Sunday, January 15, 2012

Phases of the Moon - Oreo Style


Every 28 days, we see the Moon's appearance change as it transitions through eight distinct, traditionally recognized stages, called phases. The phases designate both the degree to which the Moon is illuminated and the geometric appearance of the illuminated part.  A bit of creativity and Oreo cookies (with some of the middle removed) become great models for our phases of the moon. 
This has got to be the absolute best way to learn Science !!

ROBOTS !!!!!


Science club members are not just learning about Robots, they are actually programming Lego Mindstorms NXT 2.0 Robots.   All over  Alabama and nationwide, robots perform amazing tasks like painting cars, welding, drilling, dispensing medicine, even performing surgeries.
The last two weeks, we learned some basics about robots, and programmed our robot to move and speak.  This coming Friday, we will begin using sensors and will teach our robot to make decisions !

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Mickey Mouse, Fred Flintstone and the Science of Animation


Did you know that cartoons and movies are made from a series of still images?   Here is how it works…. The human brain retains an image for a fraction of a second longer than the eye actually sees it. That is why the world doesn't suddenly go black every time you blink. When you watch a movie, what you are actually seeing are individual still frames of film projected at 24 frames per second. Each of these frames is separated by darkness, so you are sitting in a dark theatre about half of the time. What you perceive is one image blending into the next, giving the illusion of movement and continuity. The dark spaces are "ignored" by the brain.  This is called “Persistence of Vision”.

PERFORM SOME ANIMATION SCIENCE OVER THE THANKSGIVING BREAK – HERE’S HOW !

Make a flipbook using index cards, a stack of post-it-notes, or even an old book (with your parents’ permission).  Watch the two YouTube videos below to learn how to make a flipbook. 
You Tube Video 1

Start with simple stick figures then get creative! Impress your Thanksgiving guests with your application of science.

Bring your completed flipbook to school right after Thanksgiving break.  We will post the top three flipbooks on the blog!!!