by: Tami O’Connor

Is the flu spreading like wildfire in your community? In my hometown of Redding, Connecticut, the high school’s homecoming dance and the Halloween parties at the elementary school were both canceled. The middle school social was also postponed until flu season is officially behind us.

What better time than now to teach your students about the benefits of proper hand washing techniques and how diseases are actually transmitted from one person to another? Educational Innovations carries a full line of products designed to help you educate your students about germ transmission and how best to reduce the spread of harmful microbes. Let Educational Innovations help you to keep your students more mindful of easy things they can do to stay healthy.

Glo Germ is a fantastic product which safely and graphically demonstrates to students and adults alike how germs are spread. Used throughout the United States in schools, hospitals and food services, Glo Germ consists of an odorless lotion or powder which glows brightly when exposed to ultraviolet light. This product is perfect for your health curriculum.

To demonstrate proper hand washing, simply have students rub Glo Germ lotion on their hands. This simulates the spread of thousands of tiny plastic fluorescent “germs” on their hands. Then ask each students to wash their hands as they normally would.  Finally, a fluorescent ultraviolet lamp may be used to spot the remaining “germs.” Under the lamp, the plastic “germs” fluoresce or glow brightly so that they may be easily seen by the student.

To use the powder to show how germs are spread through contact.  Simply shake a small amount of the powder into the palm of your hand and shake hands with several students. Use the ultraviolet lamp to demonstrate that you have transferred “germs” to them. Interestingly, you will also be able to see all the places the newly contaminated hands have been since the initial “germ” was transferred from the “infected” person.  Use the ultraviolet lamp to show where the students’ hands have been.  Take note how close to students’ eyes, ears, and noses the glowing powder is.  These openings are the gateways to their bodies.

The Glo Germ Classroom Kit contains a battery operated ultraviolet light, an 8 ounce bottle of lotion, and a 4 ounce bottle of powder. The ultraviolet light runs off of 4 “AA” batteries and is approximately 6 1/2 inches in length. This kit is excellent if you want mobility, since it does not require an electrical outlet.

Similar to the Classroom Kit, the Glo Germ Group Presentation Kit contains an 8 ounce bottle of lotion, and a 4 ounce bottle of powder. The ultraviolet light in this kit, however, is approximately 21 inches long and runs off regular house current. Very large! Very impressive! This kit is good for an extremely graphic demonstration of how germs are spread. (Ultraviolet light runs on standard North American line current, 110 volts 60 Hz)

The Glo Germ Lotion base comes in an 8 ounce bottle and is used to demonstrate proper hand washing. Each bottle is good for 75 to 100 applications.

The Glo Germ Powder comes in a 4 ounce container and is used to demonstrate proper surface cleaning as well as the spread of germs. Each bottle is good for many cleanings since only a small amount is used.

If your lessons could use a little light hearted humor with serious science implications, enlist the help of a cute and cuddly plush microbe to get your point across.  These germs are replicas of the not so cuddly real germs only they are about 1,000,000 times that of the actual germ.  Each microbe includes information on the individual germ and the ailments it causes. These plush germs work especially well when you sprinkle a small amount of Glo Germ powder on them and then pass them around to unsuspecting students….

by: Ron Perkins

UV-sensitive beads contain pigments that change color when exposed to ultraviolet light from the sun or certain other UV sources. The electromagnetic radiation needed to affect change is between 360 and 300 nm in wavelength. This includes the high-energy part of UV Type A (400-320 nm) and the low energy part of UV Type B (320-280 nm). Long wave fluorescent type black lights work well; incandescent black lights and UV-C lamps will not change the color of the beads.

The dye molecules consist of two large, planar, conjugated systems that are orthogonal to one another. No resonance occurs between two orthogonal parts of a molecule. Imagine two planes at right angles to one another, connected by a carbon atom. When high energy UV light excites the central carbon atom, the two smaller planar conjugated parts form one large conjugated planar molecule. Initially neither of the two planar conjugated parts of the molecule is large enough to absorb visible light and the dye remains colorless. When excited with UV radiation, the resulting larger planar conjugated molecule absorbs certain wavelengths of visible light resulting in a color. The longer is the conjugated chain; the longer the wavelength of light absorbed by the molecule. By changing the size of the two conjugated sections of the molecule, different dye colors can be produced. Heat from the surroundings provides the activation energy needed to return the planar form of the molecule back to its lower energy orthogonal colorless structure.

Although UV light is needed to excite the molecule to form the high-energy planar structure, heat from the surroundings provides the activation energy to change the molecule back to its colorless structure. If colored beads are placed in liquid nitrogen, they will not have enough activation energy to return to the colorless form.

The UV detecting beads remain one of the least expensive qualitative UV detectors available today. They cycle back and forth thousands of times.

by: Sara Brandt

Ammonite was once thought to be the petrified remains of snakes! Modern science, however, tells us that these fascinating fossils are actually the remains of an ancient aquatic mollusk.  A mollusk is an invertebrate with a soft, unsegmented body.  The soft body of an ammonite was protected by a hard outer shell. The shells of ammonites ranged from an inch to nine feet! Each shell is divided into many different chambers. The walls of each chamber are called septa. The septa were penetrated by the ammonite’s siphuncle, a tube-like structure that allowed the ammonite to control the air pressure inside its shell. Ammonites were aquatic creatures, and being able to control the air pressure inside their shells meant being able to control their buoyancy.

What is the Fibonacci sequence? The Fibonacci sequence is a list of numbers where every number is the sum of the previous two. The Fibonacci sequence starts at 1 and grows infinitely:

1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55 …

To put this sequence into mathematical terms, each term F_n = F_n-1 + F_n-2. The Fibonacci sequence can be illustrated geometrically by drawing boxes. The first box should be 1×1, the second box 1×1, the third 2×2, the fourth 3×3, the fifth 5×5, the sixth 8×8, and so on. Each box should be adjacent to the boxes that come before it, forming a spiral of boxes. Have your students create their own Fibonacci squares – graph paper with small boxes works best.

What does ammonite have to do with Fibonacci? Ammonite shells are a naturally occurring example of the Fibonacci sequence. If you draw a quarter circle in each Fibonacci square, they connect to form an ever increasing spiral. Try to find the Fibonacci squares in your ammonite fossils – photocopy the fossil, then start at the very center by drawing two small boxes right next to each other. With most fossils, the first boxes are .25 cm by .25 cm. Continue drawing boxes with Fibonacci dimensions. You’ll notice that the spiral of the shell always falls within the Fibonacci squares.

To further examine the concept of the Fibonacci number sequence in nature it is a worthwhile activity to have your students examine plants and flowers.  So many of them have leaf structures, petals, and stems that follow the series.  These spirals can be seen in everything from sunflowers to pine cones and even pineapples.

If your school doesn’t have access to ammonites, a field trip around the school grounds to identify the Fibonacci sequence in daisies, black-eyed susans, and seed heads would yield many oohs and aahs from your students.  The types of explorations are endless as examples of the Fibonacci sequence and the Golden Ratio are, indeed, endless!

by:  Ken Byrne

Ron Perkins and I had the privilege of being invited to share some of our favorite EI products at GadgetOff 2009. GadgetOff is an exhibition that includes people on the cutting edge, not just of technology, but also science, the arts, education, and the future in general.

There were so many amazing presentations that I don’t know which one was my favorite. Much of what we saw was just plain fun. There were two variations on an amusement park carousel, only they were powered by pulse jets. We also got to see pumpkins hurled by a trebuchet that must have been eighteen times the size of our Advanced Trebuchet Kit. But perhaps the strangest sight there was eight-foot diameter mechanical spider brought by a team from Vancouver. This gas-powered, hydraulically actuated monster was driven around the field like a bulldozer. It made me want to build a robot in my basement…or buy a tarantula.

There were also more serious and life-changing presentations. Segway inventor, Dean Kamen, shared with us the progress on his latest project, a prosthetic arm unlike any other. It has fully articulated human-like fingers, not a simple clasp or hook. It allows the user to pick up an egg or a grape without crushing it, and  enable the user to tell the difference between the two. All the servos, processors, sensors and everything else associated with the prosthetic arm weigh in at under three pounds!

We met dreamers, visionaries, and inventors. One group specialized in projecting large-scale artwork onto the sides of buildings using lasers. Through this, they met an artist that has been struck with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.” This artist has been paralyzed below the chin for years. They developed and inexpensive eye-movement tracking system that has now given him a mean of communication, as well as the ability to make art again.

So, what did we share with these visionaries. It was a difficult choice. The other invitees showed great interest in our Mirage Illusion, especially when using it with a laser. They all knew that the image of the pig floating above the Mirage was an illusion, so were amazed that you could still hit it with the laser beam.

Ron also demonstrated his BB Board, a devise of his own design. With it you can easily explain how molecules reorganize when heat-treated, show movement of geological formations, and visualizing the motion of solid liquids and gas particles.

Everyone also loved the sneak preview of our new device for transmitting sound using a common laser pointer. This device will be available soon. Look for the announcement in our newsletter.

As always, one of the favorites was the FunFlyStick. This is our mini Van de Graaff generator with its floating toys that seem to defy gravity.

We truly appreciate the opportunity to attend GadgetOff and are grateful to Michael and Dan for extending yet another invitation to us this year!

by: Ron Perkins

Color changing goldenrod paper has been exciting students of all ages for decades to the wonders chemistry! Imagine the enthusiasm of the first student or teacher who spilled a few drops of ammonia on a piece of yellow paper and observed it turn bright red! One can only image them exclaiming: “Super, Wow, Neat!!!”

Place the paper in a solution of household baking soda and the paper turns red; immerse it in vinegar and the red turns back to yellow! This goldenrod paper is colored with a dye that is an acid/base indicator: red in base and yellow in acid. The paper is similar to litmus paper that is blue in base and red in acid.

Even though color changing, goldenrod paper is no longer being manufactured, Educational Innovations, Inc. still has a supply and the paper is being sold in 100 sheet packages, (#SM-925). This special paper was being manufactured until June of 2008. At that time the process was changed to use a different dye that is more cost effective and better for the environment. Currently, paper of the same color, Galaxy Gold, is being offered by retail office supply stores, however, this paper uses a different dye and is not color changing.

Simple Activities With Goldenrod Paper

1. Write a “secret” message on the paper with paraffin or candle wax. The invisible message can be seen by spraying or wiping the paper with a weak basic solution e.g. ammonia (NH3 (aq)) or baking soda (NaHCO3). If you use ammonia solution, the message will disappear when the ammonia evaporates. If you use a baking soda solution, the message will remain.

2. Write a message on the paper using a cotton swab dipped into household ammonia. As the ammonia evaporates, the red message disappears.

3. Repeat Activity #2 using a cotton swab dipped into a solution of baking or washing soda. The message can be erased using vinegar (HAc) as “Yellowout .”

4. Use goldenrod paper to classify household products as acidic or basic. Solutions that turn yellow paper red are bases; solutions that turn red paper yellow are acids; and solutions that do not turn the color of either paper are considered “neutral.”

5. Tape a piece of yellow goldenrod paper to the board. Dip your hand into a shallow container of baking or washing soda and water. Then, when you press your hand against the paper, you will leave a “bloody” hand-print. Especially useful at Halloween. Compliments of Bob Becker 1985, Greenwich High School

6. Sponge the surface of a piece of goldenrod paper with a baking soda or washing soda solution and allow the wet, bright red paper to dry. Then, tape the paper to the board and press a hand that has been dipped into vinegar against the paper. The yellow hand-print will be the reverse or the “negative” of the result in activity #5. Complements of Carl Ahlers 2008, Australia

More Advanced Activities with Goldenrod Paper

7. Sponge a solution of baking soda or washing soda on a piece of goldenrod paper. Observe that the red color becomes gradually darker. Explain? Carl Ahlers has written: “Drying shifts the equilibrium in reaction 1 to the right as the H2CO3 is reduced due to the evolving of CO2 gas (reaction 2) (Le Chatelier). Subsequently more of the red Gol forms on drying. HGol (yellow) + HCO31- <—> Gol1- (red) + H2CO3 (aq) Reaction 1 H2CO3 (aq) <—> CO2 + H2O Reaction 2

8. Determine the equilibrium constant, the Ka, for this acid/base indicator. One way is to prepare a set of different pH solutions using a method of serial serial dilution on a spot plate or in small test tubes. Then, test to see at what pH the color change seems to occur for this indicator paper.

9. Make color-changing paper similar to goldenrod paper using household tumeric powder. Although tumeric is insoluble in water, in a workshop at Sacred Heart University, ca 1987, we discovered it was soluble in either ammonia or ethyl alcohol. White paper dipped in a solution of ammonia with dissolved tumeric will be dyed red which turns to yellow as the paper dries; dipped in a solution of tumeric and alcohol, the paper will remain yellow as it dries. When dry, test and observe how similar and how different the paper is from the color-changing goldenrod. Note: although this paper seems to react similar to color-changing goldenrod, the color fades much faster.

10. Prepare acid/base color changing paper using natural indicators: rose petals, purple cabbage, etc. Then determine the pKa of the paper.

by: Ron Perkins

A short time ago I received the following inquiry regarding our Heat Sensitive Paper. One of the joys of being the president of Educational Innovations is having the opportunity to answer questions like this.

Q: What chemical coats your Heat-Sensitive Periodic Tables that makes it change color? My chemistry class wants to know the chemistry of what is happening. Can you please help us.

A: Some of the characteristics of our heat sensitive periodic tables are easy to understand and some more challenging. The inks used provide color at lower temperatures and are colorless at higher temperatures. The change over temperature is called the “critical temperature.” Adding heat to the paper causes the paper to loose its color, an “endothermic” reaction. The reverse, going from colorless to colored, is an “exothermic” reaction and returns the heat.

To manufacture this paper, long rolls of white paper are unwound, coated on one side, dried, cut, and finally stacked into reams. This is done at a company that produces labels for cans. The paper is then printed with black ink to produce our periodic tables.

Educational Innovations, Inc. was one of the first companies to sell
thermochromic paper and drinking cups, over 15 years ago. We followed up on an article about this new discovery in the NY Times. At that time the “Touch-It” paper used two colors of heat sensitive inks: blue and red – both turning colorless when heated. From those two heat
sensitive inks, five colors of paper could be manufactured: red paper
which turned colorless; blue paper which turned colorless: orange
paper which turned yellow; green paper which turned yellow; and purple
paper which turned colorless. For the orange and green paper, the
thermochromic inks were printed on yellow paper.

The complete chemistry of thermochromic, heat sensitive ink, involves micro-encapsulation techniques. Incidentally, you can increase the sensitivity of your periodic table by removing any absorbed moisture with a hair dryer or putting the paper through a copy machine.

I have found that kids of every age find this paper fascinating. Teachers use this paper to print newsletters home to parents, for special certificates or awards, and for printing diagrams or other papers the students should keep. They can even be laminated to use as bookmarks, hall passes, or as class syllabus.

by: Tami O’Connor

Though I am no longer in a traditional classroom, the end of each August still fills me with that feeling of eager anticipation and yes, even a bit of anxiety…. Then I remember, I’m not going to be facing a room filled with bright new faces nor will I need to develop the plethora of creative lesson ideas necessary to engage and stimulate young minds. But still, I enjoy sharing some of the lessons that my students and I enjoyed.

One activity I used to teach the scientific method required the use of an old favorite; Sodium Polyacrylate. This is the chemical powder found in disposable baby diapers. I would start my lesson with a 3 Cup Monty game in which I used 3 opaque cups that were identical in every way except that two of the cups were empty and in the third I placed about 3 tablespoons of the water lock powder.

My shtick started with me talking about the importance of observation skills. I would explain the necessity of having a keen eye. Shortly after my speech I would pour about 1/2 of a cup of water into one of the empty cups. While encouraging my students to carefully watch the cup with the water in it, I would move the cups around fairly slowly, knowing they would be able to follow the water filled cup easily, until the three cups ended in a line across my desk.

When the motion stopped, I would ask the class to identify the “water” cup. When they did, I would pour the water from the “water” cup to the other empty cup and repeat, only this time I would move the cups a bit more quickly. Since I am admittedly not very fast, most of my students were able to identify the “water” cup on the next try.

I continued two or three more times complimenting my students’ observation skills as they identified the correct “water” cup each try. On the last try, I would pour the water from the “water” cup into the cup with the powder hidden in the bottom. As you can imagine, the water was quickly absorbed by the sodium polyacrylate and solidified leaving no liquid behind in the cup.

On the final trial I moved the cups as quickly as I could trying to distract the students as much as possible as I shifted, bobbed, and weaved… I even stopped from time to time to point out the elusive leprechaun poking his head in the window, and while a few kids turned to look, I unfairly continued to move cups. Finally, when I sure I had fooled at least a few kids, I stopped.

With my three cups neatly lined across my desk, I would call on one student to identify the “water” cup. After pointing out the suspect cup, I flipped the chosen cup over to show there was no water in it. Try number two provided the students a 50-50 chance of identifying the “water” cup. Of course, one more wrong pick… Since I have already mentioned that I am fairly slow, chances were good that one of the chosen students had identified the correct “water” cup earlier, but because of the sodium polyacrylate, when I turned the cup upside down, the solid water remained stuck inside the cup.

There is always at least one student in the class who insists that the cup with the water in it has already been selected. I tend to call that student up to the front of the class to prove that their observation skills are the most astute by challenging them to stand under the last cup while I pour out whatever is inside it over their head. I build up the anticipation by having the guinea pig don a rain jacket…

While the class would cheer (and jeer) I would make quite a production of the cup over the brave (or foolish) student’s head being filled with water. As you already know, when I turned the final cup over, amid the oooooh’s and aaaaah’s, no water came out, and my student stayed dry. Imagine, three cups empty cups now, where at one point, at least one had water. There was no doubt, I had everyone’s attention

No matter what the grade level, this lesson is sure to generate interest. Now, everyone knows that you can have a terrific introduction, but the lesson has to have teeth in order for our students to learn. There are a number of activities you can launch into immediately following this introduction.

• What is the ratio of water to powder that sodium polyacrylate will hold?
• What are the chemical differences between the water loc and snow polymer?
• Which baby diaper holds the most water?
• Why does adding salt to the solid water reverse the effect of the absorption.

by: Ken Byrne

The ostrich is a member of the Ratite family, which also includes emu, rhea, cassowary, and kiwi. Ratites are distinguished as flightless and keel-less (having no breast bone) birds. Ostrich skeletons and fossils date back over 120 million years.

The ostrich, native to Africa, is the largest of living birds. Some males reach a height of 8 ft (244 cm) and weigh from 200 to 300 lb (90 – 135 kg), while females will range between 5.5 and 6.5 (170 cm – 200 cm) feet tall at maturity.

In the wild, a mature female will lay between 12 and 15 eggs after mating (at the rate of one every other day for several weeks). Ostrich farmers quickly remove the eggs from the nest to extend the laying season. In some cases, a domesticated hen can lay up to 80 eggs, although 40 to 50 is more typical. Ostrich eggs are the largest of all bird eggs and weigh about 2.75 pounds (1.2 kg). The contents of one ostrich egg can be equivalent to as much as two dozen chicken eggs. Both male and female ostriches share sitting responsibilities, usually the male at night and the female during the day. Fertile eggs begin to hatch on the 42nd day.

Ostrich eggs are as beautiful as they are fascinating, and they are surprisingly durable. Artists paint them, cut them and even decorate them with intricate carving. The Bush Men of the Kalahari Desert use them as sturdy canteens that can hold about 1.25 liters of water.

Educational Innovations has ostrich eggs that have been emptied through a hole in one end and thoroughly cleaned. The somewhat mottled, glossy surface is natural.

Ostrich Egg Activities:

How big a breakfast?
Fill your ostrich egg with water and measure the contents. Now measure the fluid that comes from a regular chicken egg. Comparing the two, can your students determine how many omelets could be made from your ostrich egg? Can they estimate the mass of the egg before it was emptied?

Discussion Topics:
Is it accurate to say that an ostrich egg is the largest single cell in the world today?
Why is the shell of an ostrich egg so thick?
Eggs shells are made of calcium. Where do ostriches, and other birds, get the calcium to produce hard shells?

Super! Neat! Wow! Ostrich Facts!

• Ostriches cannot fly.
• Ostriches produce extremely strong leather.
• Ostriches are not an endangered species – there are at least 2 million worldwide.
• Ostriches are one of the fastest animals in the world. They can sustain a speed of 40 miles per hour (64 kph) for 30 minutes!
• Ostriches do not bury their head in the sand. They lie down and extend their neck along the ground when threatened.
• The ostrich egg is the largest bird egg in the world today, but not the largest ever. That distinction goes to the elephant bird. Its eggs were up to 90 cm in circumference, and could hold 9 liters! They’re extinct now but may have walked the earth as recently as the mid 17th century.

by: Tami O’Connor

What is Amber?
Millions of years ago large forests in some parts of the world began to seep globs of sticky, aromatic resin down the sides of the trees. Unlike sap, resin is produced to protect the tree from disease and injury and is extruded through the bark of the tree during rapid periods of growth.

As it continued to ooze, this resin would trap such things as insects, seeds, leaves and other light debris. As geologic time progressed, these forests were buried under sediment and the resin hardened and formed the soft, warm golden gem we know today as amber. Most of the amber in the world ranges from 30 to 90 million years old and is found in sedimentary clay, shale and sandstones associated with layers of lignite.

Amber is found in the far-corners of the world and is mined from the ground. It can be found from the shores of the Baltic Sea (Poland, Russia, Germany, Denmark, Lithuania), to mountain ranges in the Dominican Republic and Columbia. There is also Romanian, Burmese and Canadian Amber. Amber can be found in the United States and is most abundant in Alaska and New Jersey. This amber dates back to the Cretaceous Period, the age of the Dinosaurs! The size of amber found varies tremendously. The biggest piece of Dominican amber ever found was 18 pounds!

Amber can be hand or machine polished. Professionals use machinery such as sanding wheels to polish amber. They first start with coarser grit levels of sandpaper and as material is removed and they get closer to the surface, they switch to less coarse grit levels to add final touches. Final polishing can be done with a cotton buffing wheel and dental polishing compound. For amber jewelry, holes are drilled with a very fine drill bit. Experts must be aware that amber is sensitive to extreme heat.

Amber actually has the ability to develop a static charge when rubbed with a cloth. In fact, the source of the word electricity is from the Greek name for amber elektron.

The Copal vs. Amber Debate
Copal is a younger form of amber. Much of it from Columbia is said to be up to 10 million years old. Over the past several years, it has become available in great supply. Dealers who sell other types of older and more rare amber, such as Baltic or Dominican, due to their commercial interest, have been trying to convince others to not classify copal as a type of amber. Many scientists disagree, stating that anything made from resin IS technically amber, despite its age.

In the movie Jurassic Park, the storyline was that dinosaur DNA had been retrieved from insect remains found in amber, allowing them to regenerate dinosaur life for the park. Though there are actual insects found embedded inside some amber, this is just a story. Scientists have never been able, in real life, to do this.

Beware! There are actually counterfeit producers of amber who make fake amber using living insects and synthetic resins. Experts have tests to confirm what is real or fake. At Educational Innovations, our amber is real. We only purchase our amber from reputable miners who guarantee authenticity.

Educational Innovations has a terrific hands-on lesson to use with your students as a culminating activity for your geology unit or unit on dinosaurs. This class kit comes complete with everything your students will need to clean and polish actual pieces of amber. Your students will all leave your classroom with a small sample piece as each kit includes 8 one-inch pieces of amber for polishing and 17 smaller amber samples The kit also includes 25 plastic bags to secure samples, 8 polishing brushes, amber polish (aka: gel toothpaste), sandpaper and a complete teacher’s guide. This activity is perfect for the elementary and middle school classroom.

Kit Contents

• 8 large pieces of rough amber to use for class activity
• 17 small pieces of rough amber
• 25 plastic bags for students to secure their amber samples
• 8 polishing brushes
• Tube of amber polish
• 2 Sheets of sandpaper (9×11)

by: Laurie Neilsen

In honor of The Discovery Channel’s Shark Week, here are some common questions asked about shark teeth, and some meaty facts to sink your teeth into.

Q. Why are some shark teeth black and others are tan?

A. The color of a fossil shark tooth is dependent upon the sediment in which it settled. As minerals slowly replace the calcium in the tooth, it changes to the color of the minerals. Color does not necessarily indicate age in a shark tooth fossil. It usually indicates the region from which the tooth was collected. Our fossilized shark teeth are collected from Morocco.

Q. Then how old are these fossil shark teeth?

A..It’s hard to say. A shark tooth takes approximately 10,000 years to become a true fossil. These teeth could be as much as a few million years old!

Q. Why are there only fossils of shark teeth and vertebrae, but not their other bones?

A. A shark’s skeleton is made of cartilage. This makes the shark flexible and fast, and provides buoyancy, precluding the need for a swim bladder like other fish have. Only the teeth and vertebrae of a shark are calcified enough to turn into fossils. Without calcium, the cartilage eventually disappears, and does not become a fossil.

Q. Do sharks have molars?

A. No, sharks do not have molars, incisors, or bicuspids like humans have. Shark’s teeth are all the same shape, but vary in size throughout the mouth. Each species of shark has a different tooth shape, making it easier to identify and sort the fossil shark teeth by species.

Q. Are sharks hunted for these teeth?

A. No, the shark teeth we sell were collected from beaches, not from live sharks. A shark will lose thousands of teeth throughout its lifetime. While the teeth are calcified for strength, they are not as firmly attached in the mouth as our teeth are. Sharks have rows of teeth to provide added grip when they bite their prey, and so they always have replacement teeth ready to take the place of the ones that fall out.

Most sharks live and hunt in coastal waters, though some have been tracked going far out to sea and traveling many miles throughout the course of a year. When the sharks lose teeth while hunting near the shore, these teeth settle in the sediment, fossilize, and sometimes eventually wash up on the beach. Many teeth are also collected by divers close to the shore.

Shark populations are declining because not only are they over hunted, but there have been many man-made changes in their environment. Many shark species are becoming endangered. Sharks are hunted out of fear and misunderstanding, but they are also hunted for trophies, and for their fins. The practice of shark finning – catching sharks just to collect their fins for shark fin soup, and throwing the injured sharks back into the water to drown – is one of the leading causes of the decline in population. For more information on sharks and shark week, visit the discovery channel website at: http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/sharkweek/sharkweek.html.