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Join us at WSTA! Global Health in the Chemistry Classroom
Laughing Crow Curriculum, along with teachers and staff from the Washington Global Health Alliance Ambassadors Program, will be presenting at WSTA 2010. Come join us!Our presentation will take place on Saturday morning, March 13th. We'd love to see you there.Influenza, Malaria, TB & Cholera: Global Health in the Chemistry ClassroomWashington is a world leader in global health research and advocacy. The Washington Global Health Alliance Ambassadors Program is focused on developing the next generation of global health leaders, ready to develop solutions for challenges like malaria, tuberculosis, influenza, and cholera. Join us on a "tour" of 12 chemistry lessons, including wet and dry labs, that brings real-life global health issues into the chemistry classroom. You will leave with free lesson plans and giveaways.For more information on WSTA 2010, click here.
Teens Take Heart Summer H.S. Teacher Institute
TEENS TAKE HEART Summer High School Science Teacher Institute Professional and Curriculum Development OpportunityJuly 12-July 23, 2010The Hope Heart Institute, a local non-profit organization, is interested in recruiting up to 10 high school science teachers to form a team to work with scientists and health professionals. This team will develop a biology-based unit that uses science to motivate students to make heart healthy lifestyle choices. The new lessons will then be piloted in their classrooms. Application forms can be downloaded here under "Education" and then "Teen Take Heart."FOR MORE INFORMATION:Please contact Christine Wieland at 425.456.8741 or send an e-mail. From: Hope Heart Institute.
Free Rain Garden Workshop
This from Stewardship Partners: Please join Stewardship Partners for a hands-on classroom workshop on rain garden design and construction. Schedule for Rain Garden Classes in King County:
02/25 Redmond
03/18 Bothell
03/30 Seattle
04/01 Mercer Island
04/20 Lake Forest Park
04/29 Bellevue
05/18 Duvall
Rain gardens work like native forests by capturing and infiltrating stormwater from rooftops, driveways, and other hard surfaces. Rain gardens reduce flooding by absorbing water from impervious surfaces; filter oil, grease and toxic materials before they can pollute streams, lakes and bays; help to recharge the aquifer by increasing the quantity of water that soaks into the ground; provide beneficial wildlife habitat. Workshop participants will receive a rain garden handbook and other useful materials. They will also be invited to participate in several full scale rain garden installation workshops scheduled later in the spring and summer. Workshops are free and registration is required. Participants will be sent site-assessment instructions in advance to help maximize their learning at the workshops. Contact Stacey Gianas at Stewardship Partners to register and for more details: Call (206) 292-9875 or email here and visit here for more rain garden information. From Stewardship Partners
Science of the Olympic Winter Games
This from the National Association of Science Teachers:NBC Learn, the educational arm of NBC News, has teamed up with the National Science Foundation (NSF) to produce Science of the Olympic Winter Games , a 16-part video series that explores the science behind individual Olympic events, including Downhill and Aerial Skiing, Speed Skating and Figure Skating, Curling and Hockey, and Ski Jumping, Bobsledding and Snowboarding.This project between the NSF and NBC Learn uses the global spotlight of the Olympics to make science more accessible and more interesting to students by showing how science helps athletes fulfill the Olympic motto: Citius, Altius, Fortius or Swifter, Higher, Stronger.
You can watch the videos here or download lesson plans here on science topics as diverse as: conservation of momentum and hockey; torque, friction and aerial skiing; lung power and cross-country skiing; drag and aerodynamic suit technology; composite materials and ski design; and more!Download Olympics lesson plans From: NSTA Express/NSF
Beavers in the City
   About a week ago, I was visiting a friend who lives in North Seattle near Lake City Way. After I arrived, she gathered up her dog, her son, his two friends, and me and led us on a secret mission. She kept the destination of our neighborhood walk a secret, even as the kids pleaded to know where we were going, and when we neared a shopping complex, insisted that the secret destination really, truly must be the Toys 'R Us. But no.
As we neared a boggy wetland beside a quiet neighborhood street, Amy motioned at the mud, pond, and drowned trees. She explained that this used to be a small neighborhood park with a creekside trail, "But," she asked, "What do you think happened here?"
As we rounded the corner, the mystery revealed itself: several large trees chomped, chiseled, and felled by beavers. The more we poked around, the more beavers signs we discovered. Their dam. Their dome-shaped lodge. Two beaver "slides" where they entered and exited the water. Several more tree trunks that the beavers had partially chewed through, and other trees protected with cages of wire fencing.
The beavers were a good reminder that everywhere, every day, wild animals are going about their lives in the city just as we are going about our human lives, often too busy and distracted to notice the amazing secrets tucked under rocks, nestled in tree limbs, and paddling upstream.
Photos by Amy Lang.
Science + Video + Students + Environment
What do you get when you teach South Seattle middle schoolers about urban water issues and show them how to shoot and edit a short film? DUMPER, a student video about storm drain pollution.This website features a video produced by students at Asa Mercer Middle School who were participating in a summer camp curriculum produced by Laughing Crow Curriculum. The 2007 summer camp focused on urban water quality issues. In partnership with Edge Media, the students created a culminating video to share information about what they learned during the two-week camp. Check it out: DUMPER: A Student Project Video.
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