Learning About Light


Marty Sagendorfby: Marty Sagendorf

Light is magic stuff: it has no mass, it comes in many colors, it has energy, it can be emitted and absorbed, but it can’t be saved in a bottle or bucket.  Even though we can’t ‘save’ it, we can explore the many ways that light behaves around us.  We are told, or we read, about reflection, refraction, and the many other properties of light’s interaction with objects, but until we actually experience these we really don’t fully appreciate ‘the magic of light’.

Let’s start learning about light!

That’s what this Optics Kit, from Educational Innovations, allows us to do – experience light by doing.  This kit provides the necessary components to perform extensive investigations – ten are completely detailed – and new ideas for experimentation will naturally develop as optics principles become familiar.

Let’s begin with something we see every day:

REFLECTION

Start by drawing a line along, and one-half inch from, the long side of a piece of 8-1/2”x11” white paper.  At the mid-point of this line, draw a perpendicular line extending across the paper.  This line represents a ‘NORMAL’ to the mirror’s surface.

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Teacher Lesson Plans


Help Us “Lesson” Our Impact on the Environment

by: Michael Finney

As you may know, Educational Innovations offers lesson plans and activities for many of our Super! Wow! Neat!® products. Designed with practical classroom application in mind, these lesson plans and activities require minimal effort or outside materials. They are suitable for in-home use, as well, though some supervision may be required. Some of our products feature lesson plan ideas for different grade levels.

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Everyone Loves a Mystery


Janice Van Cleaveby:  Janice VanCleave

Identify the Physical Properties of Mystery Artifacts

The mystery artifacts used for this investigation are special and can be purchased at Educational Innovations.   The artifacts are called “Ice Melting Blocks,” but this name gives too much information. Prior to the investigation, I suggest that you introduce them as artifacts, objects that have been intentionally made or produced for a certain purpose.

Objective:

To investigate mystery artifacts and determine their possible purposes as well as the real or imaginary culture that might have made them. Set the stage by placing the mystery artifacts on a table and covering them with a cloth. If possible, screen off the investigating area so that only the “student science explorers” can view the blocks.

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Should We Build a Dam?


Brandon DeBritzby Brandon DeBritz

A Junior High STEM Exploration into Hydroelectric Energy with the use of the PowerWheel

When we talk about electricity and where it comes from in the Pacific Northwest, hydroelectric energy production is a key source and natural opportunity for teaching.  Part of the curriculum used in the South Kitsap School District in Port Orchard, WA is SEPUP ‘Weathering and Erosion’.  Students explore the Earth processes of weathering, erosion, and deposition all the while considering where to expand residential development in an expanding fictional town along the northwest coast.

This year, students at Cedar Heights Junior High were presented with a new factor to consider for this situation, ’should we build a dam on the town’s river to provide energy for the expanding electrical needs of the city?’ This new situation opened the door for a STEM unit, ‘The Energy of Moving Water’ from the National Energy Education Development (NEED) Project (free teacher and student curriculum guides are available from their website  www.need.org).

From this platform, students were engaged in activities and research to explore: what electricity is and how it is created, the designs of a hydroelectric dam and how they work, as well as many of the environmental, economic, social, and political issues around the construction and use of dams. Through a school partnership with RB Industries and the PowerWheel, students explored the fundamental elements of creating electricity through the transfer of moving water. 

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The Laws of Physics


Tami O'Connor, Educational Innovationsby: Tami O’Connor

My husband and I just returned from his reunion at Cornell University.  He attended the law school, so, while he reminisced with his friends about this loophole and that exception, I became curious about other events being held at the university.  I scanned the various offerings, and though he was interested in the course entitled “Effective Strategies for Conducting Online Legal Research”, the class entitled “Favorite Physics Demonstrations” at 2:00 PM jumped off the page at me.  The immutable laws of physics were just the diversion I needed!

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