Science in the Wild West

Summertime offers time to visit family, friends and places you might have only read about. Recently I ran across a PBS series hosted by Alan Alda on science of the western United States. 

In "The Wild West," Alda rounds up science stories with a distinctly western flair, including scorpions and rattlesnakes, tales told by bones, a search for diamonds, a cowgirl's use of physics to throw a better lasso and a visit to Biosphere 2 (Arizona) to learn about the seven biomes.

The best thing about the series is that they include classroom curriculum tie-ins and resources. It offers a treasure trove of history, science, and social studies activities. 

Not only is the series fun and entertaining, but you get to learn a lot about my part of the country. Go science! 

Hunting the Elements

Did you catch the NOVA Science program Hunting the Elements last week? I learned that calcium is really a silver-colored metal. Who knew? It combines with phosphate in bone and carbonate in sea shells to get that familiar white color. If you want to see metallic calcium as well as calcium in different compounds, check out this University of Nottingham video on calcium. http://www.periodicvideos.com/videos/020.htm
And for more little known facts on elements, check out the Hunting the Elements PBS link. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/hunting-elements.html
There is also a "Name That Element" game to test your chemistry knowledge. A different question is posted every day. Try it! http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/name-that-element.html