by Priscilla Robinson
Spring in the Pacific Northwest comes with a fanfare of germinating seeds, blossoming flowers, and budding trees. As a science educator, I like to jump on Mother Nature’s bandwagon to bring this burst of plant life into my classroom. What your students see every day can bloom into teachable moments. These learning ideas will help you make the most out of the magic and science of spring.
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Biology, Earth Science, Elementary level, experiments, life science, Middle School level | Tagged: DIY, Educational Innovations, fun experiments, gardening, gardening for kids, green science, hands-on activity, homeschool, hydroponics, parent friendly, PBL, phenomenon based learning, phenomenon-based science, polymer crystals, science, seeds, summer science, variables | 
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Posted by Donna Giachetti
By Cathy Byrne
Virtually all fourth grade students explore electricity and magnetism. As part of this unit, students are asked to do two things:
1 – Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents (4-PS3-2)
2 – Apply scientific ideas to design, test, and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another (4-PS3-4).
This year, the teachers at my school put a new twist on our electricity and magnetism unit… and the results were amazing!
Leave a Comment » | electricity, Elementary level, experiments, magnetism, Middle School level, STEM | Tagged: DIY, Educational Innovations, electrical circuits, electricity, energy, experiments, fun experiments, hands-on activity, homeschool, light, magnetism, parent friendly, PBL, PhBL, PhenoBL, phenomenon based learning, science, science fair project, STEM, variables | Permalink
Posted by Donna Giachetti
by Alex Scheeline
The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, on the national mall in Washington, D.C., has an especially fascinating exhibit on Thomas Edison. The exhibit highlights the development of electricity and lighting, and, more generally, invention. In late 2017, I visited an area that featured a set of lamps—including a low-pressure sodium vapor lamp, a mercury lamp, an incandescent lamp, and a compact fluorescent lamp.
1 Comment | College level, experiments, High School level, Middle School level, Physics, science fair, STEM | Tagged: color, diffraction, DIY, experiments, hands-on science, light, phenomenon based learning, phenomenon-based science, physics demonstration apparatus, science, science fair project, spectra, spectrascope, STEM, ultraviolet | Permalink
Posted by Donna Giachetti
You might be surprised how much news there is about the ubiquitous science fair! We have collected a few worthy articles for you. Some are funny, others are provocative—and they’re all worth a look.
If you come across an article of interest, please share it with us in the Comments section below.
Happy reading!
Leave a Comment » | Biology, Chemistry, College level, Earth Science, Elementary level, experiments, High School level, life science, Middle School level, Physics, science fair, STEM | Tagged: awesome science experiment, discrepant event, DIY, Educational Innovations, experiments, fun experiments, hands-on activity, homeschool, homeschool activity, parent friendly, PBL, phenomenon based learning, phenomenon-based science, science, science fair project, STEM, variables | Permalink
Posted by Donna Giachetti
Why are science fairs important? What makes the science fair process valuable? It’s an excellent question and a good way to start a class discussion about this time-honored tradition. First and foremost, why DO we ask our students to work on a science fair project year after year? The answer, in a nutshell, is to help them learn how to think like scientists. Scientists find answers to questions that interest them. In other words, your students simply need to ask themselves, What do I want to know more about?
Leave a Comment » | Biology, Chemistry, College level, Earth Science, Elementary level, experiments, High School level, life science, Middle School level, science fair, STEM | Tagged: agriculture, awesome science experiment, discrepant event, DIY, Educational Innovations, environmental science, experiments, food science, fun experiments, hands-on activity, homeschool, homeschool activity, materials science, parent friendly, PBL, phenomenon based learning, phenomenon-based science, science, science fair project, science fair project for kids, STEM, topics for science fair, variables | Permalink
Posted by Donna Giachetti
