Science Buddies Blog (Page 80)

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

September 19, 2013 8:30 AM

In this week's spotlight: a pair of environmental science and geology projects that let families and students investigate a biogeochemical cycle, a kind of reuse and recycling process that helps support an ecosystem. In either the independent science project or the family science version, students create and cultivate a miniature biosphere, called a Winogradsky column, to explore the relationship between available nutrients and the microorganisms that grow in a sample of… Read more

Understanding the Engineering Design Process: Teachers Embracing Engineering Design

September 16, 2013 12:27 PM

Teachers tasked with adapting science lesson plans to meet new standards that place increased emphasis on engineering design as a critical scientific practice need real-world resources to help them integrate engineering design in the classroom. Teaching and celebrating the engineering method is a positive change in K-12 science education, and Science Buddies can help teachers sort out the differences between scientific and engineering methods—and how the methods may play out in student… Read more

New Science Standards Emphasize the Engineering Design Process

September 13, 2013 9:00 AM

The Next Generation Science Standards encourage a multi-dimensional view of science education, one that highlights the importance of students learning to use the engineering design process—as well as the scientific method. Science and Engineering Methods Side by Side in Next Generation Science Standards A classic physics activity challenges students to discover how to keep an egg from breaking when dropped from a certain height. Using the scientific method, a student may initially… Read more

Cooking Caramel: Family Science Spotlight

September 12, 2013 8:30 AM

As this family discovered in their kitchen science activity, making caramel doesn't require much in the way of ingredients, but recipes vary, and timing and temperature matter! "My younger son wanted to make caramel sauce," reports the mom who sent in these photos. Sometimes a perfect science moment begins just like that! When the mom told her son that they only needed sugar and water to make caramel sauce, he was surprised and intrigued. Only two ingredients? As he and his mom… Read more

Rooftop Gardens: Weekly Science Project Idea and Home Science Activity Spotlight

September 5, 2013 9:00 AM

Science Buddies Hands-On Projects: Science and Engineering for School and for Home In this week's spotlight: a pair of environmental engineering science projects for a hands-on look at the benefits of taking a rooftop approach to going and growing green. Can rooftop gardens help you keep your house cooler and lower your energy bill? Explore with a student science Project Idea or a hands-on family science activity: Rooftop Gardens: Are They a Cool Idea? (full Science… Read more

Building Bristlebots: Basic Toothbrush Robotics

August 30, 2013 11:30 AM

As this mom discovered, with a bag of toothbrushes and some basic electronics supplies, you can give a group of kids a fun introductory robotics experience—no prior robotics expertise necessary! Since the BristleBots robotics project first appeared at Science Buddies, I have wanted to try these little toothbrush-head bots with my kids. The light-tracking robot project appeared shortly after the more ubiquitous brush bot. The light-tracking bot is more complicated, but I marked it,… Read more

Fizzy Chemical Reactions: Weekly Science Project Idea and Home Science Activity Spotlight

August 29, 2013 6:09 AM

In this week's spotlight: a trio of chemistry science projects for fizzy, science fun. When you drop an Alka-Seltzer® tablet into water, a chemical reaction begins. What influences the rate of this reaction? Explore the role of temperature on the reaction with the student science Project Idea, a hands-on family science activity, or a classroom activity: Plop, Plop, Fizz Fast: The Effect of Temperature on Reaction Time (full Science Buddies Project Idea) Carbonation Countdown: The… Read more

Top Science Student Benefits from Science Buddies Project Guides

August 27, 2013 10:00 AM

Students conducting science projects at all levels can find resources and guidance at Science Buddies. Pictured above: Michael Shao at the 2013 Intel International Engineering and Science Fair Science Buddies for Every K-12 Student Science Buddies has resources for all levels of student science projects. Our Science Fair Project Guide and ISEF Project Guide contain numerous resources for students conducting hands-on experiments and preparing to present their research and… Read more

Moon Size Science: Weekly Science Project Idea and Home Science Activity Spotlight

August 22, 2013 9:00 AM

(Moon rise image credit: Thomas Fietzek, Wikimedia Commons) In this week's spotlight: a pair of human biology and health science projects to help students and families better understand the way our eyes perceive the full moon rising. If you have noticed that a full moon sometimes seems very big and then smaller as it rises, you have seen the full moon illusion in action. Learn more about Emmert's Law and experiment to find out why and how our perception of the moon's size changes based on… Read more

Laboratory Kidneys: Bioengineering Success Offers New Hope for Patients with Kidney Disease

August 20, 2013 6:00 AM

Recent reports of laboratory-created rat kidneys provide hope for the future of bioengineered kidneys for those with kidney disease. Students can get involved in this hot area of biomedical technology and research with their own bioinformatics projects. By Yvette Leung and Amy Cowen Cutting Edge Science Projects: Putting Medical Biotechnology in the Hands of Students For students interested in medical biotechnology, the desire to explore, tinker, and experiment may pose an obvious… Read more

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