapping paper. What boy doesn't want to make a flying object to launch at his sisters?"

• Michelle, Staff Scientist: Go Fish! Creating an Ocean-Friendly Fishing Video Game
  Why? "I enjoy projects that have an environmental spin. Writing the introduction was fun, and I learned lots of interesting things like the fact that a rockfish can live for 100 years!"

• Amy, Online Community Manager: Into the Wild Blue Yonder: The Science of Launching an Airplane by Catapult

  Why? "This is a cool hands-on aerodynamics project, perfect for an afternoon at a big open field!"

• Sherry, Grants Manager: Under Pressure: Does a Child's Blood Pressure Depend on His or Her Age?

  Why? "This project challenges kids to learn to take blood pressure readings themselves."

• Teisha, Staff Scientist: Hydroponics: Gardening Without Soil

  Why? "This project focuses on hydroponics, an emerging gardening technique that allows people to grow plants without soil, which creates new opportunities for commercially growing crops. Because having enough food is an issue in developing countries, new technologies for improving crop yields and crop adaptability are really important to explore."

• Kaarin, Project Manager: Customize Your Own Drum Set!

  Why? "This computer science project combines my son's love of creating music with his interest in how video games work. Combining the PicoBoard with Scratch is great!"
  

• Yvette, Email Support: Dirty Snowballs: How a Comet's Size Affects How Fast It Melts

  Why? "Comets have always fascinated me since I was a child, and they come in all different shapes and sizes, so this project allows you to investigate how the physical properties of comets can affect their lifespan!" (Another favorite for Yvette is A Sweet Sequence: The Cacao Genome*: I love chocolate, and this project combines both chocolate and genomics, a rapidly rising field of science, to find new ways of protecting cacao trees and increasing cacao production!)
  

Born on December 21, 1883: Laurence Monroe Klauber, a herpetologist who was particularly interested in rattlesnakes. Snakes appear in many different locations, including tucked away inside warm, dark caves. While winter weather may keep you indoors, you can learn more about cave formation and the ecosystems that live within by reading the Speleology: Counting Formations in a Local Cave geology Project Idea (and watching the Dragonfly TV video segment).

If the holidays are in force in your house during the days of December, you might just have materials lying around that could shed a bit (or less) light on some fundamental principles involved in working with electricity and simple circuits. The Sliding Light: How to Make a Dimmer Switch Project Idea is a fun and hands-on electronics project that lets you explore what happens when you increase or decrease resistance in a circuit.

How does the electrical current output change relative to resistance? Shed some light on the situation to find out! (You'll need a No. 2 pencil. The eraser is optional!)


Making Connections

With homework on hold for the winter break, you might find it illuminating to shave down a spare No. 2 pencil (all the way to the graphite center!), hook it up to a tree light bulb and a 9 volt battery, and investigate the role of resistance in a circuit as you create a functional "dimmer," like ones you may have in your house that let you brighten or darken a room. Depending on where you touch the graphite core with the slider (to complete the circuit), you'll see a difference in the light output.

If you like to tinker, this is a fun project, and the results are ones you can see!

Taking It Further

If you don't already have a light meter, like like this one (available at Amazon.com), now might be a perfect time of year to let your parents know how useful such a tool might be for your exploration of electronics and electricity!

If the No. 2 pencil-based dimmer project inspires you, you might be interested in these other Science Buddies Project Ideas that use (or can be adapted to use) a light meter:

• Measure Luminescence in Glow-in-the-Dark Objects
• What is in this Water? Experiments with a Homemade Turbidity Meter
• Crime Scene Chemistry—The Cool Blue Light of Luminol
• Star light, Star bright: How Does Light Intensity Change with Distance?
• Wire Wilt: How Light-Emitting Diodes Fade As Temperature Increases

If you try this project out, just for fun, we'd love to know how it goes! Send us your story—or your images. We want to see!

Last year, I asked the Science Buddies staff what science, engineering, or technology tools were on their wish lists. The compilation of responses turned out to be an interesting roundup of most-wanted gadgets, a list that reflects the wide-range of personal interests that make up the small group of us at Science Buddies.

Despite the size of our site and the depth of our resources, there are only a handful of us. We are a small and busy team. We keep our "plates" full (agar and non-agar ones), and we work hard to keep up with the demands of the ten million students, parents, and teachers who use our resources each year.

As we prepare to celebrate Science Buddies' tenth birthday, I give you this little glimpse of the real people who make it all happen. This year, I again asked, "What's on your wish list." And, again, the range of answers surprised me! I hope you'll enjoy our shared wish list.

• Ken, Founder and President, wants the Orion SkyLine Deluxe Green Laser Pointer. (We think he already has this, so it must be to add to his collection!)

  Why? "The beam of a green laser can be seen in the dark sky (red cannot), making it outstanding for pointing out astronomical objects to friends and family. Plus, it's really cool!" (But, be careful! To enjoy a laser pointer safely, check our Laser Safety Guide.)

• Courtney, Vice President, wants a Roomba.

  Why? "It's easier than getting the kids to vacuum, and it looks like we could jury-rig it to do something funny, too!" She also wants a Day 6 Plotwatcher Time Lapse Video CameraWhy? "I've always loved seeing plant growth sped up on nature shows on TV."

• Marisa, Director of Development, wants the iPhone Lens Dial from Photojojo.

  Why? "It's a compact photo-enhancing tool that sits on top of the iPhone's existing camera optic. It has a wheel attachment that spins, which allows you to take high-quality fisheye, wide angle, or telephoto pictures. It also has dual tripod mounts—one for portrait and one for landscape."

• Sandra, Lead Staff Scientist, wants a Summer Shower 5.

  Why? "This year friends and family did a good job convincing me, the quintessential city-girl, that camping is fun. But I still need my daily shower! (Of course, I could just make my own!)"

• Hugo, Chief Software Architect, wants LEGO® Mindstorms® NXT.

  Why? "Do I really need to say why? Programmable robots you can build yourself. I wish I were a kid again!" Hugo also wants a Kindle Fire. Why? "It's an affordable Android tablet. Read books, watch movies, play games, surf the web... what else do you need in the palm of your hand? I'd be walking around the house like a Star Trek guy with his tablet in hand!"

• Claire, Product Design Engineer, wants a SodaStream Pure Black Sparkling Water & Soda Maker.
  Why? " I love flavored and carbonated water, but it can be so expensive! This machine allows you to add carbonation to regular tap water or juices. I would use it all the time!"

• Debbie, Web Editor, wants a Rubik's Cube.

  Why? "I am determined to master the Rubik's cube! I was inspired by the "You CAN do the Rubik's cube" team at the recent Discovery Days Science Festival in San Francisco." You can download the guide and check out several Science Buddies Rubik's cube-based Project Ideas!

• Michelle, Staff Scientist, wants a gift card to her local hardware store.
  
  Why? "The hardware store is a place where I can pick up anything and everything I need to build all kinds of experimental set-ups. Pumps, paint, hammers, lumber, rocks, cardboard, utility knives..... Visiting the hardware store is almost like a treasure hunt!"

• Amy, Online Community Manager, wants a Squeezebox Touch.
  

  Why? "I love my original Squeezebox for playing Pandora music so much that I'd like one in another room. (The Music Genome Project is a pretty cool thing, too!)

• Sherry, Grants Manager, wants Bushnell Deluxe Binocular Harness.

  Why? "To avoid bird-watching neck strain from holding heavy binoculars. I will reach for this harness when responding to rare bird alerts and waiting for birds to emerge."

• Teisha, Staff Scientist, wants the Wingscapes WSCA04 Timelapse Outdoor PlantCam.

  Why? "Plants move in amazing ways, but because they move on such a different time scale than we do, it's often hard for us to notice. By taking a time-lapse video of a plant's movements over several hours, days, or even weeks, it's a lot easier for us to see how plants grow and respond to their environment. I'd use a time-lapse 'PlantCam' to watch the plants in my backyard, organic garden grow tasty vegetables!"





• Yvette, Support Staff, wants the Solio Classic Universal Hybrid Charger
  

  Why? "I'm constantly on the go, and this would be the perfect gift to help me charge my phone, MP3 players, and other electronic devices while being eco-friendly!"
  

(Editorial Note: Links to Amazon.com for some of the above products are provided for additional information. Science Buddies does not sell these items directly.)

(Editorial note: the following fun science giving suggestions and selections are from one Science Buddies science mom and do not represent official endorsements by Science Buddies, with the exception of the Science Buddies Kits. Many of these gift ideas are related to Project Ideas in the Science Buddies library, however, and we've provided links to those projects where possible.)

With a bit of creative thinking, you can inject your holiday gift giving with a bit of extra science energy. Great science kits or multi-purpose gadgets and tools can bolster your gift lists in ways you can feel good about—and in ways they might not even realize have a bit of a "good-for-you" spin. If you have a reputation for giving socks, this list is especially for you! Plus, many of these suggestions are small-scale, low-cost, great ideas for a bit of an "extra," now or any time! And, who knows... your student's next science project or science fair investigation might just stem from one of the following:

• Potato Chip Science and Pop Bottle Science: Both of these kits both look like a super-fun add-on for the holidays and a great opportunity to stifle any 'stuck-inside' doldrums that threaten to set in over the break. (A pack of Mentos® and a bottle of soda can be fun as well: Coke® & Mentos®—Nucleation Goes Nuclear!)




• Doyle and Fossey books, like the Case of the Crooked Carnival: This series of books about two fifth-grade science detectives is fun and full of great science talk and science themes. These students take themselves seriously as scientists! We'd like to see their labs and have some coffee, decaf, of course. (See our previous review.)




• OWI Grasshopper Kit: The OWI grasshopper offers a fun foundation for solar and electronics exploration. (Related Project Idea: The Frightened Grasshopper: Explore Electronics & Solar Energy with a Solar-Powered Robot Bug.)




• LEGO Mindstorms® NXT: For students who love to build, are interested in robotics, have an interest in computer programming, or are looking for a way to take their passion for LEGO to the next level, Mindstorms NXT is a one-way ticket to invention and innovation. (Related Project Idea: Go, Gadget, Go! Building Robots with LEGO® Mindstorms®. Related blog post: Blow: From Marshmallows to Microbes.)




• LEGO® Mindstorms® idea books: Mindstorms NXT books are full of great projects that offer both building blueprints and guidance for setting up the programmable routines. The amazing bots that fill the pages of these books introduce builders to the various kinds of sensors and programming modules that give Mindstorms its range and flexibility.




• Subscription to Gamestar Mechanic: Support an interest in video game design with a subscription to Gamestar Mechanic. The paid account allows young designers access to additional quests, more game design elements, and other premium content. (See recent blog post: Mom of Two Emerging Video Game Designers. To view other video game design applications and environments, see the Kid-Friendly Programming Languages guide.)




• Picoboard: A Picoboard encourages them to make connections and incorporate external input (like sound, light, or even air movement) into video game and computer-based projects. (Related Project Idea: Customize Your Own Drum Set.)




• Remote-control helicopter: RC toys are always hot gifts, and RC helicopters present many opportunities for science exploration and aerodynamics investigation. (Related Project Idea: Helicopter Liftoff: How Does the Speed of the Rotor Affect the Amount of Lift?)




• Crystal Radio Kit: Jumpstart an interest in electronics with a do-it-yourself crystal radio kit from Science Buddies! This kit contains everything a student needs to do the Crystal Radio project. (For more great science-fair-ready kit ideas, check out the full line of Science Buddies Kits. Each kit comes with everything needed to perform the experiment—all in one box.)

Got students who are interested in video games? There's science and engineering to be discovered and leveraged—even as they rack up points and level up! The December 2011 issue of the Science Buddies newsletter focused on video and computer game design projects.

The National STEM Video Game Challenge is underway! Deadline for entries: March 12, 2012. More information and guidelines...

I remember when one of my boys wanted to be a firefighter. That may well be a rite of passage for many toddlers, right along with an interest in cars, trucks, and every form of construction vehicle you can possibly pass on the road. I don't know exactly when the shift occurred or how much overlap there was, but it seems as if he has "always" wanted to "be a game designer." The firefighter costume and hat ended up in a pile of castoffs, but the allure of being a "game designer" has persisted—no costume required. His younger brother's genes didn't fall far from the tree, and he, too, at seven, wants to work on video game development, although I've often heard him clarify that he wants to 'test' video games, which I think he interprets as more 'playing' and less 'working'!

Plugged In

We really are a 'gaming' household. It is something that other parents often don't agree with or understand. That's not to say we're not well-rounded. We are. We do academics. We play sports. We read lots. We build LEGO. We specialize in paper airplanes. We have strong art interests and hobbies. But we do play video games—lots of them.

Sparking Interest

When I started working on this month's issue of the Science Buddies newsletter, a special issue on video and computer game projects and their relationship to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, it was exciting to be reminded that while my immediate parent community on the play yard after school may not be embracing video games en masse, there is, in fact, a strong push for viewing gaming as a foundation upon which to teach, build, and apply STEM skills.

As part of my research for the newsletter, I watched AMD's Changing the Game video. I watched a video of winners from the 2010 National STEM Challenge and checked out this year's competition. I took a look at the video game design category in the 2012 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.

I looked more closely at the information on our Kid-Friendly Programming Languages page. And, one by one, I started visiting many video and computer gaming sites and resources sponsored and developed by AMD Changing the Game, the AMD Foundation, and its partners, sites like Level Up!, Ludo Dojo, and Activate!. As I jumped from site to site, I was amazed and excited by the glitzy, glossy, fun, energetic, and very 'clued-in' world of support and engaging content available for K-12 students who are interested in designing their own computer and video games. A wealth of materials is available on these sites for teachers and families, too, making it easier for adults to help support these projects both in the classroom and at home.

The message on all these sites is clear—video game projects can help engage kids on an academic and STEM level. By supporting game development projects, research, and investigation, we can encourage and empower students to turn an activity they enjoy into a platform for learning, creative thinking, and problem solving.

Responding to the Challenge

The team at Science Buddies has developed a number of new video and computer game Project Ideas and resources to support video and computer game science and engineering projects. Many students begin their exploration of "programming" using the free Scratch environment, developed by MIT. There is much to like about Scratch's drag-and-drop interface and approach to learning the "logic" of programming, and Science Buddies has Project Ideas and resources to help jumpstart student exploration.

Our Scratch-based Project Ideas let lets students explore animation and computer program design and logic in interesting ways, like customizing a drum-set, controlling a pinwheel, making a greeting card, or creating a simple game of dog chases cat.

More recently, a number of Project Ideas have been added to our growing Video and Computer Game area that involve game creation using GameMaker. In these Project Ideas, students can explore an exciting array of video game design topics, including the importance of physics engines, procedural music, and even issues related to accessibility. Students can also explore video games as a way to help educate others and spread the word about important issues or environmental concerns.

Gamestar Mechanic

On the list of sites I visited during my survey of video and computer game development sites was Gamestar Mechanic. As soon as I realized that Gamestar Mechanic "is" a game, I knew it was something we had to explore! Created by the Institute of Play and E-line Media, Gamestar Mechanic is an online game development environment that revolves around a "game" that teaches some of the fundamentals of video game design. As players work through the on-screen comic book storyline and solve the "quests" presented, they earn sprites (characters), backgrounds, music, colors, and other game elements that can be used in games they design. Some of the quests involve "fixing" existing games, for example, making changes in gameplay or layout to make the games work properly. Players are, in other words, "mechanics" in this virtual storyline. By working through the quests, players earn the ability to create their own games.

I logged both of my kids in at Gamestar Mechanic one evening, just to see how they would respond to the interface—and to see if it really was as cool as it seemed like it might be. They sat side by side at different computers, each going through the story, and the excitement and enthusiasm was palpable. They loved it! As I moved around doing other things, I was hearing talk about "platform" games and "top down" games and "oh, I'm going to change the gravity this time!"

Gamestar Mechanic was a total hit. They worked through all the free content in a short amount of time, but they were completely engaged in the process—and definitely wanted more. (Note: there are a limited number of quests available for the free membership; a paid membership contains a larger number of challenges, more elements available for use in games your student creates, and access to special game content. My review is based solely on their exploration of the free membership.) Parents can find out more about Gamestar Mechanic here.

Making Connections

My work on the December 2011 newsletter, sponsored by AMD Changing the Game, was inspiring on many levels. I can't wait to see what kinds of games my students develop in the next few years.

See Also

Is your family techy or video-game oriented like mine? You might enjoy these previous posts:

• Blow: From Marshmallows to Microbes
• Slingshot Science: The Physics in Angry Birds
• Visual Illusions: When What You See Is... Not What's There?
• Programming a Logo
• From Storyboard to Computer Design

Kathy Hooper is a Design Verification Engineer at Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).

Day to day, Kathy and her colleagues work hard—and apply rigorous engineering and computer testing—to find and eliminate any "bugs" that might cause a device to not work properly. Sometimes a bug turns out to be a flaw in the verification test, says Kathy. But other times, a problem spotted during testing indicates a real issue with the chip design, one that needs to be resolved by a hardware designer.

Catching and identifying bugs during early stages of chip design is a critical step in the process, says Kathy. She and her team work on testing new designs in their early prototype stages, long before the chips reach a point of production. If a problem is detected, a hardware designer can address and correct the problem, returning the modified design to the verification engineers for re-testing. Depending on the complexity of the problem, the process to correct a design flaw at this stage may take a few hours or a few days. Correcting a bug once it has already moved to a fabrication or production phase is a much more time-consuming and costly process. If a bug was not spotted before a new chip made its way into stores and consumer devices, correcting the problem could take months, might cost millions, and could frustrate thousands of consumers.

It's up to design verification engineers, like Kathy, to put a software version of a new chip through all tests necessary to ensure there are no bad "surprises" for users who end up buying and using a product containing a new or updated component from AMD.

Working on Tomorrow's Hot Products

Part of Kathy's design verification process involves writing software programs that test a model's "logic design." By putting the logic design through a variety of possible situations, and by testing the logic design with other kinds of software programs with which it will interact, verification engineers are able to weed out unforeseen problems and compatibility issues that arise during actual use. According to Kathy, they write programs and tests "to flush out any issues where the behavior of the design doesn't match the specified (or intended) behavior."

It's precise and meticulous testing, but as Kathy explains, "the effort that a verification engineer puts into creating meaningful and stressful test conditions while we are still running with software models of the design greatly reduces the risk of having hardware 'bugs' avoid detection until the chip ends up in someone's laptop, game console, or smart phone."

The Cutting Edge

According to Kathy, her work at AMD is exciting because she's working on components of products that ultimately show up on the shelves of familiar stores like BestBuy and Staples. Because consumer technology products change often in response to advancements in technology, the world of design verification is one Kathy describes as fast-paced and constantly evolving as new products are envisioned, designed, tested, released, and improved. The products and features consumers are buying, talking about, and wishing for influences what happens at a company like AMD. It's a fast-moving technical environment Kathy enjoys.

While Kathy's work focuses on specific electronic components, she's always aware of the big picture. Looking beyond the 1's and 0's involved in the code she is testing and troubleshooting, Kathy knows that the models she puts through testing are ones that friends and family may someday use every day. The models she tests may even end up as part of the next blockbuster gadget or gaming device. For example, one project she worked on involved performing design verification testing on the memory interface block of a 3D graphics controller. That memory interface block isn't something you'll pick up and use by itself, but the block ended up being used in a popular line of smartphones. Those phones are used by many, many people each day, and they work, in part, because the controller Kathy helped test does its job the way it should.

"When we first embarked on that project, I could not imagine the market demand for 3D gaming graphics power on a handheld device with a screen that was only 3-5 inches in size," admits Kathy. "At that point, I couldn't imagine the demand for 3D graphics quality for games like Angry Birds, or for the ability to stream a movie from Netflix on my handheld device." Today, those capabilities on a phone or other portable device are exactly what users want and have come to expect. Kathy knows, without a doubt, that her work paid off. "A chip that I directly worked on delivers unbelievable graphics quality in those devices," she notes.