The Scientific Toolbox

In their own words…

“MadSci Network represents a collective cranium of scientists providing answers to your questions. For good measure we provide a variety of oddities and other ends as well.”

In addition to their library and a search engine that will help you find scientific information on their own site and the world wide web, they have amassed a small collection of science experiments “that require little more than a quick rummaging through the kitchen cabinets.”

If you have an experiment that you would like to share with others, you can submit your ideas to using their on-line submission form.

They also provide links to a large number of scientific demonstrations for different age levels. Be aware that some of the links are no longer viable (e.g., Student Alleles Database).

I have posted the most recent update from LABRats below. LABRats is a national program that is being developed by the Society for Amateur Scientists. For more information, check out my original post or go directly to the LABRats website:

Dear LABRats enthusiast,

LABRats held its first program development meeting recently. The proceedings are now posted on the new LABRats Development web page at http://www.sas.org/labrats/LABRatsDvpt.html

We are thrilled that so many world STEM education experts have joined the LABRats Program Content Committee. Among the members are representatives from Museum of Science in Boston, Harvard, Tufts, Northeastern, and UMass Boston. Everyone was exremely enthusiastic and supportive of the LABRats concept. In fact, one of the only concerns raised was that college may be disappointing to LABRRats participants after such a rich and
rewarding experience with the program in middle and high school. For more details, I invite you to review the meeting summary and presentations on the web page.

Many thanks for your continued support.

Best regards,

Heather Smith
Society for Amateur Scientists
Director of Program Development
LABRats

This message is from the LABRats News Group. For information, archives, or to subscribe, please see http://webexhibits.org/about/labrats.html

On May 15th, the discovery of a “new” Mersenne Prime number was announced by the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search (GIMPS) project (found via Slashdot)

A while ago, I posted about how you could “help solve major science problems while your computer’s idling“. If you want to join the hunt for larger and larger Mersenne Prime numbers, you can download a program from mersenne.org to help in the search. To find out how Mersenne Primes differ from ordinary primes, check out the GIMPS FAQ.