January 2010

Science geek resources

January 29, 2010

Here’s a list o’ lists, a compilation of compilations, all sorts of science geek resources that you might find helpful! First, here’s a list of blogs about women and science (mine made the list, woo-hoo!).  This is a nice little list with descriptions of each of the blogs and their perspective (from Under the Microscope, [...]

Read the full article →

Why does your hand look dry underwater?

January 25, 2010

Stick your hand in water and pull it out. You can tell that it’s wet, it “looks” wet. But then try this. Stick your hand underwater and look at it while it’s still underwater.   It doesn’t really look wet. And even more striking — Look at your wet hand in a mirror.  Now plunge your [...]

Read the full article →

The science of the winter olympics

January 15, 2010

NBC Learn has a bunch of free online educational videos, such as word roots and documentaries.  Now, with the NSF, they also have a set of videos all about the winter olympic games!  The science of snowboarding, hockey, figure skating, and more!  I took a look and was favorably impressed — they’re about 5 minutes [...]

Read the full article →

Hands-on class activities on the cell

January 12, 2010

Looking for some activities to jazz up your class lecture on the cell and biology?  Here are a few hands-on teaching activities for middle school or high school: Here are some cool cells to look at under a microscope: Cheek cells Onion cells Thin smears of ripe versus green banana, stained lightly with iodine.  Says [...]

Read the full article →

How a scientist becomes a freelance science writer

January 5, 2010

I recently wrote an article for the National Association of Science Writers, on my career path to becoming a freelance science educator and writer.  It’s on the members-only part of the site here, but dear readers, I give it to you here to enjoy!  A big thanks to Cathy Dold for asking me to write [...]

Read the full article →

How do I teach about climate change?

January 2, 2010

It seems to be in vogue to teach about climate change.  Thank god.  I mean, is there anything else more confusing nowadays?  Teaching students just to wade through the puddles of mud being slung across party lines is a message in media digestion in itself! Luckily there are many resources being developed to help educators [...]

Read the full article →