Science for the classroom and beyond
Laurie Wallmark returns to share two new stories celebrating women in STEM: Code Breaker, Spy Hunter (about Elizabeth Friedman) and Numbers in Motion (a story about Sophie Kowalevski). As we discover the fascinating stories of these important women, we also discuss the role of STEM in schools and realize the importance of exposing all kids to STEM learning opportunities. About […]
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What happens when scientists abandon ethical standards in the pursuit of science? Can we trust scientific discoveries learned with fraudulent practices? To answer some of these questions and more, science writer Sam Kean joins us to share from his new book, The Icepick Surgeon: Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Name of Science. Listen to […]
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To wrap up season 13, we welcome Ainissa Ramirez back to the show. As science teachers are building their reading lists for the summer, they may want to check out Ainissa’s new book – The Alchemy of Us: How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another. In this collection of stories about eight inventions (from clocks to silicon chips), Ramirez unearths […]
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Kicking off a new decade, we are happy to welcome Joe Shane (Professor of Chemistry and Science Education at Shippensburg University) and Lee Meadows (science educator at the School of Education at the University of Alabama at Birmingham) to the show. Joe and Lee (in addition to Ronald Hermann and Ian Binns) are co-authors of a new book from NSTA […]
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As a former science teacher and now professor of education at Stanford, Dr. Bryan A. Brown is keenly interested in improving science teaching and learning in urban communities by investigating how language and culture matter for effective science teaching. Some of this work is shared in his new book Science in the City, where Brown examines the interplay of language […]
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This week we welcome Randall Munroe to the show. As creator of the webcomic XKCD, Munroe often features aspects of technology, math, computer science and physics in his drawings. These topics have also had prominence in his books, including his newest book called How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems. To hear more about How To, Randall joins […]
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This week we welcome Laurie Wallmark to the show. As a computer science teacher and award-winning children’s author, Laurie has been writing picture book biographies that recognize women in STEM. Her breakout book Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine (Creston Books) debuted in 2017 and was readily recognized with numerous awards. Laurie’s most recent book, Hedy Lamarr’s Double Life, was just […]
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This week we welcome science writer Carl Zimmer to the show. As Zimmer often writes about life, he has been wondering about the concept of life and if there is a way to properly define it. To shed some light on the matter, he recently hosted a series of live conversations with some leading thinkers on life—including chemists, physicists, […]
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With the growing implementation of engineering principles and Makerspaces in our schools, we decided to reach out to science fiction writer Cory Doctorow to chat about his most recent novel Walkaway. Set in a near future ruined by ecological and technological catastrophe, Walkaway is a story about scarcity and surviving outside the default limits of societal norms. But Walkaway also […]
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We have had many different guests on Lab Out Loud, from scientists to teachers, authors to celebrities, Nobel Laureates, and even a couple Knights! But this week we are proud to introduce our youngest guest ever on the show. Ten year old Elaina Garg and her younger sister Kaylie wrote The Organic Coloring Book with the help of their father Neil, […]
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To kickoff season 11, we welcome Christopher Preece to the show. As a high school chemistry teacher, Chris recently created Che[M]ystery – a graphic novel that teaches chemistry concepts. Written by Preece and illustrated by Josh Reynolds, Che[M]ystery follows the adventures of two kids as they gain superpowers, fight a radioactive monster and learn some science along the way. Chris joins us to discuss […]
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Fredi Lavjardi teaches marine science at Carl Hayden High School in Phoenix, where he is also coach of Falcon Robotics – an extracurricular high school STEM program that won the 2004 MATE National Underwater ROV championships with their robot “Stinky”, besting juggernaut teams such as MIT. This inspiring story was originally covered by Wired Magazine, expanded by the same author into a book, and graced […]
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Our guest this week is ecologist & author Caren Cooper. As an Associate Professor at North Carolina State university, Dr. Cooper also works with the Chancellor’s Faculty Excellence Program on Leadership in Public Science. She is an advocate of citizen science, believing that anyone, anywhere at any time, can help conduct genuine scientific research. In her new book, Citizen Science: How Ordinary People are […]
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As science educators, we are likely to recognize Sputnik as the first satellite in space. But what has happened with satellites since Sputnik? How many satellites are even out there, and how do we rely upon them? To help answer some of these questions, we welcome Dr. James Clay Moltz to the show. As author of Crowded Orbits, Dr. Moltz […]
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