It is classic creativity practice to consider ways to view your ideas from a new perspective or present them in new ways. It is one reason I’ve been delighted to read about science students who present core information through poetry or dance their dissertations. But I’ll admit, the first time I read about students baking … Continue reading
If you haven’t yet seen Mark Rober’s wildly viral How to See Germs Spread video, you should. In fact, stop reading and go watch it right now. The clear demonstration of how germs spread from surface to surface is disconcerting, to say the least, but also clear and easy for young people to understand. Wonder … Continue reading
Sometimes the creativity in the world just makes me chuckle. It happened this week as I reviewed the materials for the 2017 Dance Your Dissertation Contest. Yes, dance. For most of us who managed the dissertation process, any dancing that occurred was at a post-defense party at which we celebrated our academic survival. But the … Continue reading
You know how easy it is to get lost in online searches for something interesting—one thing leads to another and before you know it, it’s time for dinner—or bed. While writing the last post on integrating math and art, I discovered the beauty of the Vizzie Awards. The Vizzies, sponsored by the National Science Foundation … Continue reading
I had a lot of fun this summer, but one of the most delightful mornings was spent with five young friends and a 25-foot long solar balloon. Take a look. We had a grand time watching the balloon expand and contract, rise and fall, with changing temperatures (and, OK, having the occasional giant balloon wrestling … Continue reading
How would you represent a great person’s life work in a single symbol? What single image could represent the contributions of Martin Luther King? Abraham Lincoln? Srinivasa Ramanujan? The artist using the pseudonym Hydrogene tackles that question, while also creating art work focusing on STEM education and technology across cultures. The most recent additions to … Continue reading
Arvind Gupta is one of those people every educator should know. Wonder why? Take a look. Gupta believes that children learn best by touching, feeling, cutting, sticking — pulling things apart, putting things together. And he’s devoted his career to providing children all over the work with the inspiration and tools to do so. And … Continue reading
While working on my “Ideas are Scary” post, I came across one more irresistible item from General Electric—a 6-second science fair. For a week last August, General Electric challenged young people to create 6-second videos using the Vine app and post them on Twitter under #6SecondScience. Talk about a social media bonanza! While the fair … Continue reading
What child doesn’t love being a bit sneaky? From stealthily creeping down the hall way-too-early on Christmas morning to sneaking a peek at a friend’s nervous prom date, I’ve gathered seemingly valuable data that way! Fortunately, with his Sneaky Uses for Everyday Things, Cy Tymony has raised sneakiness to a new level and proposes “sneaky” … Continue reading
What happens when you mix Carl Sagan, profound ideas from science, illustration, and video/music remix techniques? Magical things. Recently I came across a video, created as a thesis project at Sheridan College. In it, student Adam Winnik used animation to bring part of Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot to video life. It made me wonder how … Continue reading
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