Thermal Energy Lesson


Lesson - Educational Innovations BlogWhen it comes to thermal energy lessons, we are reminded of the potato chip slogan, “Nobody can eat just one.”

There are so many awesome thermal energy lessons on the Internet, we couldn’t pick just one!  Take a moment to review the lesson plans and interactive classroom lab ideas below.  We’re certain you will find something to use with your students.

If you come across any thermal energy lessons you’d like to share, please leave us a comment below! Read the rest of this entry »


You Said It! Thermal Energy Product Reviews


You Said It! Product Reviews - Educational Innovations NewsletterTo 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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Inspiring Curiosity with the Atmospheric Mat


Electricity from Mud?! Educational Innovations Blogby Nancy Foote

A curiosity table.  That’s what I call it.  Whenever my students have a free minute (which rarely happens), I encourage them to investigate the materials on the curiosity table in our classroom.

Today I added something new—an Atmospheric Mat.

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An Introduction to the Plasma Globe


Donna Giachetti, Educational Innovationsby Donna Giachetti

I have the great fortune of working for a company that inspires—indeed, requires—me to learn something new every day.  I’m constantly scouring online science journals for tidbits on the latest in nanotechnology, the wonders of electrochemistry, or even something as relatively simple as the ultraviolet spectrum.

 
I’m not claiming I always understand everything I learn… but I try my best.  (Hey, I was an English major in college, so I’m not as scientifically inclined as most of my colleagues.)  Luckily, I can count on my trusty coworkers to help me out.

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The Plasma Globe, Inside and Out


Ted Beyer, Educational Innovationsby Ted Beyer

Nikola Tesla.  Amazing guy.  He came up with a huge number of inventions, but outside the scientific community he is largely overshadowed by his better known contemporary, Thomas Edison.  Tesla developed a stream of innovations that we use every day—things like AC power, fluorescent lighting, on and on.

What you might not know is that Tesla, when working on electric light in February of 1894, came up with the concept for what we now call the Plasma Globe.

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