Science Fairs & Science Family Nights  LBUSD Elementary Science Specialists Shelley Fernald and Rauline Boland shared their expertise and insights with us. Family Science Night events can be a great way to build community and increase student (and family) involvement and enjoyment of science. Science Fairs are a great way to engage students in doing science. Either way, start with small steps and slowly build to a larger event. Handouts for the evening included a timeline for helping students navigate the science fair project.

FINGER PRINTS Arches, whorls or loops -- what kind of prints do you have? Students examined their own prints and then lifted prints off of plastic surfaces.

LIP PRINTS  Like fingerprints, lip prints are unique.  The study of lip prints is called cheiloscopy.  The use of lip prints in criminal cases is limited because the credibility of lip prints has not been firmly established in our courts.

Panelists talked about the benefits of having a portfolio with you during the interview (and recommendations about how to use it to your advantage), professionalism and the importance of being prepared for the interview (know about the school and community - do your research!). Help with writing resumes, cover letters and interviews is provided by Judi Walker in the Education Career Services office at CSULB.

A great big thanks to our panelists!

Ruth Ashley - Long Beach Unified Human Resources
Roberta Berg - Principal, Pioneer High School - Whittier Union High School District
Jeff Orlinsky - Science Department Chair, Warren High School - Downey Unified School District
Jeannie Reynolds - Principal Birney Elementary School -Long Beach Unified School District
Judi Walker - Director Education Career Services, CSULB

We were pleased to have the Future Math Teachers Association join us for the event. A couple of Cerritos College's TS3P Scholars were with us as well. We hope they will join us again for future AFSE events.

Carlo Cayetano shared a few websites (see below) with us before leading an activity on meteorites.  Linking language arts and science, Meteorite Mysteries activity requires students to describe the inside of a chocolate bar without using any food words. This helps with scientific writing as well as helping students become better at describing what they see. Our presenters brought a copy of the entire Meteorite unit for each of us. You can get your own copy on-line.

Deep Space Network - This series of satellites, antennae and speakers allows NASA to be in constant contact with their various space craft. Using an umbrella and the beeper on a watch we were able to model the parabolic dishes sending out their signals to the depths of space. Using the top portion of a 3-liter pop bottle you can make "dishes" for your ears! Art Hammon took us outside and showed us how to do this activity. Directions and background information can be found on the back of the poster he provided.

Useful Websites:
www.nasa.gov
www.jpl.nasa.gov
photojournal.nasa.gov -- find picutres of planets and other JPL images
education.nasa.gov - you can find the meteorite curriculum and all other educationa materials here
svs.gsfc.nasa.gov - science visualization studio, shows some great virtual zooming in and out for places on earth

Here are two of the books we discussed.

Wendy Pfeffer's  Marta's Magnets Publisher  Silver Press  Related Science Topic   Magnetism Plot Synopsis  Marta and her sister Rosa moved to a new neighborhood. Marta collects things, including magnets. Rosa thinks Marta's collections are "junk". Marta uses her collection of magnets to "attract" new friends and save the day by retrieving a key ring lost by a skeptical child. Marta’s magnets stuck to different metals, but not all metals. They also stuck through water. Specific Connecting Points to Science in Story Some things are attracted to magnets and some aren't. Magnets don’t attract everything. Not all metals are attracted to magnets. Magnets work when surrounded by water. Not all magnets have the same magnetic force. Science occurs in the real world - good example of applications of science

Frank Asch   Bear's Shadow Publisher Scholastic  Related Science Topic  Light & Shadows Plot Synopsis Bear goes fishing, his shadow scares away the fish.  Bear decides to find a way to get rid of his shadow.  He tries to hide it, bury it, run away from it, and nail it down.  After taking a nap he goes back out to fish. The sun is still out, but at a different place.  Bear reasons with his shadow - if you let me catch a fish I will let you catch one too.  Since the sun is in a different place his shadow does not interfere with his fishing and both Bear and his shadow get fish. Specific Connecting Points to Science in Story What causes a shadow. The relationship between light and shadow. How the position of shadow is related to the object and light source.

It's one thing to be able to read fiction, it's quite another to make sense of nonfiction. We looked at explicit strategies to use when reading science books, how to link thinking to reading and how activities and demonstrations can reinforce and clarify what is read.

September 13, 2005 Inquiry Round Robin
CSULB Teaching Associates from Young Scientists Camp shared activies and demos that they did this summer during camp.

Noe Garcia showed us a working model of the human arm. Constructed from paper towel tubes, balloons, rubberbands and tape, the arm shows the muscles and bones of the arm.  Peter LaBarbara helped us build models of the lungs. Using empty water bottles, balloons (or surgical gloves) and straw you can build a working model of the lungs. We were then able to simulate breathing by extending and contracting the diaphragm. What happens to those lungs when you smoke? Vicky Rodriguez showed us the Smoky Joe experiment.

Smoky Joe experiment The “smoke in a bottle” or “smoky joe” really brings to light the effects of smoking to students of all ages.  This demonstration, if allowed at your school, must be done away from the children, if not allowed it can be performed ahead of time away from the school and brought in ready for student viewing.  Materials: -    empty clear water bottle (6oz or smaller)  - cigarettes (if possible no filter) - tape (masking tape works best) - lighter or matches  - white cotton ball (optional) - needle and thread (optional)  Procedure: -    cut slit on cap of water bottle big enough to fit the cigarette - place cigarette in the hole made on the cap with mouth piece toward the inside of the bottle – if cigarette has a filter remove the filter before taping it to the cap - tape the cigarette securely on the outer part of the cap so as to prevent smoke from escaping  - place cap back on bottle – close it tightly - light the cigarette with a lighter or matches - gently squeeze the bottle to simulate breathing - continue squeezing until the cigarette is consumed - OPTIONAL  - moisten a white cotton ball - with needle and thread, sew a 4.5 inch thread through the cotton – this will help pull out the cotton at the end of the demonstration  - place the cap with cigarette tightly on the bottle while allowing a portion of the thread to hang out of the bottle  - light the cigarette with a lighter or matches - gently squeeze the bottle to simulate breathing - continue squeezing until the cigarette is consumed This demonstration is very powerful with junior and high school students.  Most often there is no need to remove the cotton ball because the smoke in the bottle is effective enough.  The cotton ball serves to demonstrate how tar attaches itself to the lungs but most student are “blown away” by the amount of smoke in the bottle – representing the smoke that remains in the lungs.

Jill Grace led us through an activity where we had to come up with ways to find out if the Fortune Telling Fish actually work. The fish will curl or twist when held in your hand. Does it do that in order to predict the future? What sorts of investigations can we do to find out if the fish really can tell the future? What really makes it work? You can order the fish at www.teachersource.com. Visit this site and search for "fortune fish" to find out what is really happening!  What a great way to introduce students to inquiry and the nature of science.

The Case of the Missing Camera
     Someone has stolen the classroom digital camera!  We received a ransom note this morning.  I think this ransom note was written by a student in the after school club using one of the ink pens on the teacher's desk.  We are going to use chromatography and try to determine which pen wrote the ransom note. We can then watch to see which students use each pen and make an educated guess about who stole the camera.
Directions on how to do chromatography amd how to set up an experiment.
 

Wendy Ewald led us to an underwater world where mammals, fish and other creatures live. She shared activities and demonstrations completed by the 6th grade campers who studied life at the edge of the sea. The role of blubber in keeping animals warm was made concrete as we were able to submerge our hands into icy cold water with and without blubber protection. Sometimes it's good to have blubber!

Lesson plan for Squid Dissection
Lesson plan for Gyotaku (Fish Painting)
Lesson plan for Blubber Glove