Science Buddies Blog (Page 115)

Cleaner Coasts

September 15, 2009 12:46 PM

The 25th Annual California Coastal Cleanup Day is this Saturday, September 19, 2009. Part of the California Coastal Commission's Adopt-a-Beach initiative, California Coastal Cleanup Day encourages volunteers of all ages to head to the beach to help protect the marine environment. Last year, more than 70,000 people joined together on Coastal Cleanup Day to gather more than 1,600,000 pounds of trash and recyclable materials strewn along beaches and waterways throughout California. Group efforts… Read more

Courtney "Shakes" Things Up on TV

September 14, 2009 8:37 AM

Courtney was live as resident "Science Mom" on ABC's "View from the Bay" last week. Tune in as she talks about science literacy, the basics of earthquakes, tectonic plates, P-waves, and the importance of putting real-world science into concrete and hands-on form in front of (and with) your students and kids. Her on-air demonstration of the "shake table" created as part of the Set Your Table for a Sweet and Sticky Earthquake Shake science fair project idea (Science Buddies' difficulty level:… Read more

The Pull of Ancient Egypt

September 8, 2009 12:17 PM

Photo of Tuthankamen's burial mask. Source: Wikipedia Commons Without a doubt, King Tut, the boy who became a Pharaoh at age nine, is one of the most familiar icons of Ancient Egypt. From a young age, students are regaled with stories of mummies and Egyptian pyramids from Ten Little Mummies to Skippyjon Jones to The Magic Treehouse to Disney's animated… Read more

The Golden State Star Party

September 2, 2009 10:09 AM

Photo: Kenneth Hess, 2009. Specs: Nikon D2x, 10.5mm f/2.8 fisheye lens, 60 second unguided exposure at ISO 1600. I recently spent a new moon weekend with 350 amateur astronomers camped in a field near Adin, California, one of the darkest spots in the continental United States. Light pollution from outdoor lighting spoils the view from urban areas, and most of us are lucky to see anything but the brightest stars from where we live. I was expecting something special from this… Read more

The Size of GFP

August 26, 2009 10:02 AM

The Science Buddies library of science fair project ideas recently got a bit of glow and an unusual dose of "green" in the form of a new project that uses chromatography. The "green" in this case is "green florescent protein (GFP)," and the project uses a study of GFP to demonstrate "size-exclusion chromatography." Looking at the etymology of the word chromatography, you know that chromatography is related to color ... and to paper. The word derives from Greek words meaning "color" and "to… Read more

From Storyboard to Computer Design

August 20, 2009 12:22 PM

For today's students, the leap from playing video games to programming video games isn't necessarily a big one. Even elementary school students who enjoy filling some down-time with a favorite game can begin exploring the logic and sequencing involved in designing a video game. Before sitting down at a computer, encourage your students to work on mapping out a storyboard as they think through the premise (or plot) of their game. Who are the main characters? What is the goal? What kinds of… Read more

Science Buddies' First Teacher Webinar

August 17, 2009 9:16 AM

Join Science Buddies on August 30 for "Using Science Buddies for Success," a free one-hour webinar designed to introduce teachers to Science Buddies' resources and tools. As the 2009-2010 school year gets ready to kick into gear, now is the perfect time to learn more about how Science Buddies can be integrated in your classroom. Science Buddies is dedicated to creating engaging project ideas and resources that can help increase science enthusiasm, interest, and literacy in all grades. The… Read more

Pop Goes the Mentos®

August 13, 2009 7:08 AM

Did you see Aliens in the Attic? If so, you probably noticed that scientific concepts were skimming along the surface of the dialogue and underwriting the tactics the kids called upon as they matched wits with the quartet of aliens from Planet Zirkon. As the aliens' diplomatic guide book gets thrown out the window, gaming systems, cell phones, launchers, anti-gravity devices, static electricity machines, and high-tech joystick controls take center stage. And the Mentos® the kids'… Read more

Finding Your Way

July 21, 2009 9:46 PM

Which way does your house face? In which direction do you sleep? Your school is which direction from your house? Learning to read a pocket compass - a long-lost art? (Image: Wikipedia) If you don't know the answers, offhand, to those questions, you are likely not alone. We all know the sun rises in the East and sets in the West. And if you live on a coast and within view of the water, you can probably orient your sense of cardinal direction based on the water. Beyond… Read more

A New Name for 112

July 16, 2009 11:03 AM

When you're an element - even a "super-heavy" one - getting an official name and spot on the Periodic Table isn't easy. A chemical element, Element 112 was first fusion-created more than a decade ago but only recently found a spot on the table. It was originally known as eka-mercury but has since been going by the temporary name "Ununbium" with a symbol of UuB. The scientists who discovered Unumbium have proposed to the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) that it be… Read more

Science Buddies Blog (1,181 results)

Explore Our Science Videos