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!


Eureka! The Archimedes Balance


Cynthia Houseby: Cynthia House

I sponsor an after school Science Club in a K-5 elementary school. The club is organized into two-week-long sessions, each session focusing on a specific topic. One of this year’s most successful sessions involved the Archimedes Balance from Educational Innovations.

Archimedes Balance Experiment 1:

  • calculators
  • answer sheet, listing the sample materials and their densities
  • fill-in table to record findings:

Students worked in pairs with first and second grade children teamed with a fourth or fifth grade student. We introduced the topic with a brief Power Point biography of Archimedes and his accomplishments, focusing on the story of King Hieron’s crown. Then students practiced determining the density of materials using the Archimedes balance and the samples supplied in the sets (all directions are included in the kit).

The Archimedes Balance relies on Archimedes’ principle which states that a floating object displaces its own weight of fluid.  The balance consists of a graduated cylinder partially filled with water and a tube that fits inside the cylinder and can float in the water.  By placing an object inside the inner tube and measuring the amount of water displaced, you can easily determine the objects weight. Read the rest of this entry »