Making a Difference with 100 Trees

Geordon and David Faulkner discuss the plan

Ask Geordon Worley, a junior at Cosby High School, what he’s been thinking about lately and he will quickly tell you – trees – lots of trees! As part of his Eagle Scout project, Geordon led members of Boy Scout Troop #2860 in the planting of 100 trees around Swift Creek Reservoir.  Watch the video below to find out more about this important project.

Water Play and Your Child’s Growing Brain

water play

In the early months and years of life children learn by getting their hands on and in all kinds of things. This early sensory motor stage is a wonderful time to introduce your child to science and math concepts through activities such as floor time, finger paint and water play.

Fueling Up!

Eating healthy can be fun!

What makes our body “get up and go” every day? Just like gas fuels our car, the calories we get from food fuel our bodies. Have you ever tried to explain how this works to your child? Let’s start with a definition of a calorie. A calorie is a unit of energy or heat which approximates the energy needed to increase the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1° Celsius. In simpler terms, a calorie is the energy we receive from food.

Modern Science Unlocks Mummy’s Secrets

Ti Ameny Net

Caroline Cobert, a senior and Biology and Classics Major at the University of Richmond, has always been fascinated with the science and history of Ancient Egypt. Where has this fascination led her? To use the most current scientific methods and technology available to unlock secrets of a 2,700 year old mummy, Ti Ameny Net.

Glowing Rocks at the University of Richmond

Studying petrified wood

Have you ever been surrounded by rocks that glow? You will be when you visit the Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature at the University of Richmond. Tucked within a gallery filled with intriguing objects like fossils, shells, a giant clam, decorative arts, ancient coins, and different kinds of gems and minerals - the Fluorescent Mineral room is a site not to miss.  Watch the video below to find out more.

Water Matters at the Rice Center

Rice Center

The Rice Center for Environmental Life Sciences is Virginia Commonwealth University’s large outdoor laboratory devoted to environmental research.  Located on 494 acres along the James River, the Rice Center is a place where scientists study the role of conservation in helping to protect our rivers and wetlands.  This unique field station on the James is in an area rich in natural and cultural resources and is an ideal place to teach how we all can become better stewards of our natural resources.

Nanotechnology at the MathScience Innovation Center

nano technology

The MathScience Innovation Center recently launched a new and exciting initiative on the Big Ideas of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology for grades 6-12. The Center staff predicts that the enthusiasm over Nanoscience and Nanotechnology will go from the launch at the Center to our schools and students, and even into our homes. Soon everyone will be thinking about Big Ideas on the Nanoscale.

FIRST Robotics Competition Gives Virginia Teams “Hoop Dreams”

FIRST Robotics Competition

If you think playing basketball is tough, imagine the challenge of designing and building a robot that can maneuver around a court and shoot baskets while probably bumping into other robots that also are scooting around and shooting hoops.  To throw in an extra twist, how about giving your robot the ability to balance on a teetering platform, too?

Children’s Engineering Workshop at Hopkins Elementary

Hopkins

What do a roll of aluminum foil, a box of drinking straws, a handful of pennies and a bag of marshmallows have in common? They are all fabulous tools for children to use when solving engineering problems.

On June 15, 2011, Hopkins Elementary School in Chesterfield County, engaged students in grades K- 5 in a dynamic and interactive Children’s Engineering Workshop. In every class, inspirational teachers used innovative teaching strategies to facilitate problem solving by their students. The purpose of the day was for teachers to challenge their students to solve real-world problems by using engineering models.

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