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.
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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 | 
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Posted by Donna Giachetti
What is the scientific method? It’s one of the stepping stones your students need to cover before starting any science fair project.
As this helpful primer from Science Buddies states, “Whether you are doing a science fair project, a classroom science activity, independent research, or any other hands-on science inquiry, understanding the steps of the scientific method will help you focus your scientific question and work through your observations and data to answer the question as well as possible.”
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Posted by Donna Giachetti
By Dr. Maille Lyons
Judges are the “referees” in the sport of science fair. As with most refereed sports, the losing teams will often blame the referees for failure and, in some cases that is accurate. In other cases you just got beat.
Since there is no appeal process, no coach’s challenge, and no instant replay for review, the science fair judges’ decisions stand (and will not be explained no matter how much you beg…). SO KNOWING THAT, your project must be well executed and well communicated so that the “bad calls” are minimized.
Leave a Comment » | College level, High School level, Middle School level, science fair | Tagged: DIY, Educational Innovations, fun experiments, hands-on activity, hands-on science, homeschool, parent friendly, phenomenon based learning, phenomenon-based science, science fair, science fair project, science fair project for kids, topics for science fair | Permalink
Posted by Donna Giachetti
To put it simply, we think thermal energy is cool! Many of our best-selling discrepant event demos are related to thermal energy, as you’ll see from the reviews below. With our Ice Melting Blocks, you can ask your students to predict which block will melt an ice cube more rapidly… Use a Chemical Heat Pack to challenge your class to figure out how heat—usually associated with melting—can be produced by a reaction that turns a liquid into a solid… Or dazzle them with Nitinol Memory Wire that changes shape upon heating!
If you have a favorite Educational Innovations product, send us a comment below. We’d love to share your review with your fellow teachers and science lovers.
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Posted by Donna Giachetti
Relax! School is out and it’s time for some fun. Pour yourself an ice-cold lemonade, get settled into your favorite chair (or hammock) and enjoy our sizzling collection of summer science humor. You might also get a kick out our UV Light humor page, from a previous issue of our newsletter.
If you have a favorite cartoon or joke, we invite you to share it as a comment below.
Leave a Comment » | College level, Elementary level, High School level, Middle School level | Tagged: Educational Innovations, hands-on science, homeschool, parent friendly, PBL, phenomenon based learning, phenomenon-based science, science, thermal energy, ultraviolet | Permalink
Posted by Donna Giachetti
