Friday, March 31, 2006

Science Friday

Science is hot, hot, hot.

Gone are the days when the science teacher asked, "Any questions?" and you'd think, "Yes. Will someone just kill me? I'm already bored to death."

Now programs like Mad Science, National Geographic Everyday Explorer and others are teaching science the way it begs to be taught: with excitement. Why should science be exciting? Because the world is a wonderous place and science helps us understand it little by little. Not by memorizing bold faced words, but by observing snails, stars and the explosive relationship between baking soda and vinegar.

With the T.V. show American Inventor, grownups are getting in on the act, too.

To celebrate this new trend, we're starting science Friday on this blog: a mix of health and science news, cool links, fun facts and explosive experiments. Hopefully it will offer you some interesting information or activities whether you're a grownup or kid who loves science, or thinks it is as boring as hypothesizing on how fast paint will dry.

It's named for Talk of the Nation's Science Friday, an NPR show during which host Ira Flatow discusses topics ranging from stem cell research to the science of happiness. Check npr.org for programming information, and lots of cool health and science tidbits, such as why wasabi tastes so darn good. Through evolution, the plant tried to make itself taste bad so that us humans wouldn't eat it. But it turned out it was so bad it was good. Wasabi with that?

Today's interesting link is www.nationalgeographic.com. You can make your own computerized tornado by altering the weather conditions, and then watch it destroy a house and barn.

Finally, from my little scientist...Johnny's Fact: Did you know whales need to come up to the surface for air? They used to live on land. They're like us. They're mammals.

If you know an interesting scientific development or fun experiment, please share it in the comments.

4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Kids love the heart! You could have them find their pulses - in lots of places - radial, carotid, behind the knee, sometimes you can read it in the jaw. Try it at rest and after running. Listen to your heart with a stethescope and relate it to the pulse beat. Let them listen to their B/P if you have a B/P cuff and stethescope - you can borrow mine. Tell your boys aboutyour brother Luke's heart research to stop swelling in the arteries after receiving a stint to make the surgery more succesful. Show them with a straw in a larger staw haw a stint works.

10:29 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Matty said last nite his favorite
tv shows were science shows.
He said his favorites were myth
busters and something about dirtiest jobs ever. Maybe johnnie
could tell him some good shows to watch.

1:39 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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5:37 PM  
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10:28 AM  

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