USGS Kids

I just discovered the U.S. Geological Survey Kids Site. It has everything from coloring and connect-the-dot pages to mazes and crossword puzzles for elementary age children. Check it out. http://education.usgs.gov/kids/index.html
For older children and teachers, this link has teaching points, activities and science lesson plans for elementary, secondary, and undergraduate students. http://education.usgs.gov/primary.html

Lots of things to intrigue and spark curiosity.

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

Awesome Sunglasses!

Summer's coming! More than ever, you need clarity and high resolution when summer sunlight glints off water and windshields. Recently, I was excited to see Giro and Zeiss have collaborated on some truly awesome sunglasses for professional athletes and the rest of us too. Check out the science that goes into creating truly superior optics for sunglasses. http://www.thefutureschannel.com/dockets/science_technology/science_and_sunglasses/ 

Check Out the Kavli Science Video Contest

Enter the Kavli Science Video contest! Students (Grades 6-12) compete to win $2000 (first prize) and a travel award to Washington DC to attend the 2nd Annual USA Science & Engineering Festival. Winners will be honored in an awards ceremony, hosted by Bill Nye, at the festival.
The contest theme is "Save the World through Science and Engineering."  Students create a very short video (30-90 seconds) showing how science/inventions improve lives and change the world, now or in the future. Enter by Mar. 21, 2012.
http://www.usasciencefestival.org/2012festival/contests/kavli-video-cont
est

Go Science!