Strange Matter is a great website for kids who like to discover the secrets of everyday stuff. Developed by the Ontario Science Centre, this site teaches kids about the amazing world of modern materials and materials science. It includes a teaching guide, activities for teachers to use, activities, games, experiments, videos, and more for kids. And there’s fun stuff for families to do also!
Kids – Zoom Inside Stuff to learn about structure, Transform Stuff to learn about processing raw materials into new objects, Crush Stuff to learn about material properties and strength, Improve Stuff to enhance material performance, and much more!
Looking for fun activites for your kids to participate in this summer? The RAC-CEMS is excited to showcase several summer camps from around the Rochester region that focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. These is a great way for kids enjoy summer vacation while having fun and exercising their minds! View discriptions of the various camps here.
Have you or your kids been to any of the listed camps? Comment below to share your stories!
Teachers, check out Google Earth Lessons, a free resource that provides lesson ideas and resources on how to use Google Earth in the classroom! This website includes directions on how to use Google Earth (including video tutorials), lists of teacher- and student- controlled lessons, and other mini-activities. The GEBlog also provides weekly updates!
Check out this resource, and share your favorite activities with us!
Girls (and parents of girls!), check out the website Girls Go Tech, a partnership initiative from the Ad Council and the Girl Scouts of America. This site provides resources and information about careers in math, science and technology. The site also provides games designed just for girls, including Cryptic Codes(create and decode mesages using cryptology), The World Around Us (create your own mandala by rotating and scaling different shapes), Think about Thinking (follow directions that try to trick your brain), and Sounds of Silence (compose your own song using the digital composer). Parents, be sure to check out tips for encouraging your girls in the subjects of math, science, and technology in the Girls Go Tech booklet!
How else can teachers encourage female students to pursue careers in math, science, and technology (or just have fun with it in class?)?
The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) invites your application for its New Science Teacher Academy. Cofounded by the Amgen Foundation, this professional development initiative is intended to help promote quality science teaching, enhance teacher confidence and classroom excellence, and improve teacher content knowledge.
Fellows receive a comprehensive award that includes:
*NSTA membership and its benefits
*An opportunity to participate in web-based professional development activities
*Unlimited use of resources
*An opportunity to participate in e-mentoring with an experienced teacher in the same science discipline and grade level
*Accommodations and coverage of airfare, food and registration fees to attend the NSTA national conference
*An opportunity to participate in specialized conference pathways and in a Research Dissemination Conferenceor a Professional Development Institute.
To be eligible, applicants must be residents of one of the 50 states or four U.S. jurisdictions, entering their second or third year of teaching, and working a schedule with 51% of their classes in middle or high school science.
Applications are due May 30,2008. For more information, visit the NSTA Academy website!
On April 9th Education Week hosted a live chat focusing on the lack of quality engineering and technology education in today’s schools. Guest chatters included Yvonne Spicer, director of the National Center for Technological Literacy, based at the Museum of Science in Boston; Mary Ann Wolf, executive director of the State Educational Technology Directors Association, and Raymond V. Bartlett, co-director of Strategies in Engineering Education, K-16.
Topics of discussion included whether engineering is built into most science activities (whether we call it “engineering” or not), the differences between technology education and educational technology, the use of student laptops in schools, using technology to possibly decrease the student drop-out rate, teacher preparatory programs, meeting NCLB goals, the digital divide, funding, and much more!
Click here to view the full chat transcript (note: you may need to register for a free Education Week account). What STEM related issues do you face in your classroom each day? How teachers ensure that they are hitting the “T” and “E”?
Are you a fan of the television show Numb3rs? Texas Instruments, in partnership with the CBS television show Numb3rs and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, created a series of mathematics activities for teachers and students based on the television show. According to the We Use Math Everyday website, “this program was specifically designed to help students (and their parents) realize how relevant math is to everyday activity and understand the importance the subject plays in their future success.”
Check out the website to see how the Numb3rs episodes from seasons 1-3 align with your math curriculum, and share your favorite activities below!
Check out this lesson from the American Chemical Society called Spaghetti Strength! Teach your students about the amazing strength of polymers and chemical bonds – all you will need are pennies, dry spaghetti (of different thicknesses), a small paper cup, string, a pencil, a ruler, and tape!
Try out the activity and share your results below!
Click on the video below to watch one of the newest “internet crazes” – a new way to multiply!
Watch the video and then try it out for yourself…will it work with any numbers? What are some other tricks that you might have up your sleeve for getting students interested in multiplication, and math in general?
Posted by smisco 
Posted by smisco 
Posted by smisco 
