Science Buddies Blog (Page 74)

Tackling a Stinky Situation: A Student Science Success Story

March 17, 2014 10:00 AM

Kate Lande hasn't ever run into a skunk, but thanks to her 6th grade science project, she knows all about the role of oxidation in combatting stinky smells. Student Science in the Real World As a 6th grade student, Kate Lande (pictured above) put an old folk remedy for getting rid of skunk spray smell to the test. She later discovered that her science research came in handy when her dog rolled in a decaying octopus! Sharing the Results A Project Display Board, like Kate's shown above, is… Read more

Colorful Family Science for St. Patrick's Day

March 13, 2014 11:00 AM

What causes the food coloring to move through the milk? In this week's spotlight: a family science experiment that lets you and your children make a rainbow in keeping with St. Patrick's Day! What happens when you put drops of food coloring in milk? What happens when you add a bit of dishwashing liquid? Put it to the test in this science activity for a fun, colorful look at the role of a surfactant and how it changes the surface tension of a liquid. Family science… Read more

Serving up Some Pi Pie for Pi Day

March 11, 2014 10:30 AM

March 14 is Pi Day, so grab a slice, and your best memorization skills. How much Pi can you remember—which is not quite the same as how much pie can you eat! Celebrating Pi Day with Pie A Google search or a Pi-focused look at Pinterest turns up all kinds of great Pi pie. The pie above, with the opening numbers of Pi cookie-cut and used as the top crust is a wonderful tribute to Pi! Image: Kat M.Pi. Pie. When it comes to students of a certain age, there is often a very fine line… Read more

Microbial Fuel Cells: On the Hunt for Renewable Energy

March 10, 2014 12:30 PM

Renewable energy is hiding in places you might not think to look! For a glimpse into the future of power generation, experiment with a microbial fuel cell. By Kim Mullin Ask anyone about sources of renewable energy, and they are likely to mention solar power, wind power, or perhaps even geothermal power. Hydro (or water) power, too, may come up, but when you talk about water as a renewable energy source, you probably are talking about energy… Read more

Teachers who Pin: Teachers Find Support and Inspiration for Science Education at Pinterest

March 7, 2014 11:00 AM

Teachers may or may not be tweeting their science lesson plans or sharing every hands-on engineering classroom activity at Facebook, but they are finding inspiration and community at Pinterest, where discovering new ideas and approaches to teaching is fun, visual, and easy. See it. Like it? Pin it for later. As a virtual bookmarking and filing cabinet system, Pinterest gets an A+ from many teachers—and is helping this teacher with classroom science and math planning. Pinning… Read more

Carnival Game Science: Weekly Science Project Idea and Home Science Activity Spotlight

March 6, 2014 10:00 AM

In this week's spotlight: a mechanical engineering experiment and family science activity that takes a scientific look at why a popular carnival game may look easy to win but may, in fact, be really difficult. How does the distribution of mass in the way milk bottles (or plastic bottles of colored water!) are stacked affect how hard or easy it is to knock the bottles over? Put the question to the test with your own home version of a classic carnival game! Knock Your Blocks Off: The… Read more

Baking Up a Science Project

March 3, 2014 6:00 AM

A batch of homemade muffins can easily turn into a great hands-on student science project. Grab some bowls and choose your variable! By Kim Mullin Image: My son headed to the kitchen for a recent science project and found that using the scientific method, making muffins can yield tasty science. Pumpkin muffins are a mainstay of our family's snack repertoire. I love that they are full of vitamin A, and the kids love that they have chocolate chips in… Read more

Larger-than-life Robots on Traffic Control Duty

February 28, 2014 9:45 AM

Giant metal traffic control robots installed on busy streets in Africa remind students that robotics engineering tackles projects and issues that may require very big OR very small solutions. Image: "Now, Robocop helps manage traffic in Kinshasa," India Today Online. Recent robotics engineering projects at Science Buddies have shot my perspective on robotics with a shrinking serum, something that's taken my preconceived ideas about robots, drawn largely from growing up with the Jetsons… Read more

Bridge Science: Weekly Science Project Idea and Home Science Activity Spotlight

February 27, 2014 9:00 AM

In this week's spotlight: an civil engineering project that lets students and families experiment with bridge design. You may be familiar with famous suspension bridges like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, but how does a suspension bridge really work? How do the cables work to support the weight on the bridge? Can a suspension bridge carry a greater load than a beam bridge? With common household materials, you can put your own straw-based bridges to the test. How many pennies can… Read more

Ensuring a Positive Science Fair Project Experience

February 25, 2014 10:00 AM

Science fair projects let students learn, use, and demonstrate important science and reasoning steps, and the benefits of hands-on and active exploration compared to more passive modes of learning or rote memorization are well-documented. So why do so many parents scowl at the science fair project assignment? What makes the science project a stressor for many families rather than an anticipated and positive learning experience? Is it simply a matter of perspective or an incomplete understanding… Read more

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