MATRIX

Archive for November, 2009

Some people wonder how they can make science more fun for their children. Some people may want to know how they can help their children lean to understand science more. Here are some ways that you can make science more fun by doing science projects.

Doing science projects can help you and your children to learn new things about science and have fun while doing it. You can take things that your children are learning in science and make more out of it by creating a science project. For example if your children are learning about volcano’s and how they work. You can make your own volcano right in your own kitchen. Read through your child’s science book and find out what exactly they are learning about volcanoes. There are usually quizzes at the end of each chapter in your children’s science book. This will give you an idea about what you child will be tested on. So if your child is going to be tested on what makes a volcano erupt or what is the lava made out of. You can call the ingredients that you are pouring into the volcano the things that make lava or make it erupt. This will help your child to have fun while doing science and want to do more science projects to help them learn about science.

Another way to make science fun is to take your children on a nature walk. This will get your children off the couch and get them more active. You can then point out specific things that you see in nature have them pick out some things that they see. Then do sciences project to teach them about the scientific part of what they saw. This will help your children to have fun while doing science projects.

A different way of getting your child to have fun doing science projects is to be interested in what they are learning about in science, and ask if you can help them do science projects. You are your child’s best teacher. Your child will want to learn from you more than any one else. You can also help them to understand things in ways that other people can’t because you know how they learn the best. Do a science project that they are interested in or have asked a question about. For instance if your child is interested in hot air balloons, you could spend some time together researching hot air balloons and what makes them float. Then find an event with hot air balloons in your area and take them to watch them. Then discuss the way that the hot air balloon takes off and what is fueling it to make it float. This will help to make science more fun to your child and make them want to do more science projects.

There are many different things out there that you can get your child involved in to help them have more fun with science and get the interested in doing more science projects. Encourage them to try to figure out the science behind things and how they work. This will help your child to learn more about science. Make sure to have discussions about science and about what they have learned. Your child will be excited to tell you what they discover and have learned if you act interested in what they have to say. Do science projects that can create new ways of doing things like popping popcorn. Explain why popcorn will pop one way but not another. Creating new ways to do things through science projects will help make science more fun.

Don’t force yourself out of the most profitable hobby in the universe because you think it’s too hard to learn …It isn’t!

Gardening is fast becoming the world’s number one hobby, and with all the latest ‘alternative’ information we have to hand, gardening as a natural science is fun to learn about and rewarding in the extreme…

Produce your own fruit and veg – cut the shopping trips.

Keep it organic!- be nice to the planet, and your body.

Stay fit and healthy with exercise and fresh air.

Spend quality family time in the outdoors.

Turbo boost your creative spirit

And if that isn’t enough to be going on with, learn about plant-kind in all it’s glory. From trees through to fungi, there are millions of plants to research, grow and eat- no chance of getting bored!

First you have to take your first step.

Start gardening, be a gardener, enjoy your garden.

Starting from scratch? Let your imagination run wild. Stand in the centre (-ish) of your garden and imagine..close your eyes if you like.

Don’t hold back. Let your creative thoughts flow. How much can you do with your space? Don’t imagine for one minute that a simple lawn will let you off the hook here. A lawn needs maintaining, and mowing regularly – for EVER…and it can get kind of boring to look at as well! How about creating

a butterfly patch

a wildflowers corner

a vegetable plot

a herb garden

a water feature

Then you will need a shed to store your tools. Where would that be best placed in your garden? Don’t waste a sunny position with a garden structure. Sheds don’t need to be in full sun to survive!

Is there enough space to place garden furniture? Rather than going for the table-and-four-chairs-on-patio style, can you place benches and small tables in semi-shady spots near the honeysuckle or round the herbs?

When you think you have a reasonable idea of all you want from your garden, take some notes and think about it for a while. Don’t leap in too soon-more often than not you’ll land up doing the same job twice. Browse through garden catalogs, take a little time and do a little planning.

But not for too long! Don’t let the ideas wither into another was-gonna-do-one-day file.

If you have enough of a budget to buy your garden structures and furniture, do this first, and position them in your garden. Then create your flower beds, vegetable plots and wildlife patches around these structures.

If you don’t have cash up front, don’t worry. The things you need will come to you. For now, prepare the space as if you DID have the shed, or bench or whatever, and work around these areas.

Start all the patches and work on them as and when you can, or start one patch and get it finished before moving on to the next. How you work in your garden depends on a number of things…

size of land and budget

helping hands available

seasons and the weather

time slots and energy levels!

Treat gardening as an ongoing hobby rather than a project to be started and finished. Plants are growing life forms and will always be changing the shape and feel of your garden. Go with it where you can, and prune heavily where you have to!

Get the kids involved with quick-germinating seeds, and fast-growing plants. Many retailers offer special seed mixtures for kids. Pumpkins are great for getting the kids interested in gardening.

Learn about edible flowers and teach the children what can and can’t be eaten – and why.

Don’t let the grass grow under your feet. Get in on the action now. Turn off the TV, put your wellies on and leap into nature!

From its unique approach to engaging people in real science, to its goal of positively influencing communities to take action to improve our world, the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City has been re-invented to enhance educational travel and inspire student groups in scientific literacy and understanding.

Science museums first appeared in the early 1800s, with a focus on collecting, researching, and presenting artifacts in an attempt to understand the past. In the 1960s, science museums sought to entertain and engage their audiences – increasing scientific literacy and understanding. Today, many science centers are focused solely on interactivity. The newly reinvented Liberty Science Center has placed its efforts on encouraging actual science activism, acting as a resource and catalyst to advance the realm of science, technology, and society.

Enhanced by its historic and cosmopolitan location, which overlooks Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, the Liberty Science Center strives to inspire student tours in understanding the continuing connection between scientific advances and how they improve the human condition.

For instance, the center’s “Live From…Robotic Surgery” program uses live teleconferencing to take students into the O.R. where they interact directly with surgeons and witness how the advances of science and technology benefit humans. Program offerings include topics on cardiology, neurosurgery, and kidney transplant. Other programs include lab workshops in a state-of-the-art laboratory where students embark on an interactive learning experience led by a knowledgeable science educator.

As students explore the new Liberty Science Center, they encounter “Skyscraper!”, an unprecedented look at the planning, design, and technology of these amazing structures. Whether walking a steel girder high above the exhibit floor, facing down jet-powered hurricane force winds to test a building design, or taking a quiet moment to reflect on the destruction of the World Trade Center, “Skyscraper!” leaves students with a new appreciation and altered view of the impressive skyline that surrounds the center.

“Infection Connection” describes how the choices we make on a daily basis contribute to the rise and fall of infectious diseases. In this exhibit, students explore interactions between humans and microbes, learn about emerging diseases, and see how science develops tools and technologies to prevent and treat infections. Student tours can even conduct microbiology and epidemiology experiments in the center’s own laboratory.

While most of the exhibits in the center are brand new, students can still see some familiar favorites from the earlier days in “Wonder Why: Observe, Imagine, Create.” Exhibits highlights include the fossil-studded Rock Climbing Wall, observing the attributes of air at the Bernoulli Blower, or creating a masterpiece in the Digital Darkroom.

Science comes to life in demonstrations offered live in the center’s exhibition galleries. Student group travelers have the opportunity to participate and ask questions of a science educator on topics that correlate with the exhibits. For instance, students learn how to be an amateur surveyor using actual surveying equipment or learn the steps required to create a sterile environment in the operating room while performing live surgery on a (vegetative) patient. Or, they may experience first hand how lasers work and discover some of the ways lasers are used in daily life.

In the Liberty Science Center IMAX Dome Theater, student tours journey into ancient tombs or observe the surface of Mars during their scheduled film showings. In the Digital 3D Theater, the story of NASA’s Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory mission unfolds, told through the eyes of key NASA participants. The film features the first stunning 3D images ever captured of the sun and explains the vital knowledge the science community will gain from the mission.

The Liberty Science Center offers a variety of educational programs based on age and interest level. Some of the more popular choices include lab workshops, which are held in a state-of-the-art laboratory, where students embark on learning experiences, ranging from meteorology to New Jersey wildlife, with a science educator. Enhanced Experiences allows groups to choose an onsite experience and dig deeper into one of the center’s new exhibitions, or pick an outdoor experience and learn about the Hudson River estuary.