International Observe the Moon night

Okay, vacations and summer heat behind us, it's time to get back to science. In this case, space science that anyone, any age, can do - moon observations.

The October 20, 2018 event is the International Observe the Moon Night. This worldwide focus on lunar science and exploration, held since 2010 takes place in Sept. or Oct. annually.

It's a chance to learn about our most observed neighbor and later allow you to offer up lunar factoids at everything from kids' birthday to cocktail parties (well ones where all your space science friends attend). 

This year also marks the 50th year anniversary of Apollo 8 visiting the moon and creates a chance to talk about past, present, and future lunar and planetary science and exploration. Plus, we can celebrate all the scientists/engineers who participated and shared in this tremendous human achievement.

Want to join the fun? Check out NASA's 2018 Moon Maps of how the Moon will appear on International Observe the Moon Night from the northern and southern hemispheres. Go science!

Congrats Peggy Whitson!

As you might remember, I worked at NASA-Johnson Space Center for several years and was privileged to know and work alongside incredibly talented and courageous scientists, engineers, computer scientists and astronauts. One of those was Peggy Whitson who now holds the longest total combined time in space of any human. Peggy is a huge supporter of STEM education and all it offers. Check out this video of her talk with the President about all the opportunities in STEM and what her work means to her. Go science!

Brain Awareness Week

When I did something particularly dumb as a child, my father used to tell me to use my head for "something other than a hat rack"  I loved hats, so it always made me grin. Now that he is gone, I remind myself of his advice on occasion. :)

But lots of people have been using their heads for important educational activities about the brain for many years. In fact, March 2015 marks the 20th year of Brain Awareness Week. And in Little Rock, the Arkansas chapter of the Society for Neuroscience will celebrate this milestone with kid- and teen-friendly activities at the Reynolds Museum of Discovery.

“On Saturday, March 21, the Arkansas Chapter of the Societyfor Neuroscience will celebrate Brain Awareness Week at the Museum of Discovery. From 10 am-3 pm, neuroscience research groups from around the state will host educational activities for children of all ages. Activities including sculpting brains out of Play-Doh, learning neuroanatomy from brain specimens, demonstrations of perceptual illusions, and teaching about operant conditioning.”

So take advantage of this chance to use your head and find out what goes on inside it too! Go science!

Could We Actually Live on Mars?

Many of you know how much I love the videos from asapScience. They answer everything from health questions to life on Mars. For folks who have never heard of them. Check them out on YouTube. If you are like me, you'll be a subscriber too. (asapScience has no idea I endorse them. They are just cool.) I pin a lot of their videos here as well. Go science!

The Fingerprint of Stars

Did you know PhD Comics now does educational videos in a comic book format? They are simple to understand and boil the science down to the essentials. 

The latest PhD video is the Fingerprint of Stars. It describes the makeup, temperature, and light spectrum profile of stars. A little over eight minutes, it is well worth a viewing. Enjoy!

For Middle School Science Teachers

Density tower

Teaching seems to be getting more difficult. Here is something to help.

The National Science Teachers Assoc. (NSTA) and the American Chemical Society invite middle school teachers nationwide to connect to a free webinar on middle school chemistry. Offered on October 4, 2012 by the NSTA Learning Center, this third training in a series will cover basic chemistry concepts on density. Student activities and molecular animations will be usable in the classroom. Spread the word to all the middle school science teachers you know! 

Bats LIVE!

Think bats are cool? Do they amaze you with their flying skills or remind you of the latest vampire movie?

Either way, you are in luck! On September 18, 2012, the U.S. Forest Service is co-sponsoring a live webcast from Bracken Cave near San Antonio, Texas, home of the world’s largest bat colony. The 20 million inhabitants of Bracken Cave consume some 250,000 pounds of insects each night. 

As part of BatsLIVE! a free education program that provides bat information and research, children will get a chance to understand bats better. A teacher webinar on caves and karst is set for Oct. 11, 2012. The programs are free and teachers can register at www.batslive.pwnet.org.

The BatsLive! webinar will help students see millions of the Mexican free-tailed bats take flight from the cave. The webcast also will offer information on these and other bat species, predators that wait for the nightly emergence of the bats, and other threats to bats, including the deadly white-nose syndrome.

Dennis Krusac, a biologist with the Forest Service’s Threatened and Endangered Species program explains, “Bats are primary predators of night-flying insects, consuming enormous quantities of agricultural and forest pests and reducing the need for chemical pesticides.”

Ideas Worth Spreading

I have been following TED.com (stands for technology, entertainment, and design) for several years now. TED offers hundreds of videotaped talks on every topic imaginable. Click on the science category and you'll find experts and entrepreneurs explaining everything from mathematics to monkey behavior to music. New talks appear weekly. Check it out. It's awesome!! www.ted.com 

Here are a couple I found interesting.
Bacteria- http://www.ted.com/talks/bonnie_bassler_on_how_bacteria_communicate.html

Aortic engineering-http://www.ted.com/talks/tal_golesworthy_how_i_repaired_my_own_heart.html