Last night I watched the new science program Cosmos (a reboot of the popular show with Carl Sagan from 20 years ago). Now hosted by Neil Degrasse Tyson, Ph.D., this Cosmos episode centered around planetary paths and how early scientists figured out the effects of gravity on planetary motion including Haley's Comet.
The mathematics and conclusions involved were amazing given the medieval times in scientific history and the squabbling astronomers involved.
Fast forward to today and we have a fantastic resource available for studying exoplanets and their details. The Exoplanet Data Explorer is an interactive table and plotter for exploring and displaying data from the Exoplanet Orbit Database. The Exoplanet Orbit Database is a compilation of quality, spectroscopic orbital parameters of exoplanets orbiting normal stars from the peer-reviewed literature, and updates the Catalog of nearby exoplanets. Right now there are 5,195 planets recorded in the data base. Check it out and let me know your favorite planets! Go science!
When I was in school, having a film during class was a treat. Usually it was because the regular teacher was out, but sometimes films were used to augment curriculum.
These days, videos are a staple in our culture. YouTube has experienced logarithmic growth. Teaching methods also use video more as science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) concepts especially benefit from video. Videos are able to show an experiment that would take too long in one class period or are too dangerous to demonstrate.
I love the University of Nottingham videos on each of the elements in the Periodic Table. They are fun and offer examples of each element, their uses, and often a reaction. I also enjoy the Symphony of Science videos like "We Are Star Dust" by Neil DeGrasse Tyson that I've pinned with many other educational videos to my Cool Science Videos Pinterest board. Check it out and share some of your favorites.
If you're a teacher, I have Pinterest boards for Science Education, Science and Nature, Space and NASA, Robots, and Architecture and Design, to name a few. I use Pinterest as an online, visual filing system for cool websites, articles, concepts, and images. Stop by if you are exploring Pinterest and say hello.
Go science!
Have you seen the Symphony of Science website? It is awesome! Science and music combine to offer scientific knowledge in a novel way via music clips and re-mixed scientists.
My favorite so far is We Are Star Dust. The tune is catchy. I'm humming it now. It's also a great tool for teachers to jazz up chemistry, biology and physics lessons.
In addition, the Symphony of Science project offers presentations on dinosaurs, Mars, space, reality, ancient/native peoples, and the environment among others.
