kids and science
jstemwedel | March 26, 2010Earlier this week, the younger Free-Ride offspring "made a bad decision" about time utilization at the after school program, electing to play outside and do a project before doing homework, meaning the homework was still unfinished when I arrived to fetch the sprogs.
The standard consequence for this is, apparently, one of the greatest horrors that can be visited upon a third grader: the loss of screen-time (which in the Free-Ride household covers television, computers, and hand-held game systems).
Through angry tears, the younger Free-Ride offspring responded to this travesty thusly:…
jstemwedel | March 19, 2010Earlier this week, I got to judge projects at a Science Fair, which, as usual, was loads of fun.
This year, however, owing to budget cuts and staffing cuts and things like that, there will be no science fair at the sprogs' elementary school. We are wistful about this, especially after the fun we had at their science fair last year. But just because there's not a science fair this year doesn't mean the sprogs are without questions they'd like to explore with science fair projects. As they were flitting about with their other activities, I got each of them to give me a list of three such…
jstemwedel | March 12, 2010Because there are some conversations you have to have with your kids even if you wish you didn't have to have them:
Dr. Free-Ride: I wanted to talk to you about a situation that has come up for a friend of mine and is a little worrisome. So, you know I went down to UCLA the other week, right?
Younger offspring: Yeah.
Dr. Free-Ride: Do you know what I was there for?
Elder offspring: A conference?
Dr. Free-Ride: Nope, it wasn't a conference. It was an event, a dialogue, where people were discussing scientific research with animals. In particular, some people were discussing why they support…
jstemwedel | March 5, 2010It's been awhile since the Free-Ride offspring have shared their artwork. Today, we offer some of their drawings of animals.
From the younger Free-Ride offspring:
Tigers. They may look cute, but you don't want to get near them when they're hungry.
Cheetahs. Same deal: cute, but deadly.
A horse. She didn't dress herself in that blanket and headband.
From the elder Free-Ride offspring:
Jungle Landscape. There's a lot going on here, and I'm feeling like there might be some traces of Bruegel and Escher.
A cat in a sushi bar. You will notice, however, that the selection includes non-…
jstemwedel | February 26, 2010Younger offspring: Hey, look what I grew!
Dr. Free-Ride: Wow, those are tall.
Younger offspring: It's a bean plant.
Dr. Free-Ride: I recognized the shape of the leaves. From the looks of it, you actually have more than one bean plant growing in there.
Younger offspring: When it gets warmer, we should transplant it into one of the garden beds.
Dr. Free-Ride: Mmm. We could try that, but all my garden books warn that beans don't transplant well.
Younger offspring: Then we can just grow it in the cup.
Dr. Free-Ride: OK.
Younger offspring: And then I'll harvest the beans. But I won't eat them…
jstemwedel | February 19, 2010Although I swear that the Free-Ride offspring have not read the relevant prior posts!
While walking home from school:
Younger offspring: From now on, in the sprog blogs, can you call me "the small, silent one"?
Dr. Free-Ride: Why? You're neither small nor silent.
Elder offspring: Definitely not silent. I live with you, I know.
Younger offspring: Just call me "the small, silent one," OK?
Dr. Free-Ride: But that would be lying to my readers.
Younger offspring: But you already lie to them.
Dr. Free-Ride: What? When do I do that?
Younger offspring: You call me the younger sprog--
Dr. Free-…
jstemwedel | February 12, 2010On account of Valentine's Day being right around the corner, and inspired by Sheril's almost-through-the-edits book on the science of kissing, I thought I'd ask the Free-Ride offspring (now 8.5 and 10.5 years old) whether they had any questions about kissing that they thought science might be able to answer.
Their initial reaction:
Both offspring in unison: EEEEEEWWWWWW!!!!
Dr. Free-Ride: Wow, I'm pretty sure that's not the reaction Sheril is anticipating for her book.
Younger offspring: Wait, does French kissing count as kissing?
Elder offspring: Yes.
Younger offspring: I wonder if tongue…
jstemwedel | February 10, 2010Five years ago today, I put up the first post on a blog that was mean to capture the overflow of discussions and ideas from my "Ethics in Science" class. Back then, I wasn't entirely sure that I'd manage to maintain the blog through the end of the semester.
It just goes to show you that you can't always tell which of the things you try will become sustainable practices (although maybe the ones that don't involve exercise equipment have better odds).
On the occasion of my fifth blogiversary, I'm reflecting on a question posed by BlogHer upon BlogHer's 5th anniversary:
What are five…
jstemwedel | February 5, 2010The elder Free-Ride offspring is lobbying to try an experiment this weekend. The working title of the protocol is "homemade soda*" but I suspect it may be described differently in the final report.
Dr. Free-Ride: Tell me about the experiment that you proposed to your teacher.
Elder Free-Ride offspring: I'll mix four cups of baking soda and vinegar and put each in its own bucket to keep the bubbles from spilling over, and take what remains in the cup and add fruit juice to it, and taste it, and if it's not sweet enough add sugar to it, and then pass it off as soda!
Dr. Free-Ride: Tell me more…
jstemwedel | January 29, 2010The elder Free-Ride offspring, always a fan of mustelids, has lately taken a particular interest in ferrets.
Given that Casa Free-Ride is located in the great state of California, this interest in ferrets has also spurred an interest in state law. In California, it's illegal to keep ferrets as pets.
According to the elder Free-Ride offspring, there is much to appreciate about ferrets:
Elder Free-Ride offspring: They're slinky!
Dr. Free-Ride: OK.
Elder Free-Ride offspring: They're cute!
Dr. Free-Ride: Sure.
Elder Free-Ride offspring:They're stinky.
Dr. Free-Ride: Yes, that I can vouch…
jstemwedel | January 22, 2010Early this month, my better half got something for the Free-Ride offspring that is somewhere in the realm of "this will be edifying, but maybe they'll find it cool, and if they don't then at least the grown-ups will have fun playing with it".
So far, it has been all of the above.
It's a human anatomy model (not life-size, thanks), and here's the state I found it in this morning:
Obviously, this isn't going to stifle my children's creativity.
The sprogs appreciate that you can "break it down," as it were, to see how brain rests in skull and how neck connects to torso.
They also like how you…
jstemwedel | January 15, 2010Longtime readers of this blog may recall that the elder Free-Ride offspring has a fondness (occasionally verging on obsession) for Pokemon cards. This means I had no choice but to involve my offspring in Dave Ng's Phylomon project:
[W]hat can we do to get kids engaged with the wonderful creatures that are all around them? They obviously have the ability and the passion to care about such things, but it appears misplaced - they'll spend a ton of resources and time tracking down fictional things, when they could easily do the same with the very wildlife around them. As a bonus, if they do…
jstemwedel | January 8, 2010Dr. Free-Ride: What have you been learning in science?
Younger offspring: I've been learning how to make fossils, and imprints.
Dr. Free-Ride: Tell me how.
Younger offspring: Well, we got some salt dough --
Dr. Free-Ride: What's in salt dough?
Younger offspring: Flour, water, and salt.
Dr. Free-Ride: OK
Younger offspring: And we made it into thick circles.
Dr. Free-Ride: And?
Younger offspring: And then we got either a shell, a leaf, a stick, or this seed cone, or conifer needles, and we pressed it down in the salt dough.
Dr. Free-Ride: And then what happened?
Younger offspring: And then it…
jstemwedel | January 1, 2010Dr. Free-Ride: So tell me about that device of yours? How did you make it and what does it do?
Elder offspring: There is a cut piece of a drinking straw. You also need two pieces of tin foil and a long string.
Dr. Free-Ride: That's really aluminum foil, isn't it?
Elder offspring: They call it tin foil.
Dr. Free-Ride: Well, I've been meaning to have a word with "them" about that. Anyway, how did you assemble the device.
Elder offspring: First, you put the string through the piece of straw. Then, you pinch the pieces of foil into bow shapes (like bow-ties), and then you tie the ends if the…
jstemwedel | December 21, 2009It's time for Dr. Free-Ride to have a chat with the grown-ups. If you're a kid and you're reading this, think how much the adults in your life would appreciate it if you got up from the computer and put away your stuff that needs putting away (or played with your brother or sister nicely, or folded some socks).
I'll have a post with some neat-o pictures in it up in a few hours.
OK, just grown-ups here? Let's chat about the man in red.
Issue #1: Is opting into the Santa thing ethical?
This issue was raised in a comment on the New York Times Motherlode blog:
Lies. Just lies.
Though the child…
jstemwedel | December 18, 2009Given the extent and urgency of my current grading responsibilities, the sprogs and I have not had occasion this week for any extended conversations about matters strictly scientific, but there has been some chatter about Santa Claus:
Younger offspring: What happens if I stay awake on Christmas eve and see Santa?
Dr. Free-Ride: I don't know. I've always heard that he's really shy, and he doesn't like to be observed while he works.
Younger offspring: But is he really?
Dr. Free-Ride: I can just tell you what I've been told. I have no firsthand information about Santa's personality and…
jstemwedel | December 11, 2009Other kids may be convinced that Santa Claus uses some kind of Christmas magic to get the job done. Not the Free-Ride offspring.
They have told me that obviously, Santa is putting his trust in science. (And also technology. But the holidays are no time for ugly spats about disciplinary boundaries.)
From the younger Free-Ride offspring:
Santa needed to do research, of course, to work out the details of flying reindeer. Apparently, much of this was online research. (Also, it looks like Santa uses a MacBook.)
From the elder Free-Ride offspring, two items science relies on:
The elastic in…
jstemwedel | December 10, 2009The elder Free-Ride offspring drew this:
I'm told it's a cat-mantis-kangaroo-lizard-horned toad robot. I'm pretty sure it's not yet available in stores (although maybe there's a kit?).
But I really want one. And not just to set against a Roomba in gladiatorial battle.
Speaking of Roomba, my better half was professing a need for yet another haircut, which got me to thinking that someone should develop a hybrid of the Roomba and the Flowbee. I mean, who wouldn't want a robot going on regular reconnaissance missions across one's head to determine whether the hair growth warrants a trim and…
jstemwedel | December 5, 2009(Not the post title I'd have chosen, but the sprog in question is sitting right next to me.)
The younger Free-Ride offspring likes to draw, and seems to have a fondness for marine mammals. Today, we offer two drawings of otters.
Here's an otter with a sea urchin.
I'm told the otter plans to eat that sea urchin.
This is an entirely different otter (which the younger Free-Ride offspring tells me is the baby of the otter in the first picture), and a dolphin:
I don't know how much of a problem dolphin poo is for otters in general. Arguably, dolphin poo is a problem for *this* otter.
jstemwedel | December 4, 2009The younger Free-Ride offspring's third grade class is involved in some independent research about animals.
Each student chose an animal (with no duplicates, as far as I can tell) and set off to find a nonfiction book about that animal to gather information for a written report and an oral report.
The students also need to make a "stuffed animal" version of their chosen animal. Here's the younger Free-Ride offspring's:
The younger Free-Ride offspring, being a very independent-minded child, executed this stuffed swordfish with no help whatsoever. Which, you know, would be great ... except…