Tune in to PBS for “My Love Affair with the Brain”

Lab Out Loud’s guest this week is Gary Weimberg, co-director of the PBS documentary “My Love Affair With The Brain: The Life and Science of Dr. Marian Diamond.” Produced and released in collaboration with AAAS and Scientific American, and narrated by The Big Bang Theory’s Mayim Bialik, this upcoming documentary showcases the life and work of engaging professor, inquisitive learner and […]

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Exploding Supernovae and Robotic Telescopes

We had so much fun talking movies with Andy Howell, so we continued talking with him about his work as scientist at Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network (LCOGT) and Adjunct Faculty in physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara.  Andy joins us (again) to talk about studying supernovae, his work with robotic telescopes, and how science really happens. Links: Andy […]

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Leading With Awesome: How to Make a Good Science Video

As we have been talking about science videos lately, we decided to investigate what it takes to make a good science video.  So we invited Derek Muller, creator and host of Veritasium: An Element of Truth to the show. Veritasium is a YouTube channel of science and engineering videos featuring experiments, interviews, demos, and other cool science topics.  Derek joins us to talk […]

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Science Surprises: An eBook to Help Your Students Explore the Nature of Science

As webmaster for the ENSI (Evolution and the Nature of Sciences Institute) website, Larry Flammer has helped to provide a number of free, student-centered, interactive lessons focusing on the nature of science.  So Larry wrote Science Surprises: Exploring the Nature of Science – a text supplement available as an eBook that helps teach the nature of science, with lessons for […]

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Episode 109 – Thinking About Our Future With Robots

Our guest this week is Illah Nourbakhsh, author of Robot Futures.  As Professor of Robotics at The Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, Illah has been building and thinking about robotics for most of his life.  Illah joins us to talk about his book, our potential future with robots and how students should be inspired to learn with purpose. Links: Illah Nourbakhsh, The […]

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Episode 103 – Reimagining the Chemistry Set

Imagine the chemistry set of the 21st century.  That’s the idea behind a new competition.  SPARK, The Science Play and Research Kit competition, is a project of the Society for Science & the Public, in collaboration with the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.  To tell us more about the competition, we contacted Janet Coffey – program officer for science learning at […]

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Episode 102 – Measure Your World With Sensordrone

This week we explore the world of sensors by talking with Mark Wagner – engineer and designer of Sensordrone.  Sensordrone is a handheld sensor that wirelessly connects to your smartphone to measure temperature, humidity, light, carbon monoxide levels, and other environmental conditions.   Mark talks to us about Sensordrone, the history and potential future of sensors, and how they could be used in […]

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Episode 84 – The Science of Good Cooking

http://traffic.libsyn.com/wsst/LOL84.mp3 This week we talk with Guy Crosby about “The Science of Good Cooking” – written by Crosby and the editors of America’s Test Kitchen. As science editor for America’s Test Kitchen, Crosby advises the science content in Cook’s Illustrated magazine, Cook’s Country, and the popular PBS television cooking show “America’s Test Kitchen”. Crosby talks to us about the science […]

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Episode 79 – Vernier’s Game-Changer

http://traffic.libsyn.com/wsst/LOL79.mp3 Our guest this week is the co-founder of Vernier Software & Technology, David Vernier.  David talks to us about the history of the company, his popular software and data collection hardware, and the release of two new products that are part of Vernier’s Connected Science System – the LabQuest2 and Graphical Analysis iOS app. Links: Vernier Software & Technology About […]

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Episode 76 – Not Another Lab Report

http://traffic.libsyn.com/wsst/LOL76.mp3 Our guest this week is Fred Ende.  As a middle-school science teacher, Fred quickly became frustrated with cookie-cutter, partial inquiry and simple scientific method lab reports that rarely engaged students in the content.  Deciding to change this mode, Fred created open-ended lab experiences where students investigated their own questions, became interested in sharing their work, and ultimately improved their […]

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Episode 75 – Superbowl of the Mind

http://traffic.libsyn.com/wsst/LOL74.mp3 This week we talk with Jon Dudas, president of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology).  Dudas talks to Lab Out Loud about their upcomingrobotics competitions, how they teach kids how to try, fail and succeed, and how hands-on robotic lessons can enhance the classroom experience and spark interest in science education and careers. Links: FIRST FIRST Robotics Competition About Jon […]

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Episode 61 – Google’s Global Science Fair

http://traffic.libsyn.com/wsst/LOL61.mp3   For episode 61, we talk with Google’s Cristin Frodella about the Google Global Science Fair 2011. In partnership with CERN, the LEGO Group, National Geographic and Scientific American, Google has created an exciting new global science competition to help celebrate young scientific talent and engage students in science. Learn how to submit a project, then later to see […]

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Episode 57 – Preventing Bad Science in the Classroom

http://traffic.libsyn.com/wsst/LOL57.mp3   Finishing our UK tour, we talk with Dr. Ben Goldacre, author of Bad Science: Quacks, Hacks and Big Pharma Flacks.  Dr. Goldacre talks to us about interpreting scientific results, the tricks used to deceive us, and how science teachers might combat bad science in the classroom. badscience.net Bad Science Column at guardian.co.uk Bad Science: Quacks, Hacks and Big […]

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Episode 43 – Mythbusters’ Adam Savage

http://media.libsyn.com/media/wsst/LOL43.mp3   We first met Adam Savage (from the Mythbusters) at The Amaz!ng Meeting 7 last summer, where he gave a talk about the creative process and failure that comes with ‘making’.  Of course, we knew that we had to get Adam on the show.  A few months later, we were lucky to talk with Adam about the Mythbusters, science […]

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Episode 27 – Questions with Skeptoid

For this episode, we took a suggestion from one of our listeners.  Nathan from Western Maine writes: For almost a year now I have been listening to the podcast called “Skeptoid,” recorded and published by a good skeptic fellow named Brian Dunning.  He researches and reports on subjects like alternative medicine and paranormal occurrences in a weekly podcast that lasts […]

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