CSI on a Shoestring

September 25, 2012

by:  Michelle Bertke

Would you love to teach forensics and crime scene investigation but cannot afford the kits offered?  Don’t worry!  Many products at Educational Innovations can be used together to make your own CSI kit and crime scene examination at an affordable price.

CSI Fingerprints

Forensic Science Product Review - Educational Innovations BlogOne of the most common tasks of a crime scene investigator is to check the scene for fingerprints.  Analyzing a student’s fingerprints can be as simple as one, two, three!

One, collect an ink pad, a balloon, and a willing student.

Two, have the student firmly press one finger to the ink pad and then firmly press that finger onto a deflated balloon (down and up, don’t smear).

CSI on a Shoestring - Educational Innovations Blog

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Posted by Tami O'Connor

Energize Your Class With The Energy Ball

August 1, 2012

Janice Van Cleave

by: Janice VanCleave

As a teacher, I enjoyed having people visit my class. It brought out the “ham” in me and I did and said things that even surprised me.  Rubbing a balloon on my hair and making my hair stand on ends was not unusual, but climbing on top of my desk sticking the charged balloon to the ceiling was a bit over the top.

What I disliked was the unscheduled visitor with an evaluation sheet in hand. But, I was always prepared. In fact, I had a box filled with materials for fun engaging activities. It was my “Emergency Experiment  Box.” When the evaluator unexpectedly arrived, out came the box and the show began.

My teaching abilities were being evaluated during an unexpected visit,  so I was prepared to show all my best qualities. I suggest you have an Emergency Experiment Box, and I do recommend including the Energy Ball.

Whatever you put in your box, make sure you know as much about the experiment as possible. The Energy Ball is great for teaching the scientific method. Too often kids memorize the steps of the scientific method, but do not use them on a daily bases. The scientific method is a set of problem solving tools—but every problem does not require using every instrument in the tool box.

I regress, let me get back to using the Energy Ball to fire up your students with or without unexpected guests.

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Posted by Tami O'Connor

Micro LEDs and Motion

July 21, 2012

Bruce Yearnyby: Bruce Yeany

The micro LED lights  known as Rave lights have become popular with students at dances and parties.   With the  lights turned down, kids have these lights on their hands or in gloves, and the results are totally awesome when they wave their hands around.  Watching this phenomenon takes me back to the era of the disco ball and laser light shows.  It became apparent to me that these little lights would be fantastic when incorporated into the study of motion. Using these lights and a digital camera, it would be fairly easy to record the motion of moving objects for closer study.  Rolling, spinning , swinging, falling, projectile motion, etc. can all be captured using a camera and these little lights.

Can you figure out how these were done?

Micro LEDs and Motion - Educational Innovations Blog

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Posted by Tami O'Connor

Fossil Dig

June 26, 2012

Norm Barstow, Educational Innovationsby:  Norman Barstow

Simulated Fossil Dig

Archeology is the study of society through the discovery, recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that humans have left behind. The data can include artifacts, architecture, and cultural landscapes.

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Leave a Comment » | Earth Science, Elementary level, Middle School level | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Tami O'Connor

The Science of Sound Waves

June 9, 2012

by:  Michelle Bertke

Sound can be a difficult concept to portray because the sound waves cannot be seen or touched.  Luckily, there are several at home experiments that demonstrate the properties of sound waves.

Water tank to show ‘Sound Waves’

You can use a fish tank half filled with water to give a visual demonstration The Science of Sound Waves - Educational Innovations Blogof ‘sound waves’.  Water is a perfect medium to show the propagation of waves. This demonstrates how sound waves travel though the air.  There are two ways to display this activity.  One way is to simply press your hands onto the top of the water and allow the waves to be made by the pressure of your hand.  This allows students to see how waves travel though a medium.  You can also use this to point out the aspects of a wave such as frequency and amplitude.  Another way to show waves is to place a speaker next to the tank and allow the sound to produce the waves.  This can show that sound is a form of pressure just like your hand. Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted by Tami O'Connor

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