Cool Experiments with your Food!

Try this out - you need to watch a Youtube video to see how to make your milk come alive....

the science of candy

How to make science irresistable??? Well, it should be anyway, but a little sugar seems to help :-)

Making Candy

Science for kids

Science is great because it helps you make sense of the world around you - it is a way to unravel mysteries [without switching off your brain and turning to ancient superstitions].
For example, how did life start on Earth? Did meteors have something to do with it perhaps?

http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org

Why would we turn to bronze age, pre-scientific, explanations of our world when we know so much more now?

Forests of Life

Forests of Life is a NZ website dedicated to the collaborative learning of students teachers and scientists in relation to forests and the issue of sustainability.
Check it out...

Evolution

Some of you don't believe in evolutionary theory. I do. In fact my degree was strongly based around understanding religion and natural sciences like biology, geology, paleontology, etc.
Here is a cool image that someone has developed using d.n.a. evidence of one of our nearest ancestors - the neanderthal.
Do you believe....?

Science Fair

Science Fair is fun!
Well - it should be anyway.
You will all complete an observational drawing in class.
You may do the photography as anoptional extra - this could be in place of the wallchart.
You must do a wallk chart explaining how a "home appliance" works, unless you do photography or one of the other more tricky categories.
If you want to avoid the wallchart category in favour of an investigation or technological innovation, you MUST follow the instructions and seek advice from me. I strongly recommend that you think carefully before attempting this option with the time that is remaining to you. A detailed, dated log book is essential.
We have discussed it all at length. You have written instructions.
You must bring your completed work to school on the first Monday to show me BEFORE you glue anything onto your A2 coloured presentation paper.
It is COMPULSORY.

Aliens are real ... or not

HAve you seen an alien? I haven't. Well, at least, I don't think so.
My friend Deeknow just alerted me, by chance, to the fact that E.T. Spotters have come up with taxonomies of Aliens. [-Remember I mentioned taxonomy and taxonomical sciencey stuff in class today - do you remember what it is? No? Use a dictionary then.]
So, he mentioned "greys" adn I wondered, what doe she mean. I "Googled" it and discovered that various folk have indeed come up with their own taxonomies of aliens. Fair enough I thought. Maybe some of the little twerps in my class would find this interesting. SO, here it is... [sorry for calling you twerps]

"Huyghe [the guy who wrote a book about classifying aliens] states his classification doesn't pretend to be scientific but is based solely on how the aliens looked to the human observer, i.e., their phenotype. Huyghe has been able to distinguish four separate classes with several types within each class. The largest class, as one might expect, is the humanoids with five sub-types: nordics, short grays, short non-grays, giants, and nonclassics. Under the animalian category are also five types: mammalian, reptilian, amphibian, insectoid, and avian. Under robotic we find two types: the metallic and the fleshy. And in the fourth category, the exotic, we have again two types: the physical and the apparitional (ghostlike creatures)."

So, which type do you think this is...?

And what does taxonomy mean? When might a scientist use it?

Great science lesson Mr Abrahams!

Mr Abraham's cool science lesson.

Mr WOody wanted to know where the bubbles come from when something boils.

Mr Abraham's designed a an experiment and discussion to help us find out. [Great Teaching Mr Abrahams!]

I found the discussion soooo fascinating and learnt heaps. [by the way - is it "learned" or "learnt"?]

What is our solar system mostly made of?

Where is most of the matter in our solar system 'stored'?

What are the units of matter that we can name?

[...are these questions very high up in Bloom's Taxonomy?]

Explain where the bubbles come from when something boils?

Imagine what it is like on other planets... or inside a molecule...

upcoming science lessons

These links are to science lessons we will be doing in class :-)
They should either help you develop concepts relevant to our imminent science fair, or be of interest to those of you with a scientific mind, or more specifically with an interest in 'space'...
Oh, and there's one relating to P.E. and fitness testing.

material properties - plastics

http://arb.nzcer.org.nz/resources/science/material/5500/mw5674.htm

testing pulse rates:

http://www.tki.org.nz/r/science/science_is/activities/isact_pulse_rates_e.php

ranking environmental problems:

http://www.tki.org.nz/r/science/science_is/activities/isact_env_problems_e.php

using learning objects to understand day and night:

http://www.tki.org.nz/r/science/science_is/activities/isact_day_night_e.php

Using online models to understand the phases of the moon:

http://www.tki.org.nz/r/science/science_is/activities/isact_phases_moon_e.php

Changing theories about Mars:

http://www.tki.org.nz/r/science/science_is/activities/isact_theories_mars_e.php

how science ideas change over time:

http://www.tki.org.nz/r/science/science_is/activities/isact_ideas_change_e.php

types of scientific investigations:

http://www.tki.org.nz/r/science/science_is/teaching_science/types_investigation_e.php

Plus some quizes that may interest you.

science is for everyone - even our rats can do it

Do you think you don't have what it takes to become a scientist? well you're wrong!

read on...

Life lessons in science

What is the one thing everyone should learn about science? Spiked asked 250 scientists - here we bring you some of the most provocative responses

Seth Lloyd Professor of mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

You do not have to be a scientist to do science; you can be a child, a computer, or an intelligent rat. As long as you can verify a result, it is part of science.

more here

Antony Hoare Senior researcher at Microsoft Corporation

I would teach the world that scientists start by trying very hard to disprove what they hope is true. When they fail, they have a good reason for believing what they hope is true, and can even convince others of its truth. A scientist always acknowledges the possibility of error, and is less likely to be mistaken than one who always claims to be right.

and specially for Marshall...

Peggy Lemaux Cooperative extension specialist in plant biotechnology at the University of California at Berkeley

I would nominate the basic formula for photosynthesis: CO2 + H2O + sunlight/chlorophyll —> O2 + C6H12O6. Why is this so important? Because without this chemistry, life on earth would not be possible.

and remember this site plus a few others to try...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/science/

space related stuff:
http://www.teachnet.ie/torourke/2005/
http://www.callunafineflowers.com/memorial_middle_school/arewealone/index.htm

Digital Learning Objects

Hello official research monkeys [that means students in Room5 who used the digital learning objects and were recorded by Annick and Rob] - can you please make statements here about your experience with the cartown digital learning object? I would like to know if it was fun, engaging, whether or not you used it properly, or just rushed through trying to answer things so you could get to the next stage, etc. Did it help you learn anything? Was it useful in relation to your inquiry studies about Hamilton? How did you enjoy working in pairs?
Please be honest so i can learn from your experience.
The more detailed your answer, the better.
regards,
Mr WOody - research monkey manager

p.s. the primate shown is a bonobo. bonobos are a type of chimpanzee and are apes, not monkeys. there is a difference and as scientists we need to be clear about our distinctions between different groups when making classifications. [put your hand up if you understood what i just said]

The MechBoy Initiative

Mech Boy has inspired me to post an assignment for you:

List here in the comments a person you think has been the most influential in terms of advancing human knowledge and technology. Please also say what they are noteworthy for and why you think it is so important. Justify your opinion.

More tasks later - let's see who we come up with first...

Here's a little help from a person on the net...
http://www.dlmark.net/hundred.htm

The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History
Revised and Updated for the Nineties
by Michael H. Hart

Mr. Hart's very interesting book contains biographies of all the following people, ranked in order from most influential to less influential, along with the author's reasons for so ranking them. The book is available at most bookstores and libraries.

The links will take you to a site on the Web about the person named
(not to a chapter in the book).

• Muhammad • Isaac Newton • Jesus Christ • Buddha • Confucius • St. Paul • Ts'ai Lun • Johann Gutenberg • Christopher Columbus • Albert Einstein • Louis Pasteur • Galileo Galilei • Aristotle • Euclid • Moses • Charles Darwin • Shih Huang Ti • Augustus Caesar • Nicolaus Copernicus • Antoine Laurent Lavoisier • Constantine the Great • James Watt • Michael Faraday • James Clerk Maxwell • Martin Luther • George Washington • Karl Marx • Orville and Wilbur Wright • Genghis Kahn • Adam Smith • Edward de Vere • John Dalton • Alexander the Great • Napoleon Bonaparte • Thomas Edison • Antony van Leeuwenhoek • William T.G. Morton • Guglielmo Marconi • Adolf Hitler • Plato • Oliver Cromwell • Alexander Graham Bell • Alexander Fleming • John Locke • Ludwig van Beethoven • Werner Heisenberg • Louis Daguerre • Simon Bolivar • Rene Descartes • Michelangelo • Pope Urban II • 'Umar ibn al-Khattab • Asoka • St. Augustine • William Harvey • Ernest Rutherford • John Calvin • Gregor Mendel • Max Planck • Joseph Lister • Nikolaus August Otto • Francisco Pizarro • Hernando Cortes • Thomas Jefferson • Queen Isabella I • Joseph Stalin • Julius Caesar • William the Conqueror • Sigmund Freud • Edward Jenner • Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen • Johann Sebastian Bach • Lao Tzu • Voltaire • Johannes Kepler • Enrico Fermi • Leonhard Euler • Jean-Jacques Rousseau • Nicoli Machiavelli • Thomas Malthus • John F. Kennedy • Gregory Pincus • Mani • Lenin • Sui Wen Ti • Vasco da Gama • Cyrus the Great • Peter the Great • Mao Zedong • Francis Bacon • Henry Ford • Mencius • Zoroaster • Queen Elizabeth I • Mikhail Gorbachev • Menes • Charlemagne • Homer • Justinian I • Mahavira •

Runner-ups:

• St. Thomas Aquinas • Archimedes • Charles Babbage • Cheops • Marie Curie • Benjamin Franklin • Mohandas Gandhi • Abraham Lincoln • Ferdinand Magellan • Leonardo da Vinci •

Biographies and other information about many of these people and their works may be found at Access Foundation's Encyclopedia Britannica's Great Books site.

blue, brown, what about green?

brown... green? hazel. . .blue
what colour are your eyes and are you related to "everyone"?

http://www.tv3.co.nz/News/Blueeyedpeoplelikelydescendedfromoneperson/tabid/209/articleID/45684/Default.aspx?ArticleID=45684