Lab Out Loud®

For several years I’ve turned my students loose with a rather boring video of my speedometer as I traveled around town.

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Lawmakers in Washington and in state governments across the United States have officially labeled earthquake damage as preventable. They have enacted laws that tax citizens for new building strategies. After watching the earthquake disasters unfold in Haiti and Chile, a majority of American citizens are now becoming skeptical of the claim that human actions can prevent the massive amount of damage that mother nature can throw at us. And governments are still not listening to the people.

How did we ever get to a point where bad science drives big government to punish the people for living the American dream that coastlines provide for us?

It all began with a geologist named Harry Hammond Hess. [Read the rest of this entry...]

I know many of you are still fighting for Pluto (let it go, it’s over). You might find tonight’s NOVA special, The Pluto Files on PBS, helpful as you work through your loss. Host Neil deGrasse Tyson (also author of the book The Pluto Files) walks us through Pluto’s story from rise to fall.

Check out the trailer. After tonight’s airing, you can watch the video at the show’s website.

Also at the site is:

• hate-mail from third graders,
• a name your favorite planet contest
• a place to share new ways to remember planet names.

Haven’t had enough, check out the book The Pluto Files.

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Using video clips in the classroom is nothing new – a couple companies have even made a business model for this educational niche.  But Hollywood movies can also have educational value, especially when trying to find errors and discrepancies within them.  To assess some basic properties in matter in my chemistry class, I have been utilizing movie clips for help.

How Dense is Indiana?

When teaching density, I use a clip from Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark [You Tube Clip] whereby Indiana tries to swap a gold idol with an equivalent VOLUME of sand.  Obviously, Indiana gets the mass wrong, as sand and gold have quite different densities.  A similar exercise can be found at Glencoe Science, but I originally got this idea from Chem Matters.

I’m Melting?

Moving on to chemical versus physical change, I get a little help from the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz [You Tube Clip].  In the movie, the witch clearly claims that she is melting.  Using clear evidence in the film, I ask the students to defend if she is really melting, or if she is chemically reacting, sublimating or vaporizing.

Others

Of course, movie clips can be used in many other areas of science (see below).  How do you use movie clips in class?

• Nuking the Fridge
• Blick on Flicks: NSTA
• Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics
• Cringe Worthy Movie Science Mistakes
• Hollywood Blockbusters: Unlimited Fun but Limited Science Literacy
• Science of the Movies

We’ve talked about laboratory safety in the past here at Lab Out loud, but we’ve never put our thoughts to song.

Fortunately, the folks at The Sounds of Science hit the right notes for us.

While reviewing early recommendations for new social studies standards, a review team for the Texas State Board of Education decided to remove Neil Armstrong from the ‘science strand’ of their fifth grade social studies textbook.

Their reasoning? Armstrong wasn’t a scientist.

Now, I understand what this team is trying to do. They wish to keep the focus on learning instead of memorizing names and dates. But come on, he walked on the moon! He’s on one of the shortest short-lists of all time.

Nevertheless, this isn’t what bothers me the most. Saying Armstrong isn’t a scientist is preposterous. If being part of one of the most monumental investigations known to humanity doesn’t make you a scientist- what in the world (or out of the world) does?

I stress to my students that science is for all of us regardless of the careers we choose. As citizens, we all need to be scientists. So many of the issues that our country is struggling with (climate change, health care, energy) have roots in science. How do we explain to our students that they are qualified to join the scientific community and examine issues critically and rationally when others don’t even consider walking on the moon enough to be called ‘scientist’?

Even if Armstrong isn’t technically a scientist (which I disagree with- engineers count in my book) he should still be included as an important part of science since he represents the ultimate citizen scientist.

Last night Dr. Mark Devlin appeared on The Colbert Report to talk about BLAST the Movie. The movie is a documentary about an experiment in 2006 that involved launching a car-sized telescope in Antarctica using a balloon.

Before Lab Out Loud, we did a podcast for the Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers called Periodicity.  Dr. Devlin, a graduate of University of Wisconsin, spoke to us in January 2007- shortly after his return from Antarctica.

You can listen to the interview as Dr. Devlin discussed the science involved with the BLAST experiment, the struggles they encountered and the importance of basic research. As you listen to Dr. Devlin describe his experiences with such passion, it quickly becomes apparent that this experiment’s story has everything a compelling movie requires to keep you at the edge of your seat.

Our show notes also provided links to blogs that several of the graduate students maintained while they were in Antarctica. They provided a personal glimpse into the lives of scientists as their Antarctic mission unfolded. They also posted some amazing photos.

Find links to all of our old Periodicity episodes at:
http://www.wsst.org/podcasts.asp

This weekend Brian and I are happy to be in Las Vegas attending The Amaz!ng Meeting7 (TAM7). TAM7 is a conference sponsored by the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) that showcases speakers and guests that focus on critical thinking and skepticism.

You might remember our discussion with Phil Plait (a.k.a. The Bad Astronomer) in episode 12 when we talked about the importance of skepticism in science education. Plait is now the president of the JREF and we were excited to finally meet him in person.

Phil Plait, President of JREF

The conference opened with a keynote by Bill Prady, Executive Producer of our favorite sitcom The Big Bang Theory. Prady’s show has some wonderful examples that can be used in the science class. (We hope to get a chance to talk to him more about this in our third season.)

Bill Prady, Executive Producer of 'The Big Bang Theory'

‘The Big Bang Theory’ is a show I started watching after our conversation with Jennifer Ouellette in episode 28. Ouellette also spoke at TAM7 this afternoon.

Jennifer Ouellette, Science and Entertainment Exchange

If you’re here at the conference, please stop us to say hello (we’re wearing our Lab Out Loud t-shirts today). Can’t attend the conference? See what’s happening by following our Twitter feeds (@basler and @bbartel); the entire conference is also available via live stream.

My favorite webcomic, XKCD, recently featured a hilarious senario that reminded me of our interview with Crittercam installer Mike Heithaus.

So maybe this is how Mike decided at the early age of five that he was going to pursue scientific research.

Meet Neil deGrasse Tyson live online.

Enjoy an hour with Neil, and…

• get a sneak peak of NOVA scienceNOW’s upcoming season
• learn about media resources for your classroom
• sample hands-on activities
• have Neil answer your questions about the universe

Wednesday, May 27, 6 to 7pm ET

Learn more at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/webcast.html