Welcome to ScienceSpin Senior!
Our issues are designed to help you meet National Science Education Standards and make learning science fun. On the Web site, you will find updates, issue-related links and activities, experiments, or a reproducible to use with your students.
November/December 2009
How many planets would you predict have been discovered outside our solar system. As we posted this content, the number was 403… and growing. Those exoplanets are our exciting subject this month.
Web Links
Click here to check the latest planet count.
Click here for more information from NASA.
Please feel free to contact me with questions or comments.
Sincerely,
Hugh Westrup, Managing Editor
hwestrup@weeklyreader.com
October 2009
We all enjoy a sweet treat now and then. But sweets have become an everyday habit for Americans, many of whom consume much more sugar than government dietary guidelines recommend. This month, ScienceSpin asks: How much sugar is too much? Why is too much sugar bad for us? What can we do to eat less sugar? We hope to help students understand this sweet subject and work toward better health.
Web Links
Click here to view a CBS news report about sugar consumption.
September 2009
Welcome to a new school year and the September issue of ScienceSpin. Our issues are designed to help you meet National Science Education Standards and make learning science fun. On the Web site, you will find updates, issue-related links and activities, experiments, or a reproducible to use with your students.
This issue takes a look at biomimicry—the use of plants, animals, and other living things to inspire great design ideas.
Web Links
Click here for the Biomimicry Institute's Web site.
Click here for a kid-friendly article about gecko tape, one example of biomimicry.
Please feel free to contact me with questions or comments.
Sincerely,
Hugh Westrup, Managing Editor
hwestrup@weeklyreader.com
May/June 2009
Vanishing Act
When people talk about endangered species, they usually mean big, furry creatures, such as tigers and giant pandas. Yet many smaller species are also in danger of disappearing from the planet. This issue takes a look at some insects whose survival is threatened.
Web Links
Click here to find out how students can get involved in saving native insects at The Lost Ladybug Project.
Click here to learn more about bees.
Click here to visit the National Honey Board.
April 2009
Green Machines
Americans celebrate Earth Day on April 22. But with the growing threat of global warming, we can't afford to consider our planet's health just one day a year. This issue of ScienceSpin takes a look at up-and-coming low-emission and zero-emission automobiles. We hope it gets students excited about the cars that they'll be driving one day.
Web Links
Click here for the U. S. Department of Energy's Energy Kid's Page.
Click here for an article about electric cars.
February/March 2009
Small Change
In this issue, students will learn that although the relative positions and the movements of the objects in our solar system remain constant, our view of those objects is always changing. That is because astronomers are constantly learning more about our distant neighbors—plutoids and the dark denizens of the Kuiper belt and the Oort cloud.
Web Links
Click here to learn about the solar system and its formation.
Click here to go to NASA's kids page.
January 2009
The Cutting Edge
What a great way to teach students about matter! This issue describes how scientists are trying to make ice more slippery. Why? To help increase a skater's speed. We hope your students will like learning about ice!
Web Links
Click here to watch a video about a fast-moving glacier in Greenland.
Click here to learn about sport science.
November/December 2008
The Flu In Focus
In this issue, students will learn how the flu travels and how scientists are able to track different strains and create new vaccines every year to help protect people from getting the flu. Students will also gain an understanding of an important research tool: the microscope.
Web Links
Click here to see a video showing how the flu virus affects the human body.
Click here for a child-friendly flu fact sheet.
October 2008
Winged Walkers
In this issue, students will learn about the extinct pterosaur. This animal was not a dinosaur, but it is believed that they were related.
Web Links
Click here to view a video about how these animals moved.
Click here to assemble skeletons of ancient creatures with an online skeleton jigsaw puzzle.
September
2008
Big News About Old Rocks
In this issue, students will learn about the age of the
Grand Canyon.
Web Links
Invite students to take a virtual tour of the
Grand Canyon.
May/June 2008
New Vinci
Simple machines:
Download a reproducible to go along with the simple machines student worksheet here. The reproducible has drawings of the simple machines from the worksheet.
Internet Link:
Learn more about the science of cycling at this page from the Exploratorium.
April 2008
Clever Crows
Internet Link:
Learn more about smart birds with this article on crows from National Geographic News: Crows Better at Building Tools Than Chimps, Study Says.
February/March 2008
Powerful Planet
Internet Links:
Learn more about different sources of energy at the Kid's Page from the Department of Energy.
See pictures from an expedition to an undersea vent at the Ocean Explorer Web page from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
January 2008
The Mysterious Death of the "Iceman"
Internet Link:
The FBI presents the forensic analysis of fictional case from start to finish at their FBI Investigates Web site. Follow along through the various forensic tests.
Classroom activity:
Your students can learn about how something mummifies with this simple experiment.
Make Your Own Mummy
Mummies aren't found in ice only. The Egyptians made mummification an art. Your students can, too. They can watch the process work on a plain old apple.
What You Need
* an apple
* a paring knife
* a plastic margarine tub with a lid
* a marking pen
* labels
* a plant mister full of water
* table salt
What to Do
1. Slice the apple into four equal sections with the paring knife.
2. Put an apple slice in the tub number 1. Put the lid on tightly, and label the tub Dry, No Salt.
3. Put an apple slice in tub number 2, and spray both the inside of the tub and the apple slice with five shots of water. Put the lid on tightly, and label the tub Wet, No Salt.
4. Roll a third apple slice in salt, and put it in tub number 3. Put the lid on tightly, and label the tub Dry, With Salt.
5. Roll a fourth apple slice in salt, and put it in tub number 4. Spray both the inside of the tub and the apple slice with five shots of water. Put the lid on tightly, and label the tub Wet, With Salt.
6. In your notebook, write what you predict will happen over time to each of the four apple slices.
What Happens?
Leave the apple slices in their tubs for about a week. Then check the four slices every day for the next several weeks. Describe in your notebook the condition of each slice every day. Compare your predictions with your recorded results. Do your predictions and results differ? If so, how? What can you say about the effect of dry and wet conditions on the apple slices?
November/December 2007
Head's UP!
Crossword puzzle: Download a crossword puzzle based on the topics in this month's issue here.
Internet Links:
KidsHealth has more information about brains here.
Science News For Kids has information about the teen brain here.
October 2007
Staring at the Sun
Internet Links:
Stanford Solar Center has activities for educators and students.
NASA's Solar System Exploration page has information about the Sun.
September 2007
New Species!
Internet Links:
To learn more about DNA, genetics, and heredity, students can play several interactive games on GlaxoSmithKline’s Kids Genetics site.
Meet the scientists who made Idaho Gem and Idaho Star at the University of Idaho’s Clone Zone.
Learn more about animal cloning at Science News for Kids.