UV Sensitive Putty: Wonder and Curiosity in a Can


Electricity from Mud?! Educational Innovations Blogby Nancy Foote

It’s always fun to put a new item on the curiosity table to see how my students will react.  The newest addition was Arctic Flare UV Sensitive Putty, a gift from our friends at Educational Innovations.

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An Introduction to the Plasma Globe


Donna Giachetti, Educational Innovationsby Donna Giachetti

I have the great fortune of working for a company that inspires—indeed, requires—me to learn something new every day.  I’m constantly scouring online science journals for tidbits on the latest in nanotechnology, the wonders of electrochemistry, or even something as relatively simple as the ultraviolet spectrum.

 
I’m not claiming I always understand everything I learn… but I try my best.  (Hey, I was an English major in college, so I’m not as scientifically inclined as most of my colleagues.)  Luckily, I can count on my trusty coworkers to help me out.

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The Plasma Globe, Inside and Out


Ted Beyer, Educational Innovationsby Ted Beyer

Nikola Tesla.  Amazing guy.  He came up with a huge number of inventions, but outside the scientific community he is largely overshadowed by his better known contemporary, Thomas Edison.  Tesla developed a stream of innovations that we use every day—things like AC power, fluorescent lighting, on and on.

What you might not know is that Tesla, when working on electric light in February of 1894, came up with the concept for what we now call the Plasma Globe.

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