Exploding Drink Hoax Exposed!

Mentos hoax It's an e-mail that probably showed up in your inbox... Create an Exploding Drink! The prank is based on the widely known phenomenon of dropping MENTOS® chewy mints into soda to create an erupting geyser. Instead of just dropping the Mentos into soda, the pranksters suggest freezing a Mento in the middle of an ice cube. Serve your friend a refreshing soda drink and garnish with the tainted ice cubes. When the ice cube melts, the Mento is exposed and the soda erupts everywhere. Great idea, right? Readers of the Boing Boing blog suggest that it's a hoax... but no one out of the 600 plus people who posted a comment bothered to try it. We turned Steve Spangler loose to find out if it really works.

http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/content/experiment/mentos-mix-an-exploding-drink-hoax

GA Aquarium Newsletter for June 2009

Gaaqu 2009-2010 SCHOOL YEAR PROGRAMMING

For the 2009-2010 school year, the Georgia Aquarium will be offering exciting and unique educational programs for school groups. All of Georgia Aquarium's educational programs meet Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) at each grade level. So dive in with your students today!  Visit the link below to learn more. 

http://email.whatsup.com/georgiaaquarium/newsletter/1008/index.html

Message from the DOE

Elementary Teachers-
   I want to give each of you who taught elementary science during the 2008-2009 school year a hearty "CONGRATULATIONS". The CRCT scores in grades 3, 4, & 5 have improved again! Thank you to you for providing quality, standards-based teaching and learning for your students.

   Many of you have been involved in the CRCT Item Review process or in writing our frameworks, and I thank you as well for that important work. We always need the input of Georgia teachers to make sure that the resources provided by the Georgia Department of Education meet the needs of students. It is also crucial to our mission to involve teachers in the process of developing test items that truly measure the Georgia Performance Standards.

   Please thank the K-2 teachers who prepared students in the primary grades for further instruction as they moved into the upper grades. Combined "meets"/"exceeds" percentages for the 2009 CRCT were 3rd Grade  80%; 4th Grade 78%; and 5th Grade 76%.These are all increases over the previous year.

  You are proving it true that "Preparation for the science portion of the Georgia High School Graduation Test begins with the very first Georgia Performance Standard for Science in Kindergarten."

  On behalf of State School Superintendent Kathy Cox, Science Program Manager Juan Carlos Aguilar, and the entire GaDOE staff, THANK YOU for providing excellent educational opportunities for our youngest students.  Have a great summer, and let me know how I can help you continue your good work.

Sincerely, DOE
Steve

Steve A. Rich, NBCT
Science Program Specialist
Presidential Awards Coordinator
Division of Academic Standards
Georgia Department of Education
1754 Twin Towers East
Atlanta, GA 30334
404-463-1977 phone
404-651-8582 fax
srich@doe.k12.ga.us
http://gadoe.org

Starlab Planetarium Trainings

Starlab_2 CCSD has 4 Starlab Mobile Planetariums.  These are used by 4th, 6th, and high school science classes.  Some 2nd grade teachers also use the planetariums to teach motion and celestial bodies. Teachers wishing to check-out the starlab portable planetariums will need to be trained.  NO ONE will be allowed to reserve the starlabs until they have completed the CCSD Elementary Science Starlab Basics training.  A majority of the elementary schools who used the starlabs in the past years reported receiving damaged equipment, missing pieces, and equipment that arrived precariously packed.  Training will consist of procedures to set up and take down the domes, packing instructions, instructional strategies, trouble shooting ideas, and elementary friendly tips for using the Starlabs.  All participants will be provided a NEW Starlab training manual filled with useful resources for teachers and students.

Schools may start reserving the starlab on the first day of pre-planning.  To reserve the starlab please e-mail Ellen Glantzberg at ellen.glantzberg@cobbk12.org.  Only those teachers who have attended a Starlab training during the 2008-2009 school year or who are registered to attend a training in the fall of 2009 will be allowed to reserve the Starlabs.  To register for the Starlab Bascis Training, please visit the professional learning website and look for non-credit workshops.  Registration will begin on the first day of pre-planning, August 2009.    

Elementary Science Safety

Science safety With the increasing emphasis on hands-on, minds-on inquiry instruction in the Georgia Performance Standards, it becomes more incumbent upon elementary teachers who teach science to be as knowledgeable as possible about laboratory safety issues and their own responsibilities. As teacher and role model, you are expected to display good safety habits at all times and to set appropriate safety expectations for your students. Unfortunately, when you increase the amount of inquiry instruction in your classroom, you also increase the likelihood of accident. The Science & Safety document below, created by the Council of Science Supervisors, is intended to educate and reassure you, the user, that liability concerns can be minimized when you are knowledgeable of your duties and take appropriate precautions and preventative actions to avoid or minimize foreseeable hazards and accidents.

 

http://www.csss-science.org/downloads/scisaf_cal.pdf

 

In School Field Trip Options for 09-10

Nature in a Nutshell is a science company created and run by Debbie Lanier, a former CCSD teacher.  She offers a variety of science based in-school field trips for K-5 students.  The lessons are hands on and very engaging.  The attached list of Nature in a Nutshell lessons for 2009-2010 are posted below.  Book early if you're interested.  She fills up quickly!  :-)

Download 09-10 lessons final

Sedalia Park Takes 3rd Place at State ESO!

Congrats to Sedalia Park for their 3rd place finish at the State Elementary Science Olympiad!  This was Sedalia Park's first year to compete in the ESO competition.  The State ESO is held in May each year at Kennesaw State University.  Georgia has the largest ESO competition in the US, with over 64 teams participating.  The Elementary Science Olympiad is composed of 18 different science events ranging from the ever popular straw egg drop, water rockets, and straw bridge building to name the scientist and aerodynamics.  Students in grades 3-5 compete in up to three different events during the day.  Cobb was well represented with some 25 Cobb teams competing at the State ESO.  Cobb's success would not be possible with out the tireless support of Cobb EMC.  For the past several years they have generously supported Elementary Science in Cobb!  Thank You Cobb EMC, your support is making a difference!

Sedalia Park

CAUTION: No Labs with Giant African Snails

Snails To Teachers and Educators,

Giant African snails are being used increasingly in science lessons in schools. These snails are illegal in the continental United States because they are highly invasive, and can cause extensive damage to important food crops and other agricultural and natural resources. These snails can also pose a risk to human health (for information, see

http://www.cdc.gov

<http://www.cdc.gov/>, or call your state health department). If you have a giant African land snail, PLEASE DO NOT RELEASE IT INTO THE ENVIRONMENT OR GIVE IT AWAY. Instead, report it to your State Department of Agriculture.

"Giant African land snail" is the common name used to describe any of three snail species native to Africa and considered serious agricultural pests in the United States. The giant African snail (Achatina fulica), the giant Ghana tiger snail (Achatina achatina), and margies (Archachatina marginata) are large, terrestrial snails that reach up to 20 cm (8 inches) in length and 10 cm (4 inches) in maximum diameter. Giant African snails have a voracious appetite. They are known to eat at least 500 different types of plants, including peanut, beans, peas, cucumbers, and melons. If fruits or vegetables are not available, the snails will eat a wide variety of ornamental plants, tree bark, and even paint and stucco on houses.

These snails also reproduce rapidly, laying as many as 100 to 400 eggs in a single session. Snails contain both male and female reproductive organs, and can lay up to 1,200 eggs per year. There are alternative snail species that may be used with your science curricula. Ideally, snails that you collect locally can be used to teach about native fauna, and these can be used without a permit. Currently the U.S. Department of Agriculture is reviewing permit procedures for exotic mollusks for educational purposes on a state by state basis. For more information on obtaining a permit, please visit http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/permits/plantpest/snails_slugs.html

 

Free NASA Shuttle Tiles for Schools

Shuttle Your schools can order a free shuttle tile. All they need to do is send a request on school letterhead to the contact below. It takes a few weeks but its completely free!

NASA/Kennedy Space Center

Attn: Pauletta McGinnis/PDO

Building M6-1723, SR 3

Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899

Thanks to Donald White, Science Content Specialist, for the Coweta County School System for sharing!  :-)

Great Video on Nano Technology

The Nano Song from nanomonster on Vimeo.