White House Begins Campaign to Promote Science and Math Education

The white house is starting a campaign to promote Science and Math education by recruiting Elmo and Big Bird, video game programmers, and thousands of scientists. President Obama announced on Monday to encourage companies and nonprofit organizations to spend money, time and effort to help students in middle and high school pursue science, technology, engineering, and math.

The campaign is called Educate to Innovate, will focuses on activities outside the classroom. Science and engineering societies promise to provide volunteers to work with students in the classroom in order to culminate in a National Lan Day in May. Another part of the campaign also includes a two-year focus on the television show “Sesame Street”, and a website http://connectamillionminds.com/ which was set up by Time Warner Cable. This website provides a searchable directory of local science activities.

It is essential to get children involved in exploring the cool side of science and math. I believe that this campaign will have a positive impact on children. Children learn the best when they are having fun. By incorporating all the fun activities into learning, children will become innovative from participating in different science activities.

Read this article

ExploraVision

First Place 2009: University Laboratory High School, Urbana, IL

ExploraVision is a science competition program which encourages K–12 students of all interest. Students who enter the competition will have the opportunity to explore a vision of future technology by combining their imaginations with the tools of science. All inventions and innovations result from creative thinking and problem solving. That’s what ExploraVision is all about.

This is a great program because it can help students who are not high achievers become interested in science and technology. It is a great way for students to learn how to work collaboratively as a group for a project. ExploraVision can be the beginning of a lifelong adventure in science, students should be learning while having fun!

More Details on Eligibility and Prizes

Using an Abundant Aquatic Resource to Fuel Science Education

The RAC-CEMS is proud to present a fantastic opportunity for Science teachers to learn about a new way to use Zebra Mussels in an exciting, discovery based lesson for high school students.  This is an excellent opportunity to enhance your Living Environments, Environmental Science or Chemistry course.

Zebra Mussels covering a fat mucket (Lampsilis siliquoidea) – Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

Although zebra mussels have caused numerous problems in our water ways, these organisms actually can be an excellent tool to teach a variety of science and mathematics skills.  High school science teachers will learn how to easily collect, maintain and use these abundant aquatic organisms in a variety of hands-on scientific experiments and quantitative modeling exercises.  The activities are designed to promote inquiry-based learning, teach and strengthen students’ scientific research and mathematical analysis skills, and demonstrate to the students their relationship with their environment.  Activities will include the collection of mussels, the design and completion of hypothesis-driven quantitative experiments, and the integration of the field and experimental data into mathematical models detailing the effects of Zebra Mussels on the ecosystem.

The event will be hosted at Keuka College from July 27-31st  of 2009.  Seating is limited so sign up today!

Click on and remember to select Using Zebra Mussels for Good, Not Evil: Hands-on Experiments and Modeling Activities

Keep Your Kids Interest in Science with Holiday Gifts

Do you have a kid that is interested in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM)? Do you want to get your kid interested in these subjects?

When I was a child, I always had an interest in putting things together. I still do! I don’t know if it is a learned behavior or not. I loved puzzles. I wanted to help my dad put the bike (or anything) together. I saw my older brother putting together his toy model car and I wanted to do that! But that was a boy toy. I couldn’t play with it or get one for myself! Now, when I buy or someone gives me something that needs to be put together, I don’t go to sleep until it is. Just in case you’re wondering, I got BS in Computer Science and now I’m studying to be a High School Math Teacher.

I also collected bugs. Yes, I was a girl who collected bugs! I don’t remember why I started doing this. It may have been for a school science project and then I made it a habit. But, whenever I saw dead bugs around my house or on my way home, I picked them up and put them in a yogurt cup in the kitchen closet. They may even still be in my mom’s house! After a while, I was able to see the bones or interior structure of some of them. Even though it’s not what I studied, I love biology, the Discovery channels, all doctor’s programs on TV and nature.

My older niece got her first camera when she was in Kindergarten. It was a Polaroid. She kept on getting upgrades often, until she got a video camera, taped it to a remote control car, turned the camera on and off it went to record. We’re hoping she gets an engineering or a science related education. She still has a couple of years to think about it.

What are your kids into? What are you doing to keep them interested in STEM subjects?

One way to keep your kids interested in STEM subjects is by giving them games related in the STEM subjects they like. To find STEM related games, go into your favorite toy store web site. Look in the learning category and then in science and discovery. Then, it’s probably going to be divided into specific science categories. It may also have an option to select by gender but I don’t think it’s necessary to use this selection by gender with science “toys”.

Here are MY PICKS of toys that may get your kids interested in science at an early age or encourage them to pursue a science related career, if they’re already interested in science.

Subject	Ages	Toys
STEM	Babies & Toddlers	Blocks, Shape Sorters, Stacking Shapes, Farm Animals, Counting/Number Games
STEM	Preschoolers	Mazes, Puzzles, Towers, Legos, Counting/Number Games
Dinosaurs	4 to 10	Big Bucket of Dinosaurs
Nature, Physics, Chemistry, Air and Water	5 to 9	Little Labs: Stepping into Science
Geology	5 and up	The Young Scientists Set #2: Weather Station – Solids, Liquids, Gases – Volcano
Astronomy	7 and up	Planet Quest
Dinosaurs	8 and up	Dinoworks: Cast & Paint – 19″ Tyrannosaurus Rex Casting Kit
Anatomy & Biology	8 and up	Edu Science Human Body Learning Game with Bonus Stethoscope
Bug Science	8 and up	Backyard Safari Night & Day Bug Habitat
Chemistry & Physics	8 and up	Edu Science Junior Scientist Kit
Microscopes	8 and up	Edu Science Quick-Switch Microscope (comes in different colors)
Electricity	10 and up	Electronic Playground and Learning Center

Can you share with us how you got interested in science, technology, engineering or math or some of the related things you did as a kid?

Astronomy Image Repositories for Teaching

Moons, Rings, and Unexpected Colors on Saturn

As a former Kodak employee and a visual learner, I believe that a picture is worth a thousand words. Pictures draw interest into almost any topic and at any age. They also raise curiosity in the unknown.

How can you explain to children the beauty of Saturn, of it’s rings, and of it’s moons without using a picture such as the one above? The look on their faces and the questions they come up with should be priceless.

Here’s a web page that has links to 61 web astronomical image repositories and has suggestions on how to start using them.

Images on the Web for Astronomy Teaching: Image Repositories

How can a teacher use this in the classroom?

How can parents use these pictures to generate interest in the study of astronomy in their children?