Science Buddies Blog (Page 60)

Sweet Like Sugar? Weekly Science Activity Spotlight

May 22, 2015 9:00 AM

How do sugar-free substitutes compare to sugar in terms of sweetness? Whether you make something sugar-free to cut calories or carbohydrates or for medical reasons, there are a wide range of sugar alternatives available. But how do these substances compare in terms of taste? In this food science family activity, you can investigate levels of sweetness by making your own homemade lemonade with sugar and with a sugar alternative. (The full project idea doesn't involve making… Read more

Picturing Big Data: The Science of Infographics

May 19, 2015 9:00 AM

With more data flowing in than most of us can ever hope to sift through, infographics have emerged as a viewer-friendly way to convey data-driven information. In a new human behavior science project, students explore the process of turning big data into visual representations and investigate how easy it can be to create a picture of data that may lead viewers to draw the wrong conclusions. Above: The graph above contains a small sampling of a blood glucose data set… Read more

Ex-stream Science: Exploring Local Watershed Health

May 14, 2015 1:06 PM

Heading outdoors lets kids experience real-world applications of their classroom learning. By Kim Mullin On a sunny, breezy, and unusually cold spring morning, a parade of 120 sixth graders, their teachers, and chaperones snaked its way from their middle school, through the neighborhood, to a local stream. Clipboards, test tubes, nets, camp tables, and a variety of other equipment tagged along. The students had spent the previous weeks learning… Read more

Going the Distance with Starlight Science

May 11, 2015 12:04 PM

This sixth grade student is blazing a path in astroscience with a string of successful science projects that are out of this world and yet amazingly down to Earth. With this year's project, she took a comparative look at the change in intensity of a star's light in relation to its distance. She spent a lot of time gathering light meter readings and ended up with a winning combination of math and physics! While every student can and should do and enjoy hands-on science, some students… Read more

Bend or Break? Candy Science

May 7, 2015 10:00 AM

What happens when you bend your favorite candy in half? Does it break? Does it bend? Does it snap back into shape? In this week's materials science-themed family science activity, students put candy to a "bend it" test to explore how some materials are more flexible than others. While it may be obvious that some candy bars will break (or snap in half) when bent while other more "gummy" candies bend, changing the temperature of the candies gives this experiment an extra… Read more

New Raspberry Pi Projects Kit

April 29, 2015 1:15 PM

The activities paired with the new Raspberry Pi Projects Kit from the Science Buddies Store enable kids to work on creative projects that blend computer programming, electronics circuit building, and art to produce exciting interactive creations. Does your artwork light up when the room dims at the end of the day? Transforming traditional art with electronics and programming opens up all kinds of room for students to experiment and innovation! For a… Read more

20 Tips for Doing Robotics with Kids

April 28, 2015 12:00 PM

Introductory robotics projects made with toothbrush heads and other household materials can be a great way to let kids explore hands-on electronics and robotics. We have tips and reminders to help your family robotics project be fun for everyone and a science education success. How to Do Robotics Projects at Home with Your Kids: Twenty steps to help you and your kids have a great time exploring robotics at home. www.sciencebuddies.org … Read more

Paper Maze Programming: Start to Finish Computer Logic

April 23, 2015 11:00 AM

Explore the logic of computer coding — no computer required! Have you ever asked your student to give you directions, turn by turn, to get you home from a familiar landmark? It can be eye opening to hear how they might guide you, and you may or may not make it where you need to go! But the process of giving directions helps reiterate the steps involved in moving along a frequent path. Writing a computer program is similar in many ways. You need… Read more

Building a Solar-powered Bristlebot

April 17, 2015 9:30 AM

Adding solar panels to a brushbot project gives a new twist to an intermediate robotics building activity, but does it offer more power? With this clever build and a convenient robotics kit, it was easy to put that question to the test! After a successful series of building robots using Science Buddies procedures, we recently gave the Solar-powered Bristlebot a try. This bot is very closely related to the Light-tracking Bristlebot we built a few… Read more

Creative Paper Circuits with Copper Tape

April 15, 2015 9:00 AM

With paper, markers, LEDs, and copper tape, kids can get a hands-on introduction to electronics and circuits and turn their own drawings and creative projects into ones that light up! The intersection between art and science is one that holds particular interest for me, and I very much appreciate when my kids have the opportunity to do projects that support their creativity as well as let them get hands-on with science, technology, engineering, and… Read more

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