Favorite Science, Math, & General Geekery Jokes!

Here are some of MY favorite science-y and geek-y jokes. Leave your favorite in the comments below!

-Jacie

ATOM #1: I think I lost an electron.
ATOM #2: Are you sure?
ATOM #1: I’m positive.

Charlie was a chemist
But Charlie is no more
What Charlie thought was H2O
Was H2SO4

What did the volcano say to his wife?
…I lava you so much!

What do you call two dinosaurs that have been in an accident?
…Tyrannosaurus “Wrecks”!

 What do you do with a dead chemist?
…Barium.

I’ve never been a good swimmer. My DNA almost drowned in its gene pool.

Why is electricity so dangerous?
…Because it doesn’t know how to conduct itself properly!

What do you think of the new restaurant on the moon?
…Oh, food’s great, but there’s no atmosphere.

What did the rock say to the geologist?
…Don’t take me for granite! 

Stand Back! …I’m doing SCIENCE.

I found a FANTASTIC article over on Wired that really encompasses a lot of philosophy behind hands-on science centers and what we try to teach!

Check it out —> HERE!

(If you’re not much of a reader [SPOILER ALERT!], it basically looks at a shirt [found below] that says “Stand Back I’m Going to try Science.” Which at first glance is funny, but really just furthers the stereotype that science is only for SCIENTISTS. What we want to teach both young and old is that science is for EVERYONE. Granted, yes, we need specialization in the world, but it’s important that we all appreciate and understand basic science principles.)

Anyway, I thought it was a fantastic little article and definitely worth the few minutes to read!

Enjoy!

-Jacie

Image Courtesy of Wired.com

Gummy Worm Dissections!

As I was searching around for fun biology activities to post to our Pinterest, I remembered the interest I had at ASTC telling others about gummy worm dissections.

Have little ones who aren’t quite up to REAL dissections yet? Worried about giving a pre-K student a scalpel?

Why not try a simpler way to introduce the younger audience to the wonderful world of dissections!

Gummy worm dissections are simple, fun, and always a “treat”!

Use clean Styrofoam trays or other recyclable containers of your choice. (We use Styrofoam so we can still use t-pins like the “big kid” dissectors!) Once you have your worm on your tray, encourage the children to draw, count, describe, etc. the worm.

Image Courtesy of Melissa Stallings Photography, Experiment at Port Discovery

Here’s a link to an easy dissection worksheet for those who can write (Or those who can have help writing!). –> Click here!

After you’ve had your chance to examine the worm, open it up! Simple plastic cutlery works great. I would suggest pinning down the worm first for the child before digging in.

Another way to add in the concept of classification is to use other gummy creatures and sour gummy worms. Allow the kids to make up their own scientific names, move the gummy treats around into their classifications, OR if you’re feeling particularly ambitious, look up the Latin words for sweet/sour/etc. and the gummy animals’ names to give them proper Latin scientific names!

After all this work, the kids will obviously want a treat! I would suggest saving extra gummy creatures for the ending treats.

Enjoy your delicious new experiment!
-Jacie

Curiosity as a Learning Outcome

I just came across this article thanks to a colleague on Twitter and immediately was intrigued by the title: “Curiosity as a Learning Outcome.”

(Read the full article here.)

What’s interesting to me is how the article, I felt, didn’t really address anything new. It’s something I’ve heard being said in the education field for quite some time. Granted, I understand, I am in a rather UNIQUE field in the education sector which makes me quite privileged to spend my time around people who focus on inquiry and hands-on based learning.

I guess it was technically my first professor in college (an older gentleman with a handlebar moustache who could easily have passed for the Monopoly man, but in Hawaiian floral print shirts) who introduced me to the term “poke-n-puke” in regards to how he viewed most teaching styles. While it may not be glamorous, it most certainly addresses the regurgitation issue in the education field. Many times in school, I felt as if I was simply being fed facts on to try to retain as many as possible with the ability to recall them at a moment’s notice. And I realized at a very young age that this was easy for me. I have an peculiar ability to absorb and retain a large amount of mundane information. But my classmates particularly struggled in this area. It simply caused frustration and a distaste for education.

Now, when we had the opportunity to work with teachers who encouraged us to ask questions and find our own answers? Sure, we worked harder, but the reward was so much greater. AND, I feel like the playing field was more even. Anyone who had the ability to think critically could solve the puzzle. It didn’t take a genius to be the top of the class; it took a problem solver. This approach showed students that hard work and CURIOSITY could trump those “brainiacs.”

With the rise of standardized testing, we’re once again telling students that those with the queer predisposition for memorization are the “smart” ones, the most successful ones. And I think it’s high time we changed that.

The questions now rise, “How? How do we teach kids to be inquisitive? To approach learning as a process and thrive in it?”

My answer?

Make it fun.

Learn through play. Learn by doing. Let children ask questions. Don’t always give them the answer. GUIDE them to their answers. That second when the lightbulb comes on, their eyes light up… it’s all worth it in that moment. When you allow them to connect the dots, it gives them a sense of accomplishment and pride, a chance to feel “smart.”

I know this post is a bit “rambly” and lacking in cohesiveness, but. BUT, it’s definitely a topic that I feel very strongly about, and what good is a blog if we educators don’t have an opportunity to write about what we’re thinking? 🙂

Keep learning, Keep curious.

-Jacie

Kevin’s Corner: Discoveries in Science – 2011

Happy New Year Everyone,

I was listening to a podcast from the Museum of Science in Boston this morning, and they were counting down the 10 top science stories of 2011.  The education staff at the Museum of Science put together a pretty interesting list which can be found below:

(10).  An artificial trachea is created as a regenerative organ. (9). China limits exports of Rare Earth metals used in electronics. (8). Intel begins production on 3D transistors to make smaller, faster computers and electronics. (7).  Australopithecus sediba is discovered & said to be a 2 million year old ancestor of humans. (6).  Nano medicine is created that can be injected into the skin and used to detect glucose levels. (5).  Upheaval over Fracking (using water to pump natural gas out of the Earth) (4). Steve Job’s passing (3). Record Breaking Tornado Season–750 tornadoes in April alone (2). Atlantis, the space program’s last shuttle mission (1). Japan has the largest earthquake in history.

Listen to the podcast here–> Click here.

The Museum of Science’s list got me thinking it would be fun to create a list of scientific breakthroughs and discoveries of my own…so, here it goes!

Kevin’s Notable Scientific Discoveries of 2011

(5). Mayan City discovered Modern technology meets archaeology as scientists discover a 2000 year old Mayan city in Guatemala.  Archaeologists used GPS and 3D mapping technology to discover over 100 buildings that had been covered by hundreds of years of dirt and jungle growth.  Some of these buildings could date back to 600 BC!  More information here –>Click Here.

(4).The Human Population reaches 7 billion Our population is growing faster than ever before and could reach 9.3 billion by 2050!

(3). Animal Emotions While Scientists have long known that dogs, rats, and even birds can express emotions such as depression, new discoveries have revealed the first invertebrate to exhibit the emotion pessimism.  The research shows that honey bees, and more than likely other insects as well, exhibit a pessimistic emotion similar to depression in humans and other animals.  This shows that insects have more in common with us than we ever thought!  Read more about it here–>Click Here.

(2). Cyclops Shark Thats right! A one-eyed shark fetus was found in the belly of a normal female dusky shark in the Gulf of California.  The fetus was 22 inches long, albino, and had one eye right in the middle of its head!  The fetus was the only one with one eye inside the belly of its mother.  Read more here–>Click Here.

Photo Courtesy of http://news.discovery.com/animals/cyclops-shark-111018.html

(1).Earth Like Planet Found Called Kepler 22b, it would take over 300,000 years to get there with our fastest jet, or 600 years traveling at the speed of light.  Scientists believe the planet could support life because it is a similar distance away from its star as the Earth is to the Sun.  The planet could also have water, which means it could support all forms of life!  Read about it here–>Click Here.

Hope you enjoyed my count down of last years notable scientific discoveries.  Looking forward to the discoveries we will witness in 2012!

Keep exploring!!

-Kevin