education
grrlscientist | December 30, 2009tags: education, public outreach, SciCafe, science cafe, AMNH, American Museum of Natural History, NYC, streaming video
Who: Ichthyologist Melanie Stiassny
What: free public presentation, "Mysteries of the Congo: Exploring the World's Deepest River"
When: 700pm, Wednesday, 6 January 2010
Where: Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth, American Museum of Natural History, Enter at the 81st Street (Rose Center) [directions and maps]
Cost: free, and there is a cash bar (must be 21+ with ID)
What strange new species lurk beneath? Join Museum Curator Melanie Stiassny, an ichthyologist who has been…
drorzel | December 30, 2009Today is Question Day when it comes to post topics, I guess. Over at Fine Structure, Nick asks about the effect of spotlighting brilliant scientists:
I can't help but think about the repercussions of looking at his clearly above average career as something that's normal in physics. It's a deterrent, I think, for all those students that aren't so completely brilliant that they do Nobel winning physics by 21. And it's not exactly uncommon to hear about these minds anymore. Is it a function of community density when we funnel all the supremely smart people towards math and science? What does it…
drorzel | December 30, 2009Over at Faraday's Cage, Cherish is thinking about gender color codes:
I know I may be in the minority here, but let's look at it this way: if someone might consider getting a microscope or telescope for a girl because it's pink rather than a traditional "girl toy" (read: BARBIE) in the absence of a pink microscope or telescope, hasn't something good been done?
How much of the "pinkification" is as a result of adult notions of what a girl versus boy can do? And if a microscope is colored pink (or a baseball mitt or whatever else) means that the adults around that girl will be willing to…
mikethemadbiologist | December 30, 2009Ever since I was a wee Mad Biologist, I've been told by Very Senior People that 'in five years, there's going to be a massive wave a retirement of older faculty.' This, in my mind, ranks up there with the Friedman Unit (in the next six months, we'll know if we have to leave Iraq, and six months later, we need another six months to know this), and the Samuelson Unit (the length of time to the ULTIMATE DOOOMMM!!! of Social Security is always 30-38 years from the time of prediction). Consequently, we will have a 'science gap' since not enough U.S. students know TEH SCIENTISMZ!!, even though…
grrlscientist | December 30, 2009tags: California Gull, Larus californicus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] California Gull, Larus californicus, photographed on Antelope Island Causeway and State Park of the Great Salt Lake and Northern Wasatch Mountains near Salt Lake City, Utah. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dave Rintoul, 13 May 2005 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | December 29, 2009tags: Black Kite, Milvus migrans, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Black Kite, Milvus migrans, photographed at Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen [larger view].
Nikon D2X and Nikon 200-400 VR lens at 270 mm. ISO 160 f/6.3 1/800.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
bioephemera | December 29, 2009There are two contradictory headlines today on Google News, both regarding someone I couldn't care less about. However, they nicely illustrate one of my key concerns about the internet: the pervasive illusion that the "wisdom of crowds" is in fact wisdom, or in fact fact.
Both stories involve the heinous Jon Gosselin, who as far as I'm concerned is a waste of attention. You may have heard that the former reality TV star had his apartment trashed over the holidays, and that no one knows who's responsible. But if one turns to Google News, one can see that People Magazine appears to have an…
grrlscientist | December 28, 2009tags: Fencing Flamingos, ornithology, ecology, endangered species, food webs, research, field work, Marita Davison, Jennifer Moslemi, Jamie Herring, streaming video
"Fencing Flamingos" follows the work of Marita Davison, a PhD student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Cornell University, and her collaborator Jennifer Moslemi as they study flamingos in the rugged high-Andes of Bolivia. The harsh conditions made it challenging to make the video, Davison says, but it's been worth it. "We've had more people see the video than I'll ever have reading a journal article that I write." The video…
grrlscientist | December 28, 2009tags: Henslow's Sparrow, Ammodramus henslowii, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Henslow's Sparrow, Ammodramus henslowii, photographed on the Konza Prairie Biological Station (Riley County) in Manhattan, Kansas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dave Rintoul, 8 July 2007 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | December 27, 2009tags: Female Painted Bunting, Passerina ciris, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Female Painted Bunting, Passerina ciris, photographed at Pelican Island (A&M Property), Galveston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 19 April 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/320s f/8.0 at 500.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | December 26, 2009tags: Intergrade Northern Flicker, red-shafted x yellow-shafted Northern Flicker, Colaptes auratus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Intergrade (red shafted x yellow shafted) Northern Flicker, Colaptes auratus, photographed at the Black River Riparian Forest in Renton, Washington. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Michael C. Hamilton, 9 August 2009 [larger view].
Digiscoped using a Leica 77-mm spotting scope with a Nikon P6000 compact camera.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | December 26, 2009tags: kitchen science, science abuse, christmas lights, microwave oven, funny, humor, brainiac, streaming video
This video shows one of several dangerous kitchen experiments conducted by real scientists who video them -- all so you don't have to repeat them yourself.
grrlscientist | December 25, 2009tags: Polar Bear Versus Walrus Colony, nature, global warming, climate change, BBC, Planet Earth, documentary, streaming video
This video documents an awesome fight for survival as a grown male polar bear takes on a walrus colony at the edge of the Arctic circle. This was a truly epic battle, phenomenally captured in high quality, from the BBC natural history masterpiece, Planet Earth.
What surprised you most about this footage? I was surprised that the walruses did not work together to defeat/get rid of the polar bear.
esiegel | December 25, 2009I have come not to make war on the Italians, but to aid the Italians against Rome.
-Hannibal of Carthage
Today is Christmas Day, but did you know that this holiday, in addition to being a solstice celebration, has its origins in the second Punic War? Beginning in 218 B.C., the Romans suffered a number of, well, fairly crushing defeats at the hands of Hannibal of Carthage. You've probably heard the story of Hannibal crossing the Alps with elephants (although, according to some sources, only one survived), and invading Italy, making it all the way to the city walls of Rome.
Roman morale was…
grrlscientist | December 25, 2009tags: Dangerous Wands: The Ghetto Harry Potter, Harry Potter, teaching, poverty, funny, humor, parody, streaming video
A little birdie whispered into my ear about this video .. to say the least, as a former college professor and Harry Potter fan, I LOVE it, and I think you will enjoy it, too!
grrlscientist | December 25, 2009tags: birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Christmas Duck, Anas noellus, photographed in a kitchen on the 13th floor of an apartment building in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Unlike most mystery birds, this individual came with a label indicating that it originated in France. [I might identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: GrrlScientist, 25 December 2009 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Yes, I did roast this duck a little longer, after so rudely slicing into the leg like that.
Image: GrrlScientist, 25 December 2009…
grrlscientist | December 24, 2009tags: Crimson Rosella, Pennant's Rosella, Platycercus elegans, Australian King Parrot, Alisterus scapularis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Australian King Parrots, Alisterus scapularis (3 on right), and Crimson Rosellas, sometimes known as Pennant's Rosella, Platycercus elegans (13 on top, left and bottom, also one in lower right side), photographed at Lamington National Park, west of the Gold Coast, Australia. The bird at the bottom is about to jump into the center, to the discontent of the other birds. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: Matthew…
grrlscientist | December 24, 2009tags: kitchen science, science abuse, christmas lights, microwave oven, funny, humor, brainiac, streaming video
This video shows one of several dangerous kitchen experiments conducted by real scientists who video them -- all so you don't have to repeat them yourself.
grrlscientist | December 23, 2009tags: education, public outreach, SciCafe, science cafe, AMNH, American Museum of Natural History, NYC, streaming video
Who: Ichthyologist Melanie Stiassny
What: free public presentation, "Mysteries of the Congo: Exploring the World's Deepest River"
When: 700pm, Wednesday, 6 January 2010
Where: Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth, American Museum of Natural History, Enter at the 81st Street (Rose Center) [directions and maps]
Cost: free, and there is a cash bar (must be 21+ with ID)
What strange new species lurk beneath? Join Museum Curator Melanie Stiassny, an ichthyologist who has been…
grrlscientist | December 23, 2009tags: The Known Universe, education, AMNH, American Museum of Natural History, NYC, streaming video
The Known Universe is an educational video about the new exhibit at AMNH that takes viewers from the Himalayas through our atmosphere and the inky black of space to the afterglow of the Big Bang. Every star, planet, and quasar seen in the film is possible because of the world's most complete four-dimensional map of the universe, the Digital Universe Atlas that is maintained and updated by astrophysicists at the American Museum of Natural History. The new film, created by the Museum, is part of…