The Scientific Toolbox

I found the PathFinder Science web site while surfing the web. Their tagline is “creating student scientists, not just science students.” What a great philosophy!! PathFinder Science is a national and international collaboration of teachers and students from over 1,000 registered classrooms in 21 differnt countries. The classrooms share data and work together in order to answer questions about our world. Collaborative projects include:

I have been meaning to post about this ever since I read about it on Ms. Frizzle’s web site last week…

Donors Choose is an organization which is set up to help fund grant proposals written by NYC public school teachers. The teachers write up short proposals to be posted on the web site. Prospective donors (people like you and I) can go to the web site and browse the projects…and then decide to fully or partially fund one of the grants. You can browse proposals by discipline, grade level or by amount. The site also allows you the list of proposals by keyword.

What a great idea!!

I had been meaning to post some links related to the recent Mars Exploration Rover Mission, but Jeff Hellman of “So you want to be a science teacher” has beaten me to it. Check out his blog for links to Web sites with information about the Mars mission.

(Martian horizon captured by the Panoramic Camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. Image credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell)

3D images of the surface of Mars are being sent to earth as a result of NASA’s recent unmanned mission to the red planet. These images have contributed to a recent fad…3D glasses. An article in Thursday’s issue of USA Today, “Geeky 3-D glasses are looking good” , describes this recent obsession.

• You can find information about 3D vision from the Optometrists’s Network at vision3d.com.
• At the U.S. Geological Survey’s TerraWeb for Kids you will find:
  1. instructions for making your own 3D glasses
  2. 3D satellite images of Earth taken from outer space
  3. create your own 3D landscape
• Many sites on the web will send you a free pair of 3D glasses (the cardboard variety). You can find the necessary information in the USA Today article, at either of the Web sites listed above, or try a search on Google for “3-D glasses.”

I just wanted to check in and wish all of you a Happy New Year!

FYI, I won’t be able to post to “Citizen Scientist” until the middle of next week. My husband and I are moving to Athens, Georgia in a couple of months and will be spending the weekend in the area looking for a place to live.