Science Buddies Blog (Page 55)

Big Ears Science

November 19, 2015 2:45 PM

Experiment with different styles of ears to see how the size and shape of ears changes what you may be able to hear in this family STEM activity. Sometimes exploring science with kids means being silly and putting on enormous animal ears as you ask and investigate serious science, technology, engineering, and math questions like can you hear better with bigger ears? When you think about ears and how human ears are different from animal ears, what animal ears immediately come to… Read more

The Science of Football Flight

November 17, 2015 2:00 PM

Scientist Ainissa Ramirez explains how the handedness of a quarterback affects the flight and spin of a football. Students can explore this and other football science with sports-focused STEM projects. A football thrown by a left-handed quarterback flies differently than a football thrown by a right-handed quarterback. As Ainissa Ramirez explains in a recent Science Underground podcast (and video, above), a football acts like a gyroscope in the air. It spins when it is thrown, and then both… Read more

Paper Rocket Aerodynamics

November 12, 2015 10:00 AM

Make paper rockets you can launch by blowing through a straw and experiment to find out how changing the design can change how the rockets fly with this family STEM activity. Making a paper rocket that you can launch by blowing through a straw is an easy hands-on activity sure to engage paper airplane folders and rocket enthusiasts alike. You can easily turn this paper-based pastime into a STEM activity by exploring the design of the paper rocket. What… Read more

Cyber Security: Hiding Personal Data from Prying Eyes

November 11, 2015 11:25 AM

There's a science to keeping your personal data and possessions secure, both online and off. Experiment and discover ways to thwart would-be criminals with RFID, password, and robotics student science projects! By Kim Mullin Above: A hands-on STEM project from Science Buddies guides students in an exploration of RFID tags and security. The Keeping It Private: Blocking RFID Readers from Reading your ID Card project challenges students to test materials and design protective cases or dividers… Read more

Computer Programming for Better Health

November 10, 2015 8:00 AM

Tools like AppInventor encourage students to explore computer programming by creating simple, functional apps. With improved healthcare management in mind, students are challenged to design an app that can help a patient or caregiver. By designing tools that can be immediately useful on a personal level, students can really see the power of using code to design their own apps. Using diabetes as an example, explore the ways students might program a helpful application. … Read more

Dancing Water Droplets

November 6, 2015 1:00 PM

With this week's fun family science activity, you can create an exciting visual display using water and food coloring! How do water droplets react on a surface material? Do they roll off? Do they disperse? Do they move together? How do they react to each other? Depending on the surface material and the liquid, you may find that droplets move in a variety of different ways. These patterns of movement demonstrate several different science principles. What determines whether droplets spread… Read more

Candy Color Chromatography

October 30, 2015 10:30 AM

With the Candy Chromatography Science Kit, students can unlock the colors that make up the coatings on favorite candies. This is a fun STEM experiment that yields visible results. The Candy Chromatography Science Kit can be used for several student science projects, but using the kit to break down candy coatings and investigate the dye composition of different candies is a great project for Halloween week (or while the Trick or Treat bag still… Read more

The Physics of Fake Blood

October 29, 2015 8:25 AM

How can physics help you mix up the ickiest fake blood to gross out your friends this Halloween? Head to the kitchen to find out! Use physics to mix up the most believable fake blood. www.sciencebuddies.org In this week's Fake Blood made Scientific, families get a chance to mix up something icky, gross, and gory—fake blood. Perfect for Halloween week, this activity lets kids explore how the viscosity of different ingredients relates to how… Read more

Special Effects Fun with Nick and Tesla

October 28, 2015 6:54 AM

This Nick and Tesla mystery guides readers in brewing STEM-based special effects that might be perfect for Halloween-themed fun. Need something to read this weekend before the Trick-or Treat fun begins? Nick and Tesla's Special Effects Spectacular: A Mystery with Animatronics, Alien Makeup, Camera Gear, and Other Movie Magic You Can Make Yourself! might be a just-right science-filled choice to tie in with trick-or-treat-fueled excitement. The plot of this book, number 5 in the series,… Read more

Wire Some Trick-or-Treat or Light-up Fun with Scratch and Raspberry Pi

October 27, 2015 8:00 AM

With the new Raspberry Pi Projects Kit from Science Buddies, students can explore a series of activities that combine creativity, electronics, and computer programming using Scratch—no prior experience required! For this middle school student, a homemade pumpkin was a perfect thing to light up with LEDs! Laura, a 7th grade student in CA has an interest in electronics and creative and handmade projects. This summer, she used the Raspberry Pi Projects kit at home and explored an… Read more

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