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THE GEEK BLOG
Occasional Musings From The King Of The Geeks

-Where The Geek Lab came from

Way back in 2010, I was the Director of Family Science Night for a local science center. The success of this program was phenomenal: at every event hundreds of elementary school kids (and their parents) had a whopping good time doing science. It was pandemonium...but the good kind.

I wanted this excellent vibe to follow the families home, so I created little activity kits that we handed out to the parents with the admonition "go do some science at home with the kids." We gave these kits out for free...thousands of them.

I am no longer the director of this program, but the excellent feedback received from the parents convinced me that providing a follow-up experience was very important. The kids were so excited on the night of the event that it would be a shame if the excitement slipped away the next day.

So...The Geek Lab was born. Although we cannot afford to give the kits away, we have decided to minimize the cost so that everyone can get a hands-on chance to do some real science.

 

THE GEEK BLOG
Occasional Musings From The King Of The Geeks

-From metal girders to programmed plastic

How many of you remember the Erector set? I do...it was one of the first toys I remember playing with.

For those of you who do not remember them, they were a collection of different size miniature metal girders, nuts and bolts, and some miscellaneous metal parts. One could build all kinds of edifices, from robots to bridges. Mine had a small electric motor that plugged into the wall and had exposed gears: I cannot tell you how many times my fingers were sucked into those gears, resulting in bleeding finger tips and tears.

Now, in the 21st century, we have the modern equivalent of the Erector set; I refer to the Lego NXT set. I've had one of these for several years, and let me tell you, it is one of the most marvelous "toys" I've ever encountered.

Whereas the Erector set was limited to what could be created (and to what that creation could do), the NXT has no such limitations. An amazing set of components, including motors and sensors, can be PROGRAMMED to do just about anything. Just search the web and have a look at what people have created.

My point (as I occasionally do have one) is that NXT is a marvelous and wonderful tool for teaching STEM and getting kids involved in science, even though they (think) they may not want to be involved. SURPRISE! It's fun and you just created a ...insert contraption-name here.

All four disciplines of STEM can be addressed. In fact, here is an example of NXT being used in science: using NXT to grow bone.

And no blood and gnarled fingers: battery operated, fully enclosed motors and plastic gears- less time in the emergency room, more time for learning and fun!

By the way, I am not shilling for Lego and NXT. I just believe it is one of the most excellent platforms for teaching and learning out there. Many schools agree. There is an amazing number of NXT clubs out there.

 

THE GEEK BLOG
Occasional Musings From The King Of The Geeks

-Math is soooo boring...

Lots of kids say it. I'll bet you've heard it a few times. Let's face it: when presented without some concrete I-can-touch-this examples, most people have no patience for math-only activities.

Here's an example: F=ma. Most of us probably (and instantly) understand this equation. We can probably even imagine an example of it without realizing we are doing so. But what about a 10 year old: boring, can I go outside and play (or more likely, can I go play video games)?

Several years ago, I discovered something called a Gaussian gun (or Gaussian cannon). Sounds deadly, but quite to the contrary, it is one of the most interesting examples of F=ma. It has all of the necessary ingredients for grabbing someone's attention: noise, fast, almost invisible action, and most importantly, a discrepant event.

A little metal ball slowly and quietly mosey on over towards some other stationary balls and, all of a sudden, WHAMO, one of the balls takes off at incredible speed. Wait a second...show me that again!

Now you've got their attention. Time to get on with the science and math. Pretty deceptive, isn't it?

 

THE GEEK BLOG
Occasional Musings From The King Of The Geeks

-You might be a geek...

....if the first "toy" you remember most is a calculator.
....if you still know how to use a sliderule.
....if you even know what a sliderule is.
....if, at the beach, you are surrounded by girls in bikinis and you wonder about the physics preventing them from falling off.
....if you ever wished that the laws of physics would sometimes "fail".
....if you are at a party, drinking root beer, and the only topic you can find anyone to discuss with you is how the Ipad works.
....if you go to a restaurant and the plates are triangular, and the first thing you think of is a Wankel rotary engine.
....if you realize that you are the only person in sight who knows that a penny is not made of copper.
....if you know the names of more than one feature on the moon.
....if you know where the moon came from....and when.
....if you know what "regolith" is.
....if you can name every exploratory vehicle in, on or orbiting around Mars.
....if you know where the name "Mars" came from.
....if you know why Mars is red
....if you know that Mars IS red.
....if you are sad that Pluto is no longer a planet.
....if you know what it is now.
....if your idea of a fun night is to build something with your Lego NXT set.
....if you own a Lego NXT set.
....if you just had a baby, and you can't wait to read to him about the 1969 moon landing.
....if you know how cars work.
....if you know how fluorescent bulbs work.
....if you can correctly spell "fluorescent" without having to look it up.
....if you remember DOS, XT or AT computers.
....if you know what DOS, XT or AT stand for.
....if you have a love/hate relationship with Bill Gates or Steve Jobs.
....If you ever wanted to be Bill Gates or Steve Jobs.
....if you ever walk into an electronics store and walk over to the computer isle just to see what's new.
....if the products in the computer isle all look like they did last year. And the year before. And the year before that.

 

THE GEEK BLOG
Occasional Musings From The King Of The Geeks

-Meh...what's another billion?

I was listening to a science podcast today (BIG PICTURE SCIENCE) about mathematics, and an interview with a mathematician caught my attention. What he said really put some numbers into perspective.

Think of a million, now a billion, and then a trillion. Just numbers that get bigger, right? Now think of a million dollars, a billion dollars, and a trillion dollars. Still, just very large amounts of money. For me, it's somewhat hard to grasp just how big these are.

So Mr. Mathematician says this: a million seconds is about 11 days. A billion seconds is 32 years. And a trillion seconds is 32,000 years.

OK...now I get it. Thus showing that context and presentation can make a whole lotta difference. Something to keep in mind when presenting what might seem like dull, boring numbers, facts and statistics to kids.