High Maintenance Mom - Science

Earth Science Week

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 23:03:46 -0700

The theme for this year's Earth Science Week is "No Child Left Inside." If you've read Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder, or read about it, then you might be looking for more ways to incorporate unstructured time outside. The USGS, one of the Earth Science Week (ESW) sponsors, has a web site with links to outdoor parks and activities around the country. Even if there isn't an activity listed for your area, it doesn't take too much effort to help your child connect with nature. Start with a walk at your child's pace. You may only get to the end of the block but your child will appreciate the time you spend looking at the things that interest them. I find ants much more interesting through my kids' eyes. They, my kids - not the ants, love to watch water run down a drain, look for the biggest acorn, or investigate any type of bug.

Watching volcanic activity at Kilauea online

Sat, 03 May 2008 06:45:26 -0700

Kilauea, the volcano on the main island of Hawaii that has been in a continuous state of eruption since 1983, has been showing new activity in the past year. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO), located next to the caldera, monitors the volcanic activity and posts beautiful pictures online. The glow from the current plume is easiest to see at night. Because of the time difference, you can often view the glow for yourself on the Halema`uma`u web cam in the early morning. The Kilauea image here shows the pre-moonrise stars and the intense Halema`uma`u glow on April 27th. If you view the April 2008 Image Archive, you will see an image of the observatory with the plume in the backgound. Watching the eruption is a great way to introduce science to kids...

November 14th is GIS Day...

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 20:51:57 -0800

Apparently today was GIS Day, which is part of Geography Awareness Week. Each year a different region is highlighted. This year the theme is "Asia: Continent of Contrasts". Here are a few links for learning more about GIS.

National Geographic's My Wonderful World - Get a passport to explore Asia online, also check out the links on the more to explore page.
Google's educator page - Tour Asia using Google Earth, see videos, and take interactive quizzes.
gis.com's GIS Day activities.

Kick Counting: Do you know what a healthy baby feels like?

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 08:16:45 -0700

During pregnancy, moms are accustomed to a variety of screening tests for conditions such as Down syndrome and diabetes. The rationale for these tests is not to make moms anxious about their pregnancy but to identify potential pregnancy problems to allow for timely intervention.

What is kick counting?
Kick counting, a daily systematic record of moms’ perception of their baby’s movement during the third trimester, is a reliable, harmless, simple and effective screening for the baby’s well-being. Kick counting can document changes in the fetal movement pattern and can help moms-to-be alert their healthcare provider of potential problems. A timely evaluation can allow intervention and prevention of potential problems, including stillbirth.

Zebra and horse crossbreed images

Mon, 02 Jul 2007 20:58:59 -0700

Check out zoo images including the zebra and horse crossbreed. My kids love pictures of animals so we are always looking for fun images.

Seeing hundreds of millions of colors or why women are better at matching clothes and paint

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 17:50:02 -0700

Recent research has identified women, called tetrachromats, who can see four distinct ranges of color and therefore can distinguish much more subtle color differences than the average person with only three distinct ranges of color. It's estimated the eye can pick up about 100 different gradations of color using the standard red, green, and blue cones. The brain then combines those variations so the average person can distinguish about 1 million different hues.

Soda bottle volcano and the Extreme Diet Coke & Mentos experiment

Wed, 28 Jun 2006 22:45:09 -0700

This isn't really science but it is neat and fits with upcoming Fourth of July festivities.

"How to Make a Soda Bottle Volcano.

Words cannot begin to describe the awesome eruption that is created from mixing Mentos candy and soda. Eruptions of up to 18 feet are possible if this technique is done correctly. Steve Spangler shares this experiment from his television show... and a link to one of the first viral videos."

100 years since the 1906 Earthquake and Fire

Tue, 18 Apr 2006 10:29:19 -0700

(image from 1906 Earthquake Centennial Alliance site of train thrown down by the earthquake at Point Reyes Station where it was standing on a siding. Photo by G.K. Gilbert from the USGS Library).

At 5:12 AM on April 18, 1906 there was a M 7.8 earthquake along the San Andreas fault in northern California. The earth broke along 296 miles between San Juan Bautista and Cape Mendocino with some areas moving more than 18 feet. Below are links to more information about the earthquake and fire...

Hail in the Bay Area

Fri, 10 Mar 2006 21:55:23 -0800

We've had a few big storms recently (including the one last week that was going to dump 60 inches of snow at Mammoth while I was trying to get home) and this evening on our drive from school the kids saw their first hailstorm. They were very excited but by the time we got home the hail and rain had stopped. Just a few minutes ago there was very loud thunder followed by a torrential downpour (that's how I like to describe the multitude of cold, large drops that made the short walk from my office to my car seem endless)...

Museum memberships: A cost effective activity

Thu, 29 Sep 2005 11:10:16 -0700

Now that B is three, we've started to go to a larger number of museums and parks. Previously, we went to the zoo. Now we've added children's museums, natural history museums, and science museums. The membership pays for itself if you go to the museum/park several times a year and I find not having to wait in the ticket line to be well worth it. Because we have enjoyed our local memberships, I looked into the pricing for memberships at the San Diego Zoo and Animal Park prior to our trip. It turned out that the membership was cost effective for our visit with my inlaws and everyone was happy to avoid the lines...

Emergency preparedness

Thu, 29 Sep 2005 11:33:09 -0700

The USGS Earthquake Hazards Program has published a new handbook called Putting Down Roots In Earthquake Country—Your Handbook for the San Francisco Bay Region. The information is applicable to many other situations so it's not just for people who live in areas that are prone to earthquakes. See the associated links as well.

August - hot summer nights and shooting stars

Sun, 31 Jul 2005 22:10:07 -0700

The Perseid meteor shower, possibly the best display of meteors or shooting stars, will peak on the morning of Aug. 12th. At its peak and away from the lights of the city, you can often see 50 to 100 bright meteors per hour. Which means that with patience you will most likely still be able to see a few from your home. Of course, if you want to go camping away from city lights, you will see many more...

"Beautiful, beautiful. Magnificent desolation." Aldrin - on the moon 36 years ago today

Thu, 28 Jul 2005 20:46:02 -0700

Thirty-six years ago today (July 20th, 1969) at 10:56 PM EDT, Neil Armstrong stepped from the Eagle lunar landing module onto the Moon's surface and said, “That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.” He was followed shortly thereafter by Buzz Aldrin; Michael Collins remained in the Command Module...

NASA fireworks - Successful launch of probe into comet on July 4th

Tue, 05 Jul 2005 22:25:48 -0700

On July 4, 2005 (EDT), NASA's Deep Impact mission successfully collided the first man-made spacecraft into a comet, revealing some of the secrets of its interior. The collision jettisoned materials from the comet into space for analysis and generated an immense flash of light...

Be A Frozen Pop Flavorologist

Tue, 14 Jun 2005 21:08:47 -0700

Continuing on my science is fun theme, Nestlé Ice Cream is running a contest for children (ages 6 – 12) to create the "world’s coolest frozen pop". To enter the child needs to submit a flavor name, description, a personal resume, and contact information. The contest rules are available at www.kids.icecream.com. It's too bad my kids are too young to enter - they have rather creative names for the types of foods they are eating. Entries must be postmarked by July 22, 2005 and should be sent to the following address...