Here's the first of this year's series of pictures proving that our Christmas tree is all about SCIENCE!!! (which, for the record, needs to be said like it's in a Thomas Dolby song). Some of these will eventually get kind of obscure, but we'll start with an easy one:
This little guy, obviously, stands for the life sciences and evolution.
Why evolution? Well, because he's an iguana, and they're found in the Galapagos Islands, where Darwin did all that work, back in the day.
Also, we got him (her? it's hard to tell...) at the Darwin exhibit at the science museum in Boston.
You can't see it very well in this picture, but the ornament is articulated-- the tail and body are made of overlapping segments, and can be bent around almost in a circle. It's not inherently Christmasy (in fact, I'm not 100% certain is was intended to be an ornament), but it's a little glittery articulated iguana, and who wouldn't want one of those?
The blue-and-white thing in the background is a blown-glass ornament that I made at the Corning Glass Museum a couple of years ago. "Blown glass" makes it sound like it ought to be fragile, but in fact, it weighs a ton. Glass is kind of science-y, too-- lenses and mirrors and beakers and flasks-- so there's some bonus extra science content for you.
- Log in to post comments
More like this
SCIENCE!
"There she goes again! She's tidied up and I can't find anything!"
SCIENCE!!
It's just amazing how many rocket themed ornaments you can find when your husband is a rocket scientist.
MKK
As a materials scientist whose undergraduate senior thesis was on lead-free alternatives to lead "crystal", I can assure you're readers that glass is not just "science-y", but is indeed full-fledged science. Discussing that ornament alone you could use words like "color center", "devitrification", and "viscosity".
That chameleon is amazing! Just goes to show what you can do when stuck on a big colorful tree, having to ad lib! LOL
Dave Briggs :~)
Our Christmas tree is more sports-y than science-y - we have a Derek Jeter ornament, which is my three-year-old daughter's favorite, among many other similarly-themed decorations. That said, a little glittery articulated iguana would be a big hit in our house as well.