Posts Tagged ‘scientists’

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Examine Bugs with the Bugscope!

May 17th, 2022

It’s Tuesday, May 17, 2022, and time for Science at ClickSchooling!

Bugscope

(bugscope.beckman.illinois.edu/)

Grades K-12, with parental supervision

This website, sponsored by the Imaging Technology Group at the University of Illinois, was conceived to allow K–12 students to interactively view bugs under a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) over the web for free.

Students collect some bugs and mail them to the scientists at Bugscope who prepare the insect specimens for viewing through the electron microscope. Then, a session is scheduled for students to view their specimens and discuss what they see with the Bugscope scientists — all from a regular web browser over a standard broadband internet connection.

You can schedule a session, or simply follow along as a guest whenever a group is having a session. (In that case, simply login as a guest, no password is required.)

When you get to the website, you’ll see information about Bugscope along with a list of “Upcoming Sessions.” At the time we reviewed this review, there was a Homeschool Group scheduled. So, homeschool groups are definitely welcome to participate.

To better understand this website and what it provides, it’s helpful to “Take the Tour” – you’ll find a link for it at the bottom of the home page. Use the menu at the top of the page to sign up to participate, access a microscope tutorial, read the F.A.Q.s., and browse the Archives: Every session is archived at the site and includes a transcription of the presentation and still images of student-submitted bugs as seen through the electron microscope. When you go to this page, just click on one of the markers on the map, and a new page opens with the full session that was provided to a classroom or other group of students.

This is a remarkable resource and would make a great Homeschool Support Group science project.

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Science Journals Just In Time For Earth Day!

April 19th, 2022

It’s Tuesday, April 19, 2022, and time for Science at ClickSchooling!

The Natural Inquirer

(www.naturalinquirer.org/all-issues.html)

PreK-12, with parental supervision

Earth Day is this week! This website offers FREE science education journals: “The Natural Inquirer,” for middle and high school, “Investi-gator” for upper elementary, and readers for PreK-2. Scientists with the USDA Forest Service share their research in a fun and engaging way.

Each issue of “The Natural Inquirer” introduces students to the scientists who conduct the environmental research and includes an article or more on a specific research project. Some of the issues are entitled:

  • World’s Forests
  • A Burning Question
  • Chew on This!
  • Full Throttle Model
  • Fresh Water
  • Wilderness
  • Flower Power
  • And more!

Each issue also contains a “Discovery FACTivity” designed to help students learn scientific vocabulary words included in the articles. There are also discussion questions designed to help students think more about research. You can download the issue(s) you are interested in or order hard copies (only 5 issues at a time).

Be sure to check out the top menu under “For Educators” for links to lesson plans, science cards and posters, and more.

This is a treasure trove of environmental learning resources! Bookmark this one, as you’ll need to visit many times to explore the vast content!

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Study Astronomy with Paper Plates

January 25th, 2022

Paper Plate Astronomy & Much More!

(analyzer.depaul.edu/paperplate/)

Grades Pre-K-12, with parental supervision

This is a novel approach to education — and so simple! Paper Plate Education is “an initiative to reduce complex notions to simple paper plate explanations.” That’s right, through the use of paper plates you can participate in a range of activities that introduce varying degrees of complex subjects in fun, interesting, hands-on, low-cost ways!

When you get to the site you will see a brief introduction and a menu of the latest projects contributed by educators. The Transit of Venus that took place in 2004 is featured and this site offers activities with paper plates to track Venus’ path across the sun, along with links to other resources you can access to learn about this event.

Once you scan the new items, look at the menu bar at the very top of your screen and click on “Activities.” A new screen opens with a menu of over 80 activities you can do with paper plates to learn a variety of subjects including:

  • addition & multiplication (including Flash Plates!)
  • make an alien platecraft
  • measure altitude of celestial objects
  • transpose musical notes
  • make cosmic hats
  • explore The Drinking Gourd
  • illustrate the outcome of a particle colliding with an anti-particle
  • explore circles
  • make a model to explain moon phases and then make a moon mask
  • make a music shaker
  • learn about orbits
  • P.E. with paper plates
  • make a portable sundial
  • and much, much more — including some activities that are done with other objects like potatoes and rice cereal treats!

When you have exhausted the activities go back to the Home page, and scroll down to “Background.” Click on it to check out the history of paper plate education — and learn about how scientists and others have used paper plates for centuries to demonstrate theories and complex principles.

This is really a great resource for homeschool families — bookmark it so you can return often!

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Creative & Interactive Periodic Table of Elements

November 30th, 2021

University of Nottingham:  BEST Periodic Table of Elements on the Net

The Periodic Table of Elements has become much easier to understand through the interactive capability of technology. Here is a recap of some of the BEST periodic tables I’ve reviewed for ClickSchooling over the past 15 years.  

Grade 4 & up approximately, with parental supervision

The Periodic Table of Videos

(www.periodicvideos.com/)

In my opinion, this is the most fun periodic table on the Net. When you click on an element on the periodic table, it plays a video showing scientists in the lab having fun demonstrating the properties of the elements. Developed by the University of Nottingham, each video is short (2-4 minutes) and provides basic information about the featured element, it’s history, and how it is used. The scientists’ antics with beakers, Bunsen burners, and bloopers are narrated by mild-mannered professor Martyn Poliakoff who has wonderful, wild, Einstein-ish hair!

WebElements

(www.webelements.com/index.html)

This is a click-and-learn table. Each element opens to its own page, maintained by the site that includes a description and photographs. This table has all kinds of hyperlinks within the descriptions to further explain the aspects of the element, along with an interesting sidebar that mentions the element’s uses and where it can be found.

The Photographic Periodic Table

(periodictable.com/)

Includes a photograph of every element on the periodic table, along with a description of the element. Some of them are beautiful – this is a visual treat!

Games: Chemical Elements & Their Symbols

(www.quia.com/custom/3main.html)

Provides free learning tools and games to help budding chemists memorize facts from the Period Table of Elements through:

  • Flash Cards
  • Match Game
  • Word Search
  • Concentration

The Periodic Table of Comic Books

(www.uky.edu/Projects/Chemcomics/index.html)

A couple of chemists took it upon themselves to collect comic strips that mention elements from the Periodic Table and compile them on this website.

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Explore Famous Scientists!

November 23rd, 2021

Eric Weisstein’s World of Scientific Biography: Biographies of Scientists

(scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/)

This website offers over 1,000 encyclopedia-style biographies of scientists along with illustrations.

When you get to the site, use the menu on the left side of the screen to search for a scientist by:

  • *Alphabetical Index – An A to Z list of all of the scientists and mathematicians whose biographies are archived on the website. Click on any one, and a new page opens with the scientist’s picture and bio. References are provided as well.
  • *Branch of Science – Search for a scientist by his/her field of study from Archaeology to Sociology.
  • *Gender/Minority Status – Women, African Americans, Asian Americans, etc. (Note: This section is woefully short on scientists of varying races and ethnicities. Fortunately, the FAQ section on this website tells you how to submit names for inclusion.)
  • *Nationality – Find scientists from many nations including the U.S., China, Egypt, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Pakistan, and Russia.
  • Prize Winners – Read the Bios of Scientists and Mathematicians who have been awarded prizes (i.e., The Nobel) for their work.

As mentioned previously, there are over 1,000 entries and I only read about 10. Therefore, AS ALWAYS, parents should preview the site to determine the suitability of content.

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Math Brought To Life!

November 15th, 2021

Dimensions

(www.dimensions-math.org/Dim_E.htm)

Grades 7-12, with parental supervision

Created by three math enthusiasts (with terrific credentials) this site offers a free film on mathematics that references the work of renown mathematicians, scientists, artists, and others in a multi-media presentation that is sure to amaze and (hopefully) make the subject matter understandable.

When you get to the site, click on “Tour/Guide” to get an overview of the course. Then click on “Watch Online” and choose “American English” to start the video in English. Of course, if you prefer, you can watch it in German, French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Russian and Arabic.

Back on the main page, click on “Details” so you can follow along by chapter:

  • Chapter 1, Dimension Two – Learn or review what meridians and parallels are.
  • Chapter 2, Dimension Three – Mixes “elementary” math with imagination and philosophical elements.
  • Chapters 3 and 4, Fourth Dimension – Contains more difficult mathematical concepts. However, the viewer is encouraged to pause the film and consult a reference page for additional information. As the creators explain, “you can always sit back and enjoy the pictures!”
  • Chapters 5 and 6 – Contains an introduction to complex numbers that could also be used as a refresher course. As the designers explain, “If you know nothing about complex numbers, you should push the pause button as often as you like, and try to understand using the references that we propose. These chapters are the most ‘school-like’ of the film. To thank you for your efforts, chapter 6 ends with an amazing deep zoom scene.”
  • Chapters 7 and 8 – Get an introduction to the Hopf fibration. Again the film creators explain that even though it’s not beginner’s stuff, “it is quite pretty and deserves to be understood.”
  • Chapter 9 – Shows the proof of a theorem of geometry that is relatively “elementary.” As the designers explain, “Without proofs for theorems mathematics would not exist, and we wanted to make this very clear at the end of a film that is essentially about mathematical objects.”

Each lesson or “chapter” of the film is almost 14 minutes long. Watch it in segments or sit down and watch the whole thing in one sitting. You are encouraged to use it in a way that works for you “based on your interest, your prior knowledge on the subject, or simply on your mood of the moment!”

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