Peace Corps Costa Rica Volunteer Amanda has a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) Club to get kids in her community interested in science and the arts. In this photo, they’re learning how to weave! Amanda loves weaving and enjoys the opportunity to impart her knowledge to her students. Projects like this are also a great way of getting students involved in extracurricular activities.
In Mexico, kids worked in small groups to make a paper mache volcano. Everyone had the chance to create an eruption with baking soda and vinegar, which happened to great screams of delight.
It’s all thanks to the luminescence of metals. When certain metals are heated (over a flame or in a hot explosion) their electrons jump up to a higher energy state. When those electrons fall back down, they emit specific frequencies of light - and each chemical has a unique emission spectrum.
You can see that the most prominent bands in the spectra above match the firework colors. The colors often burn brighter with the addition of an electron donor like Chlorine (Cl).
“There is something magical about that moment when students “get it,” when that the light bulb goes on. My village lacked electricity and running water. I will never forget when my students did an experiment for the first time in a chemistry lab with water we got from a stream using donated materials that were tucked away for years in a supply room. After adding metal to a solution, they noticed bubbles evolving and came running to me saying (in French, not English), “Miss, miss, is this a reaction?”… and they finally got what they were learning. Wow!” – Dr. Theresa Good, RPCV Democratic Republic of Congo
Solar noon doesn’t always occur at the same point in the day. A sun dial may be as much as 16 minutes ahead or 14 minutes behind a regular clock. In fact, clock time and sun time only match four times a year.
So next time you are late, blame it on your sun dial.
View Mars right now, and prepare for 2016, the best Mars viewing year since 2005! Last month early risers watched small, reddish Mars dance with brighter Jupiter and Venus just before sunrise.
This month Mars rises earlier-by about 2 a.m. local time. Its reddish color is unmistakable, even without a telescope. It’s easy to see below the Moon and Jupiter on December 4. You won’t see many features this month, because the planet is almost 10 times smaller than nearby Jupiter appears and 350 times smaller than the Moon appears to us on Earth.
You should also be able to see Mars’ north polar region this month, because it’s currently tilted towards Earth.
You’ll be amazed at the changes you’ll see during 2016. January through December are all prime Mars observing months. Between January and May next year, Mars triples in apparent diameter as its orbit around the sun brings it closer to Earth. You’ll even be able to see the areas on Mars where NASA’s Mars landers are located.
By October, Mars shrinks in apparent size to less than half its May diameter as it speeds away from Earth. Mars shrinks even further from October through December, returning to the same size we saw in January 2016 by year’s end.
So put Mars viewing on your calendar for 2016. You won’t see Mars this size again until 2018, when Mars will put on an even better show.
“The geology of the National Park where I worked is an important part of its history and background. I created an educational program about the park’s geology that culminated in a project that was enjoyed by kids at summer camp and in the ecoclub. This picture is from the first summer camp, in July of 2011. The kids worked in small groups to make a paper mache volcano. They painted it and then each kid had the chance to create an eruption with baking soda and vinegar, which happened with great screams of delight. Because there was no Spanish language information available about how to do this, I videotaped the kids explaining the project. That video now has 78,000 views on You Tube.”
My site mate Matt, who teaching chemistry and physics, will be taking these kids to the provincial science fair for Nampula.
What did they make?
Something desalinizes water.
How did they make it?
1 large coffee can
1 metal pipe
1 large piece of banana tree
1 cinder block
1 small stick with some string
1 cup
Fire
Mud
How does it work?
Boil the water in the coffee can. The coffee can has a metal pipe, sealed by mud, that catches the water vapor. The pipe is put through a piece banana tree, with part of the banana tree cut open, so that cold water can be applied to the pipe and soaked by the banana tree to turn the water vapor into liquid. At the end of the pipe is a stick pressed against the opening to catch the liquified water and directly drops into the cup at the end. Just keep the pipe at a small downward angle towards the opening to make sure the desalinized water flows out.
“This photo was taken on the Girls & Science day I held at the high school in my village, in #Guinea. As an optional activity, girls came together on a school holiday to take part in a day full of science demos, health seminars, and games. As part of one of their team building activities, the girls were instructed to form circles. Without instruction, they grouped up and held hands, smiling at one another, happy to be learning and discovering together.” @PeaceCorps Volunteer Sarah Catherine Reid #peacecorps #africa #culture #letgirlslearn #education #science #travel #girls via Instagram http://bit.ly/1BKQ4Ly
We had the Zambezia Provincial Science Fair this past Saturday in the provincial capital of Quilimane. We had near 50 participating students representing 11 districts from across the province. The event consisted of an opening with cultural groups, followed by an HIV/AIDS theatre piece by a local JUNTOS group. Then came the exposition/judging period with voluntary HIV Testing occurring in another room at the same time, followed by the presentation of prizes. The two winners that will represent the province of Zambezia at the National Fair are a 10th grader who made a natural insecticide from fermented plants and acids and an 11th grader who made his own DJ mixing device from scrap! Overall there were 1st, 2nd and 3rd place for each ciclo and three prizes for overall best community based project, best HIV/AIDS related project and best project by a female. One of our students in Alto Molocue took home 2nd Place for 8th-10th grades, parabens Belchuir!
The best part of the fair, 17 people were tested for HIV/SIDA and they all came back negative! All in all was a great opportunity to witness some Mozambican ingenuity and motivate kids to get into SCIENCE!
As the coordinator of the event, I am quite content with how the fair turned out and more than happy to hand over the organizing responsibilities to my sitemate Sam as he prepares for the National Fair on Sept 14th, also in Quilemane. The five days in Quilimane I spent prepping and realizing the provincial were by far the busiest I have been in Mozambique. The official budget and event plan was constantly changing and organizing a large event in Moz comes with some interesting hoops through which one must jump. But as stressful as it was at times, I felt great to be working on a project that I know has been and will continue to be a great success and help develop the future scientific community in Mozambique!
