At Halloween, Science Is Cooler than Ever


Donna Giachetti, Educational Innovationsby: Donna Giachetti

In the spring
a young man’s fancy
lightly turns to thoughts of love.”

 —Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Alfred may have a point, but these days our thoughts turn to darker, spookier things—zombies, ghouls, witches, monsters and ghosts (more about them later, scroll down to the end of the blog).

Why is autumn one of our favorite times of year?

Let us count the ways:

  •     A new school year…
  •    Cooler temperatures…
  •    Warm, cozy sweaters and boots…
  •    A procession of colorful fall foliage…

But best of all, there’s the anticipation of HALLOWEEN! What a wonderful time to be a mad scientist! Read the rest of this entry »


The Poly Density Bottle


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

So, do you ever bring discrepant events into your classroom to capture your students’ attention? If so, the Poly Density Bottle should be on your list of must-haves! As you can see, this is a one-liter bottle filled with clear liquid. Floating at mid-bottle are two bands of beads, with blue on top of the white.

Demystifying the Poly Density Bottle-Educational Innovations Blog

On its own, this is intriguing to many students. The head scratching begins, however, once the bottle is given a good shake. As soon as everything starts to settle, students will observe that the white beads now float at the top of the liquid while the blue beads sink to the bottom. The liquid, once clear, now appears to be slightly cloudy.

But wait, there’s more… After about 30 seconds something interesting begins to happen. The white beads gradually sink down, the blue beads gradually begin to float up, and the liquid above and below the beads is again clear. Now the stumper… Why is this happening? Read the rest of this entry »


How to Make Goldenrod Paper


Tami O'Connor, Educational Innovationsby Tami O’Connor

Gone But Not Forgotten

Goldenrod Paper - Educational Innovations BlogMany 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.

Read the rest of this entry »


Real Life Air Pressure | Examples of Air Pressure in Everyday Life


Ted Beyer, Educational InnovationsSticking 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.

The story was one of many great examples of air pressure in everyday life.  It went like this –

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…

Read the rest of this entry »


What New Science Products Will You Find at EI?


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

Check Out Our New Science Products

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!