Science Buddies Blog (Page 83)

A Picture Book Look at the Engineering Spirit

June 18, 2013 4:30 PM

The desire to invent, innovate, tinker, make and build is not something limited to boys or girls, but that has not always been the case. This picture book story, based on the life of Margaret E. Knight, a female inventor and holder of one of the first patents issued to a woman in the U.S., paints a wonderful picture of a female engineer. Empowering Future Female Engineers by Example Marvelous Mattie is a great and very well-crafted story about Margaret E. Knight, a woman who began inventing… Read more

Avoid the Summer Slide: Bring on the Family and Home Science Projects!

June 17, 2013 11:00 AM

Boost your summer break with hands-on science the whole family can enjoy. From activities you can do with the kids in an afternoon, to projects you can set up as challenges for the kids to work on throughout the summer, summer science can help keep the summer doldrums—and summer brain drain—at bay. With its medley of lazy mornings, pool parties, crickets, and lemonade, summer break is here again. The hallmarks of summer break differ for every family, a recipe that gets tweaked… Read more

Create a Carnival of Robot Critters this Summer

June 14, 2013 10:26 AM

With a bit of planning, you can stock up on materials your students can use to create a cadre of cool robotic animals, bugs, and creatures this summer. Upcycled vibrating motors may be your best friend for inspiring hands-on engineering with your kids, but there are plenty of ways to turn off-the-shelf bots and the Mindstorms® kit you may already own into a foundation for fun summer science with a friendly "critter" twist. With school out, there are even more free hours in the day for… Read more

Family Tree Science: Weekly Science Project Idea/Home Science Activity Spotlight

June 13, 2013 9:30 AM

Do your hands have family traits? Science Buddies Hands-On Projects: Science and Engineering for school and for home In this week's spotlight: a pair of projects in honor of Father's Day and the science of family traits. In these hands-on genetics projects and activities, students investigate a family pedigree to see if they can determine whether traits are dominant or recessive. Do you and some (or all) of your family members share certain physical traits? Is a widow's… Read more

Sparking Interest in Science and Science History for the Read Aloud Crowd

June 7, 2013 12:30 PM

When reading to your children, look to the great range of science-inspired titles to infuse your read aloud time with exciting science themes and people from the pages of science history. Children of all ages love to be read to, and reading to your students, and encouraging older students to read every day, is especially important during summer months. Library and bookstore shelves are full of wonderful and imaginative titles, and picture books to share with the youngest of audiences… Read more

M&M Math: Weekly Science Project Idea/Home Science Activity Spotlight

June 6, 2013 9:21 AM

In this week's spotlight: a pair of projects that put statistics in the palm of your hands. In these hands-on math projects and activities, students investigate to find out how often each color of M&M appears in a bag or group of bags. Have a guess as to which color appears most often? Put your guess to the test! What is the likelihood of pulling a yellow M&M from a brand new bag? After this activity, your student will be able to give you the odds—with some statistics to back them up!… Read more

Mummification Science: Weekly Science Project Idea/Home Science Activity Spotlight

May 30, 2013 4:27 AM

In this week's spotlight: a pair of projects that bring the science behind Egyptian mummification into the kitchen or classroom. In these hands-on human biology projects and activities, students (and families!) simulate the process of mummification with a hot dog and baking soda. What does a mummified hot dog look like after seven days? After fourteen? Better yet, how does it smell! Experiment to find out what's really going on when something is mummified. Minding your Mummies: The… Read more

Lazy River? No Such Thing!

May 29, 2013 8:00 AM

Photos: Wikimedia Commons (top); Science Buddies (bottom). Bringing a River Down to Size What does the Grand Canyon photo (top) have to do with the jug and sand set-up shown in the second photo? Modeling a river at home is a great way for students to explore, hands-on, how a river shapes surrounding land.Scientists tell us that rivers have formed some of our most fantastic landscapes—think Grand Canyon! Explore the power of rivers to shape surrounding terrain with this fun… Read more

Science History: Mary Anning

May 23, 2013 1:00 PM

Born on May 21, 1799: Mary Anning, fossil collector who found her first complete skeleton, an ichthyosaur, as a young girl in Lyme Regis. What "type" of fossils did Mary Anning find—and why? In the new "Fantastic Fossilization! Discover the Conditions For Creating the Best Cast Fossils" geology Project Idea, students learn about four types of fossils and get hands-on making cast fossils in different kinds of soil. Fossils and the possibility of finding something prehistoric encased… Read more

Girls at After-school Program Science Event Explore Paper Airplanes

May 21, 2013 11:00 AM

Hands-on engineering doesn't always require high-tech materials. Armed with a stack of paper and the steps to folding a basic dart airplane, a volunteer leads a paper airplane station at a local science exposition and realizes, with surprise, that folding planes isn't something all kids know how to do! With guidance, paper airplane folding can lead to some far-flying—and fun—aerodynamics exploration. Above top: Mary Raven demonstrates folding a basic dart paper airplane at a… Read more

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