by Tami O’Connor
Many years ago at Educational Innovations we had heard rumors that our wonderful goldenrod paper that served as an easy to find indicator paper was being discontinued for environmental reasons. If you haven’t seen it before, it is was a golden-yellow paper that turned a deep red when it came in contact with a base like washing soda or Windex®. The process was reversed if an acid such as vinegar was sprayed on the paper.
13 Comments | 
Chemistry, Elementary level, experiments, Middle School level | Tagged: acid base indicator, goldenrod paper, homeschool, parent friendly, turmeric powder | 
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Posted by Tami O'Connor
Sticking Your Nose Where It Doesn’t Belong!by Ted Beyer
At Educational Innovations, our management staff meets often to coordinate all of the goings-on here. All sorts of topics come up, both business related and science related.
More than two years ago, our Director of Operations, Ken Byrne, shared a story with us relating to his brand new travel-style coffee mug, which he had gotten as a gift. I am sure you have run into these things many times – an insulated vessel with a liquid/air-tight cap. The cap, of course, has a hole along one edge for you to drink your beverage.
He was trying to drink his coffee, but, every time he tried, nothing would come out. He kept thinking that he must be using his new mug incorrectly – perhaps he had missed an instruction or technique unique to this cup that was designed to help prevent spills or something. No, no, that could not be it — he could pour it out, easily enough, but whenever he brought it to his lips to drink – nothing…
9 Comments | Elementary level, Middle School level, Physics | Tagged: air pressure, homeschool, parent friendly, PBL, phenomenon based learning, phenomenon-based science, science, tornado tube, vortex connector | Permalink
Posted by Tami O'Connor
by: Tami O’Connor
When we see teachers at the many conventions we attend, one of the first questions they ask is, “What’s new at Educational Innovations?” We always have new and exciting products, in addition to the tried-and-true materials that we are well known for. This January, teachers and students will encounter more than 40 Super! Wow! Neat! science products at EI! Here’s a quick preview of a few.
The first is a classic demonstrative device that can be used to teach about air pressure and its effects. The product is called The Bernoulli Blaster. What is it that levitates the ping pong balls up and out of the clear tube? Physics teachers debate whether this apparatus provides an example of Bernoulli’s Principle or rather viscous drag. Wherever you come out on the issue, you can, depending on the age of your students, simply demonstrate a wonderful discrepant event or carry on the debate.
Educational Innovations is also introducing two new items to its line of solar products. One is a USB Solar Charger that students must assemble before they can use the power from the sun to charge their cell phones or tablets! This is a great project for science camps, clubs, or homeschoolers that requires only a basic understanding of electrical circuitry and solar energy. For younger students, we are introducing Solar Bug Bot Kits. In less than 20 minutes students can assemble and paint these jittery creatures powered by the sun.
In addition to our array of other green energy products, we now offer a new line of wind turbines. EI now carries PicoTurbine® and KidWind® products. The KidWind Basic Wind Experiment Kit is affordable and allows young scientists to test many variables that deal with wind power and energy. For your higher-level students, we also have the Advanced Wind Experiment Kit that gives students the opportunity to explore generator design, airfoils and gearboxes. Either kit will allow users to design and cut their own turbine blades so they can control the many variables associated with engineering the perfect wind turbine. We have also decided to carry blade consumables, so you can supply all of your classes with the materials they need to carry out all their creative ideas!
Speaking of variables, EI now has an Ultralight Car Kit that enables students to change both the mass and force of their car. By adding nickels to the pre-drilled slots, students can easily change the mass. By winding the rubber band that is connected to the axle, your students can vary the amount of force that is used to propel their car. What a great way to explore the effects of mass and force on the performance of their vehicle!
In addition to carrying the full line of OHAUS balances, EI has decided to also include the full line of Adam and A&D balances to give more options to the classroom teacher.
Since this is just a small sample, be sure to check out all our new products on our website: www.teachersource.com. And remember, we would never carry a product that we wouldn’t use in our own classrooms. Educational Innovations – Teachers Serving Teachers for more than 19 years!
Leave a Comment » | Elementary level, experiments, High School level, Middle School level | Tagged: homeschool, new products, science club activities | Permalink
Posted by Tami O'Connor
Every Dark Spoon has a Silver Lining – Using Chemistry on Silver Tarnishby: Ted Beyer
The holidays have just passed, and for most people, part of the celebration involves getting out the “good” china and flatware to set a festive table. Like most people, I have a few pieces of silver and silver plate that don’t get a lot of use, but are nice to use on special occasions. Thing is, over time, silver tarnishes – it turns dark, and if allowed to continue long enough, it turns black. So out comes the polish and you get to spend all kinds of time polishing it. And with silver plated items, if you do that often enough, eventually, you will polish the silver completely off!
62 Comments | Chemistry, High School level, Middle School level | Tagged: aluminum sulfide, chemical reaction, homeschool, parent friendly, phenomenon-based science, science, silver, silver sulfide, tarnish | Permalink
Posted by Tami O'Connor
The Chinese Spouting Bowlby Ted Beyer
When we are at one of the many educational shows we attend each year, teachers often ask what our favorite products are. I always point at two items – our eddy current materials (here’s that post!) and The Chinese Spouting Bowl. When I mention the bowl, invariably I hear – “yeah, I have seen that in the catalog – does it really work?” The simple answer is yes, yes it does. It not only works, it is amazing to see work, not that hard to make work, and most importantly, it can also be a powerful teaching tool. In fact, the Chinese Spouting Bowl is an ancient and fascinating object that can bring many different science scientific principals into the classroom in an unexpected way.
Leave a Comment » | energy, High School level, Middle School level, Physics, sound | Tagged: amplitude, anti-nodes, Chinese Spouting Bowl, frequency, nodes, PBL, phenomenon based learning, phenomenon-based science, resonance, science, sound experiments, sound waves | Permalink
Posted by Tami O'Connor
