That’s one of the first things I tell my chemistry students. They react by looking at me as if I have three heads. Still, without exception, every single one of my students will at some point over the course of …
Genetics is typically a topic taught to students in middle or high school. The reason? Well you can’t really discuss heredity and how genes are passed from parent to offspring without talking about sexual reproduction. Children mature at different rates, …
I am a microbiologist, so needless to say I’m fascinated by the microscopic world. I can literally spend hours using my microscope exploring life in a sample of pond water. What I find most intriguing is that there is a …
Foldscope: An Affordable Option for a Quality Microscope Read More »
We Are Born Curious. As children, one of the first words most of us learned was, “Why?” How many of us remember the stage when our own children reached the age of constant curiosity? Virtually nothing could escape our kids’ …
What is a Force? We have forces acting on us everyday, though they likely don’t attract our attention. Gravity holds us to the earth and keeps our planet spinning in orbit. Forces within the atoms of our bodies keep the …
Although we hear a lot about DNA in the news and on crime TV shows, many are unfamiliar with what it is and why it’s so important. I’d like to change that. From the first time I learned about DNA …
March 14 is Pi Day! Why March 14? In countries that that report their dates in month/day format, March 14 (3/14) corresponds to the first three digits of the number pi (3.14). Pi Day was instituted in …
My husband says I have “bat ears”—that I can hear him whispering a mile away. While that may be an exaggeration, I do admit that I have sensitive hearing. That’s not always a good thing. I have little tolerance for …
Can You Hear Me Now? The Science of Hearing Loss Read More »
The Importance of Teaching Material to Suit Different Learning Styles In my experience as a teacher (both in the classroom and as the primary educator of my children in our home-school), I am convinced that no two people learn the …
PhET: an Excellent Resource for Virtual Learning Read More »
Can Dogs See Color? I spent years training to be a scientist, so I pride myself on my powers of observation. But you don’t have to be a scientist (or particularly observant for that matter) to see that my dog …
