Welcome to Science!
June 03, 2012
Science doesn't end on the last day of school! Be sure to stop by this site over the summer. There will be Summer Lesson Links posted on the left side of this page for you to enjoy.
Have a fun, safe, and science-filled summer!

What's New...
Everyone has a blind spot - see if you can find yours!
Thank you for this link Sophie P., and for your wonderful presentation!
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/chvision.html

Check out the "bunny-cam"! The camera is in the back yard of one of our 5th grade students. Thanks for your link Xander P!
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/zuultv

Really Cool...Timeline of the Universe
http://www.johnkyrk.com/evolution.html

Absolutely Incredible!
Click the link below for REAL footage of Saturn from space. It is amazing to watch the forces of our universe in action.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/24/outer-space-saturn-video-cassini-voyager-images_n_1449538.html?ref=science

Are you ready to take an Astronomy Quiz?(It's fun - give it a try!)
http://www.astronomyquiz.info/

Earth Day: Sunday, April 22
Here is an Earth Day cautionary tale for all ages...
The Lorax
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6650219631867189375

My Anatomy, Food Science, and Forestry teams traveled to University of Illinois in Urbana Champaign this past weekend and competed in the state competition for the Science Olympiad program. Two of my three teams medaled, and our school came in 6th place overall!
I am very proud of my SAA State Varsity Team!
Matthew B., Ella E., Ross O.,
Katharine S., and Myra Z.
Congratulations Teams!

Astronomers continue to make us feel very, very small...
"What happens when you take a monster 4.1 meter telescope in the southern hemisphere and point it at the same patch of sky for 55 hours"?
Click here for photo....http://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/publicationjpg/eso1213a.jpg
Click here for article... http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2012/03/23/an-ultradeep-image-thats-full-galaxies/

The Scale of the Universe

(Check it out - very cool!)
http://scaleofuniverse.com/

Cool optical illusion site:
(Thank you for this resource Jacob S!)
http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/

Congratulations to all of SAA's
Science Olympians!

And a special congratulations to my Anatomists, Food Scientists, and Foresters! Great Job Teams!

Mel & Sydney Are Back!
http://sportsmansparadiseonline.com/Oceanside_Barn_Owls.html

You can also check out Roy & Dale on "Great Websites."

Thank you to all of the guest speakers who came in to our classes!

• A chemical engineer taught us about chemistry, and about leaking gas tanks and the remediation technologies used to help clean them up.
• A medical doctor told us what diabetes is and how people who have diabetes are able to treat it.
• An engineer told us about natural gas and the science used to separate out the impurities.
• A chemical engineer described what polymers are, how they are made, and helped us make a cross-linked polymer in class. (Remember Silly Putty?)
• A speech therapist showed us how our vocal cords work.
• A cancer researcher showed us his latest research in the quest to cure cancer at Northwestern.
  
• We learned the latest about renewable energy, including biofuels, wind and solar energy.
• A vascular surgeon came in and showed us how she opens up blocked vessels, and brought in pig hearts for us to dissect.
• A psychologist who works at Northwestern and Rush told us what he does and showed us the "Awareness Test."
• An engineer from Motorola, who works in the room where the first cell phone was created, taught us about electromagnetic waves and how they work in everything from cell phones to TV remotes.
• A parent who works for the EPA came in and showed us how everything that goes down the drain gets in to our waterways. She also showed us how we can keep our water clean.

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 Mark Newman teaches grades 1-4 about alien species invading our Great Lakes.

Great Lakes Presentation

Discovering Science Through Experimentation

and Research!

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Professional Development Notes:

On October 15th I was at IMSA (Illinois Math and Science Academy) and attended the Workforce Summit: How to Prepare Our Workforce For a Global Economy. The keynote speaker was Andreas Schleicher, Special Advisor on Education Policy and consultant to US Education Secretary Arne Duncan. Mr. Schleicher’s analysis on how the US is progressing academically compared to countries like China, South Korea, and Finland, was very informative. According to Mr. Schleicher, education is the new global currency.

I believe that the speed of technological growth is adding to the educational gap in our country. Now more than ever it is vital that our children keep up with these skills. I strive to implement technology in my classroom as much as I can. All of my students have been learning how to use, or better utilize, PowerPoint. This program not only gets students interacting with current technology, it also saves paper! I offer interactive lessons and provide a variety of educational media on my website. And this year we will be working on getting guest speakers to Skype in to our classroom.