We didn’t have enough wire so we re-used cardboard tubes, empty boxes, egg cartons, and plastic jar lids to create toys called “Galimotos” in the Malawian children’s tradition as recounted in the children’s book, Galimoto by Karen Lynn Williams and illustrated by Catherine Stock. Galimoto means “car” in Chichewa, the national language of Malawi and many, but not all, of our creations were vehicles. The small group of kindergarten and first grade girls drew their designs and then built their own toy to take home in a one hour library sponsored program.
A third grade lesson plan (with additional links) from LEARN NC from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill describes this activity as an “opportunity to engage in creative self-expression by designing and creating wire sculptures.”  It is also an opportunity to understand the iterative practices of engineering—a cycle of ask, imagine, plan, create, improve, ask, imagine….See the Engineering Is Elementary website for more details of this process.
Some of the problems the children had to solve were how to attach wheels, balancing the vehicle to keep it upright, and holding the pieces together. These significant challenges did not discourage the young engineers who tried alternative designs or accepted their work with its limitations.
I’d also like to read Lorato and her Wire Car by Botswanian author Lauri Kubuitsile. It won the Golden Baobab Prize Best Story for ages 8-11 years in 2009. It is published by Vivlia Publishers. Can you think of any other books that tell of children designing and building something out of found materials?
An hour-long program just isn’t enough time to create a toy that works satisfactorily. I hope the children will continue to design and improve, imagine and create, until they are happy with their designs.
Peggy

What’s small and round, made of vulcanized rubber, and kept in the freezer before you play with it? That’s right—a grenade! Or at least that’s what NHL players call a loose puck as it bounces on the ice. This installment of the Science of NHL Hockey, produced by NBC Learn in partnership with NSF and NSTA, explores the crazy collisions of pucks with practically everything in the rink.

Why are pucks frozen? For the same reason the goalie is padded from head to toe—to reduce elasticity and stifle the puck’s reaction during a collision. The less the puck deforms, the less of the pucks’ energy of motion converted to some other form of energy slowing it down, and the colder it is, the faster it’ll scream across the ice.

If your students haven’t yet watched Newton’s Three Laws of Motion, consider showing that one first to refresh students’ memories of why objects move as they do. Then focus in on how the changing force of the stick can cause the puck to gently glide across the ice or shoot towards the net at speeds of 90 mph (about 150 kph) or more!

—Judy Elgin Jensen

Image courtesy of Kim Faires

Video: In “Force, Impulse & Collisions,” NSF experts explain the motion of the puck as it careens around the rink.

Middle school lesson: In this lesson, students will relate impulse and momentum and explore elastic and inelastic collisions.

High school lesson: In this lesson, students will explore impulses and investigate momentum and energy transfer in elastic and inelastic collisions.

You can use the following form to e-mail us edited versions of the lesson plans:

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My principal just asked me to be the science department chair for next year. I’d like to change the format of our professional development (PD) days and the once-a-month afterschool meetings to do some PD or other departmental projects.
—Melanie, Indiana
We teachers complain we have no opportunity to collaborate, yet if we’re not careful, faculty meetings become gripe and gossip sessions. I once worked with a chairperson who began each meeting with “I don’t have anything to talk about, but the contract says we have to be here until 4:30.” He would read some announcements aloud and then grade papers. Needless to say, not much was accomplished during those meetings, and he did not last long in that position. I’m glad to hear you want to facilitate something more productive.
For your monthly meetings, you can send out an agenda a few days in advance with a copy to the principal. The agenda should reflect issues of importance to science teachers or the district (e.g., safety, grading policies, instructional strategies, technology, inventories, parent communications, and assessments). Use e-mail or an attachment to the agenda to communicate information items so the meeting time can be spent more productively. Rather than a bulleted list of items to address, phrase them as questions for your colleagues to discuss. For example, instead of “Safety,” ask, “What do you do to ensure students work safely in your lab?” Set aside a few minutes to recognize new issues or other concerns. Celebrate any successes or accomplishments, too, and some munchies might be appreciated at the end of a long day.

I know of some schools where the teachers hold book groups at faculty meetings. If this would not work with your time constraints, you could distribute journal articles (such as those in NSTA’s publications) or video segments ahead of time for discussion during the meetings. Initially, you might have to prepare some conversation-starters. Perhaps teachers will eventually suggest articles or topics of interest.
You could also rotate the location of the meetings, asking a different teacher each month to “host” the meeting in his/her lab. The host would describe some of the student activities, and the other teachers have a chance to learn more about what happens in other classrooms. It might be possible to have a combined meeting with another department to discuss common interests or questions.
Occasionally, you could set up a virtual meeting using Skype (or a similar program) to interact with a scientist, museum curator, or other resource person.
I once worked with a social studies department chairperson who came up with an effective PD project. After getting administration approval, he arranged for the teachers to tour a historic site during the summer. The teachers rented a van and traveled together. A docent gave them a comprehensive behind-the-scenes tour, and they had the opportunity to handle and examine some artifacts and documents up close, with the guidance and insights of a professional curator/historian. They had lunch in a historic tavern, took lots of pictures, and during the ride home discussed how what they learned applied to their teaching. Each teacher submitted a written summary of the day. The teachers did this on their own time and at their own expense, and in return, they were excused from a PD day in October. It was a win-win situation: the teachers had a content-focused learning day, there was no expense for the district, and the teachers had a “day off” during the school year. This became a model for other departments: I once spent a day studying plate tectonics with colleagues at a natural history museum and another day with the state fish commission as they studied fish populations.
As a new chairperson, you may encounter some resistance from teachers used to the status quo. Being expected to participate in discussions or group activities may take some getting used to on their part. If meetings in previous years were seen as a waste of time, you may have to be persistent to let people know that things are going to be different.
Perhaps our colleagues would like to share comments about their challenges and successes as department chairs. Good luck!
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dsbrennan/4222955364/

The Eco-Wind Generator is a fun little gadget that middle to high school age students can put together relatively easily and get a decent amount of qualitative data about its performance. It has the ability to be used in inquiry and engineering projects for several different science topics. This may be a good option for a project for a group or partners. I had an eighth-grade student put the wind generator together following the instructions, without any assistance. The student was able to put it together with ease in about 20 minutes (it may take longer for students who are not proficient at reading instructions or have little building experience). The light attached to the motor is a good way for students to qualitatively see how well their generator is functioning, though using a multimeter will show the data more quantitatively. The generator is open for engineering inquiry, with the ability for students to create their own blades (changing shapes, materials, etc) to see how those change the intensity of the light and/or the voltage. In addition, it can be used to demonstrate other topics (according to the idea section of the instructions), though those may depend on students’ welding skills. Students must be very specific in their placement of the motor and the creation of the blades, otherwise the generator will not work correctly. Small misplacements can cause the blades to hit the base. If students have already hot glued it incorrectly, they can damage the top of the base when trying to remove the motor to re-glue it. The blades can also be bent in the wrong way irreparably, though card stock paper can be used to replace the blades. Using materials other than hot glue, tape for example, will not work. The structure will not be stable and will have a tendency to lean since the motor is heavy. You also have to be sure to put on enough hot glue to ensure stability. Be careful when using the hot glue gun, however, that you don’t r uin the sleek design of the generator. Hot glue can leave little “spider web trails” everywhere, which can reduce the generator’s efficiency if the “trails” get on the moving parts of the motor. This product is easy to use and would work well with a class of students (about two students per kit) as a building project. Students should be able to build this kit with minimal oversight if they take care during building and review the instructions before beginning construction. To make the kit even more useful to the classroom teacher, it would have been nice if Pitsco had included some basic information about how the motor functions, the difference between voltage and amperage, and a list of resources related to wind-generated power. Lesson plans are available at http://shop.pitsco.com/activities/ section.aspx?CategoryID=70.

In years past, science teachers toiled with old-fashioned rocket construction projects and cringed at the idea of students burning their fingers upon the ignition of the burning engines. Subsequently, today’s science teachers are looking for safe and efficient ways to demonstrate rocket propulsion. As a possible solution for today’s teachers, the Aquapod from Great American Products presents teachers with a device that demonstrates rocket propulsion using the apparatus, a bicycle pump, water, and an empty two-liter bottle.
The two-liter bottle works like a balloon in that air injected from the bicycle pump pressurizes the bottle. Once the bottle is pressurized, a string is pulled to release the bottle from the launch platform. As air leaves the bottle, a force accompanied by an equal-and-opposite reaction force (Newton’s third law of motion) propels the rocket in the air. Hence, increasing the pressure inside the bottle creates increased thrust since the air inside the bottle escapes rapidly (Newton’s second law of motion). Also, adding water to the bottle (1/3 of the bottle) increases the action force. This is because the water is ejected from the bottle before the air, which makes the rocket propel nearly 100 feet if the conditions are right.
Included with the Aquapod are written maintenance and operating instructions that will help maximize the life and safe use of the rocket launcher. As a suggestion, make sure that you read these instructions for a successful launch. Undoubtedly, it is important to adhere to the instructions (e.g., “Fill the bottle to be launched with water to about 1/3 its capacity”). Otherwise, the rocket will not soar anywhere near the advertised altitude of 100 feet. In addition, we found that the tire pump that was used needed to be pumped at least 15 times to maximize the pressure to arm the rocket. The device appears reliable and is durable. If used properly, it should provide exciting demonstrations of force and motion for several years.

Is this your first look at the Science of NHL Hockey? Welcome! This installment focuses on Newton’s laws of motion. It’s just one of series of ten video-lesson plan packages developed by NBC Learn in partnership with NSF and NSTA.

What’s your fall-back position for helping students visualize Newton’s laws? Looking for something punchy that will really grab students’ attention? Give this lesson package a try. Colliding hockey players and pucks sailing across the ice give students a new way to look at how Newton’s laws govern the motion of everything!

Consider showing the Science of NHL Hockey video Kinematics as a “bell-ringer” activity to remind students of the basic components of motion. Then delve into Newton’s Three Laws of Motion, where the action will bring Newton’s laws to life.

—Judy Elgin Jensen

Image courtesy of Clyde Caplan

Video: In “Newton’s Three Laws of Motion,” NHL players sprint down the ice and crash into one another while scientists explain how Newton’s laws tell you exactly what is happening.

Middle school lesson: In this lesson, students use a Newton’s cradle, hockey pucks, and more to construct their own demonstrations of Newton’s laws of motion.

High school lesson: In this lesson, students use skateboards and other materials to develop their own demonstrations of Newton’s laws of motions.

You can use the following form to e-mail us edited versions of the lesson plans:

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Although it’s snowing on this April day in the Northeast, I suspect that many students (and teachers) are thinking of the summer break. But as the theme of this issue suggests, students will keep on learning. How can we as teachers build on their experiences when they return from a break? How can we encourage them to take advantages of learning opportunities in their neighborhoods and communities?
If you’re thinking of what to do in a summer program, Slithering Into Summer has ideas for helping students to explore reptiles and amphibians. [SciLinks: Amphibians, Reptiles] I could see also this being adapted for a teacher professional development project, such as the one described in Bayou-tiful Data. The author describes how her summer experience led to the creation of similar learning opportunities for her students to investigate water quality. Just Me and You—And a Whole Community Down by the Stream has ideas for starting a science club and engaging the students in studies of nearby habitats. [SciLinks: Water Quality, Wetlands]
A teacher summer institute that also includes a summer camp for students sounds like a win-win program. The authors of Is Your Soil Sick? describe how teachers and students collaborated on an investigation of soil quality. Learning and getting dirty—sounds like a good combination. [SciLinks: Soil, Soil Types]
Summer Science has more suggestions for family involvement, particularly for younger students. And get out the sunblock for Solar Energy: Fun in the Sunas you read about solar activities at a camp for junior naturalists, especially building and cooking in solar ovens. [SciLinks: Alternative Energy Resources]
The title Studying Zooarchaeology brought back memories of a student who was really interested in word origins. He would probably have figured out that this is about the study of animals remains such as bones, shells, or teeth found in archeological digs. The investigation describe here focuses on observing artifacts and making inferences about their history. [SciLinks: Animal Bones]
I’ve always admired those who keep journals that are more than dates and events. Notebooking Like a Naturalist has ideas for using trade books and modeling for young naturalists interested in this lifelong process. As an alternative to sending home find-a-word puzzles or coloring pages, take a look at the four enrichment activities and photos in A Traveler’s Guide to the Universe. Students and their families or friends can do these together under starry skies with a pair of binoculars. [SciLinks: Stars, Moon Phases, Constellations]
Birdwatching, sports events, wildlife viewing, and stargazing are popular vacation activities. How Do Binoculars Work? has a brief primer on the principles of optics that bring objects up close and personal. I’ve visited many national, state, and local parks that have a lending program for visitors—a nice way for families who can’t afford (or forgot to bring) equipment. [SciLinks: Lenses]
Many of these articles have extensive resources to share, so check out the Connections for this issue (April/May 2012). Even if the article does not quite fit with your lesson agenda, there are ideas for handouts, background information sheets, data sheets, rubrics, and other resources.