This Blog's History: Tye Dye Milk Experiment

In case you missed it when I originally posted it way back in 2012, for This Friday in This Blog's History I point you back to a very cool experiment I did with my kids called the Tye Dye Milk experiment.  It is super cool and you should definitely click the link below to see some awesome science your kids will love!!!

Tye Dye Milk Experiment

Appalachia Trip #9: Asheville Tourists

After a long day driving along the Blue Ridge Parkway, we checked into our hotel and then went out for a night of minor league baseball in Asheville, North Carolina.  Asheville is home to the Asheville Tourists, a single A minor league baseball team in the Colorado Rockies system.  You never know what you might get for a stadium in minor league baseball, but the Tourists have an excellent stadium for minor league standards.

The view from behind home plate.

Very nice and an excellent view behind the outfield wall.  It was an excellent night for baseball and the Tourists won a very high scoring game in the 10th inning.  Woohoo!!! If you like baseball and are in Asheville, I recommend checking out the Tourists.  Great stadium with a great baseball atmosphere.

Appalachia Trip #8: The Blue Ridge Parkway

Our fourth day in Appalachia took us on a long drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway which is loaded with amazing views!  If you have a national park book, stop at one of the Blue Ridge Parkway visitor's centers and get your book stamped.  The Blue Ridge Parkway cuts through a large section of Virginia and North Carolina.  The section we traveled on was in North Carolina.  We stopped at several overlooks and took in the views.

The view from Buck Springs Gap Overlook.

The parkway is a windy road and you are typically driving 40 mph or less most of the way, but the views are more than worth it.  Plus there are some very cool sights, such as Mount Mitchell, that are must sees.  Definitely take a day to drive along the parkway.  Take your time on the parkway and enjoy the sights!  If you are in a hurry, you will not enjoy the trip and you'll miss out.

Summer Science Camp Day #1: Stomp Rockets

Our final activity on day #1 of my week long summer science camp was the building of stomp rockets.  You can buy stomp rocket kits at various online stores, but I built my own simple system using these simple instructions provided by NASA.

How to Build Stomp Rockets

The kids had fun building and launching their rockets.  We talked about ways to make them more aerodynamic and then had a contest to see which rockets went the farthest and the highest.  One of my adult helpers built his own stomp rocket and the kids got a huge kick out of watching him launch it because his went far higher and farther than any of the other rockets. This was a great opportunity to get the kids thinking and asking why his went farther.  They brought up the careful design of the fins and nose cone the adult helper put together, but they also talked about how he's an adult and he can stomp harder, pushing the air out of the tubes faster and thus launching the rocket higher.  Some high quality critical thinking in this class!

Check out the link above for a cheap and simple method to build your own stomp rocket launch system.  They are a ton of fun!!!

Solar System Bouquet

One of the students in my astronomy class this past semester graduated at the end of May and someone in her family gave her this on graduation day.

A solar system bouquet!!!

Instead of a bouquet of lowers, this family gave their graduate a bouquet of the Solar System!!!  Now that's a nerdy family and I love it!!!  I just had to share this because I've never seen anything like it and thought it was so cool!!!  :-)

This Blog's History: Remembering My Dad

In case you missed it last time, for This Friday in This Blog's History, I point you back to the post I wrote earlier this month on the one year anniversary of my dad's death.  He was a great dad and although life goes on, he'll never be forgotten.

Remembering My Dad

Appalachia Trip #7: Mount Mitchell

After visiting Round Bald on our third day in Appalachia, the school trip I chaperoned took a drive down the Blue Ridge Parkway, taking in the amazing scenery.  We detoured off the parkway for a visit to the top of Mount Mitchell.  Mount Mitchell is located in North Carolina and is the highest point in the United States east of the Mississippi river.

Mount Mitchell

The road takes you close to the top of Mount Mitchell, so the walk to the top is not a long one.  As expected, it brings some amazing views.

The view from Mount Mitchell.

Wow!!!  I've said it many times in these posts, but this is another must-see if traveling along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.  You can't beat views such as this, so don't pass it up!!!

Summer Science Camp Day #1: Water Bottle Rockets

After exploding soda on day one of my week long science camp this summer, I gave the kids the task of building water bottle rockets out of empty two liter bottles.  I've discussed this on my blog in the past, so I won't go over the full procedure, but it's a simple procedure to build awesome water bottle rockets.  You can find this procedure here:

Building Water Bottle Rockets

The kids had a great time building the rockets, and in the process we talked about how to get the rockets to fly higher, mainly focusing on aerodynamics.  Having a nice nose cone to push the air to the side helps, as do sturdy fins and a rocket design that stands straight up and down without bending anywhere in the design.

Building the rockets was fun, but launching the rockets was the most fun!  Here's a video of one of the kids' rockets launching.  I apologize for not following the rocket in the air, but you get to see the launch.  Listen to the kids scream at the moment of launch!  LOL!  It's that excitement that makes these camps so worth it to teach.  What's better then getting kids excited about science?  I'll tell you.  Nothing! 

Appalachia Trip #6: Round Bald

Our third day in Appalachia brought us to Carvers Gap (elevation 5512 feet) in Pisgah-Cherokee National Forest.  A nice hike took us to the top of Round Bald, a mountain top that is tree-less, but not above the tree line, thus the 'bald' designation.

Carvers Gap

The view from Round Bald.

Beautiful!  If driving through the forest, this is a must-see!!!  The hike to the top is relatively easy.  We even saw one guy doing the hike barefoot!  That's a bit extreme for me, but put on some solid shoes and you'll be fine.  :-)

Summer Science Camp Day #1: Exploding Soda

For the first time in a few years I put on a week long science camp for third, fourth, and fifth graders at the start of June.  We did several activities each day, many of which I've posted on this blog before.  I'll be posting several blog entries detailing the activities of this camp and the things we learned.  The first activity of the week was dropping Mentos candy in different varieties of soda and watching the pop explode out of the bottle! 

The demonstration is very simple.  Take approximately six pieces of Mentos candy and drop them in an open two liter bottle of soda.  The candy reacts with the soda, forcing the soda up and out of the bottle.  I like to turn this into a science experiment by first asking the kids to analyze the nutrition facts on the soda labels and make predictions as to which sodas will explode to the highest heights and why.  They focused on the sugar and sodium content.  Then we go out and test our predictions with various varieties of soda.  Typically the diet brands explode higher.  In our collection of soda, diet A&W root beer exploded the highest and Mountain Dew was kind of a dud. 

Then we came back together and discussed how well our data matched our predictions.  It's a great example of how science works.  Sometimes our predictions are spot on and other times they are not, in which case we learn new things!  In my class, students were very surprised that the Mountain Dew did not work very well.  It came up out of the bottle, but not very high and basically just dribbled out.  Interesting!

Click the link below to see a video I made back in 2012 in which I tested this demonstration with my kids. 

Exploding Soda Pop

Exploding soda never gets old!  My oldest daughter was helping out with this camp and she was commenting on differences between this camp's exploding pop and what we did at home a few years ago.  My youngest daughter was a participant in the camp and the smiles it brought to the her and the other kids shows just how awesome this demonstration/experiment is!  Like I said, exploding soda never gets old!!!

This Blog's History: Appalachia Trip Post #2: Cumberland Gap National Historic Park - Pinnacle Overlook

In case you missed it earlier, I went on a school trip with high school students to the Appalachia region of Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, and North Carolina.  Our first stop was Cumberland Gap National Historic Park where we took a short hike to the Pinnacle Overlook for some excellent views of the surrounding land.  For more on this and a look at the pictures, click the link below.

Appalachia Trip Post #2: Cumberland Gap National Historic Park - Pinnacle Overlook

Appalachia Trip Post #5: Watauga Reservoir

After visiting Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park on our school trip to Appalachia we took a drive to check out the Watauga Reservoir and dam.

A view of the reservoir.

A look at the dam.

The back side of the dam.

This is the highest reservoir in the Tennessee river system and offers some breathtaking views.  There are several hiking trails nearby, including one that goes down to the dam itself and connects to the Appalachia trail.  It's a short walk to the viewpoint of the dam, but a longer walk takes you to the dam itself which is worth the walk, in my opinion. 

Appalachia Trip Post #4: Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park

On our second day on our (school) trip to Appalachia, we stopped at Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park in Elizabethton, TN.  We had no idea there was a Revolutionary War re-enactment taking place and arrived just as it was starting.  Excellent timing!  It was a re-enactment of a battle between the colonists and Native Americans (teamed with the British).  Our reason for stopping was to view the fort and check out the museum in the visitor's center, but the re-enactment was a wonderful surprise.

Live action scene from the re-enactment.

Statue outside the Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park Visitor's Center.

All in all a great visit with a pleasant surprise.  This park is a definite must-see if you are in the area and looking for something to do. 

Appalachia Trip Post #3: Tri-State Point in Cumberland Gap National Park

On the same day we visited the Pinnacle Overlook in Cumberland Gap National Park we visited the Tri-State point in the same park.  It was a relatively short hike to the point where Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia all meet.

Kentucky

Tennessee

Virginia

The views from this point were lovely as well.

The view into Kentucky from the Tri-State Point in Cumberland Gap National Park

There are many other hiking trails in the park too, but we didn't have time for any others.  If you're stopping at just a few places in the park, I definitely recommend the visitor's center, Pinnacle Overlook, and the Tri-State Point.  You won't be disappointed!!!

Climate Change Denial Myth #3: Are Temperature Increases Leveling Off?

For the third in an on-going series of climate change denial claims we have the claim that temperature increases are leveling off.  This claim seems to accept the overwhelming scientific evidence that global temperatures are increasing, but there's nothing to worry about because those increases are now leveling off and disappearing.  Um...no.  Not at all true. 

A recent study published by Nature takes direct aim at this claim and shows, without a doubt, that it is simply not true.

Tropospheric Warming Over The Past Two Decades

From the abstract of the article:

"Tropospheric warming trends over recent 20-year periods are always significantly larger (at the 10% level or better) than model estimates of 20-year trends arising from natural internal variability."

The article goes on to describe the data and methods used, but the conclusion is very clear.  Temperatures are not leveling off.  They continue to increase and increase at unprecedented rates.  The planet is warming and no amount of denialism will stop this warming.  

The graph below is another example of real data making it absolutely clear that global temperatures continue to increase.

Global temperature increase by year - NASA GISS.

The planet is getting hotter and hotter. Stop the lies and let's fix this problem!

This Blog's History: Does Solar Activity Cause Climate Change?

In case you missed it last time, for This Friday in This Blog's History I point you to the first post I wrote in a news series on debunking the ridiculous claims of climate change denialists.  The first looked at the claim from denialists that the sun causes climate change.  Short story:  It doesn't.  For the longer story, click the link below to read the full post on this topic.

Climate Change Myths #1: Is Climate Change Caused by Solar Activity?

Appalachia Trip Post #2: Cumberland Gap National Historic Park - Pinnacle Overlook

On our first day of our trip to the Appalachia region we did a lot of driving, but also some sight seeing.  One of our stops was to Cumberland Gap National Park.

Cumberland Gap National Historic Park

The park lies along the borders of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia and offers some great hiking and sight-seeing.  If you have a national park/national historic site book, make sure you stop at the visitor's center and get your book stamped.

Our first stop in the park was a nice drive up a very steep, winding road to the parking area to the Pinnacle Overlook.

Pinnacle Overlook

A very short walk later and we were at the overlook and had views such as this.

View from the Pinnacle Overlook.

Beautiful!  Depending on the direction you looked, you were either looking into Tennessee or Kentucky, if I remember correctly.

This wasn't our only stop in the park, but it was definitely a great start to the trip!  The weather held off too.  Just off to the left in the photo above was a strong storm, but it swept past us without anything more than a short light rain.  Phew!

More on Cumberland Gap National Park coming up in a few days.

Appalachia Trip Post #1: Trip to Appalachia

I recently returned from a school trip to the Appalachia region of eastern Kentucky, eastern Tennessee, and western North Carolina where I served as one of the adult chaperones.  It was a fun trip with hiking, mountains, trees, and beautiful scenery.  Oh, and a couple of black bears!  We hit up the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Roan Mountain State Park, the high point in North Carolina, the high point in Tennessee, a damn, and a minor league baseball game to name just a few things.  Much, much different from the flat Midwest landscape we came from.

Our view from the top of Clingmans Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains.

A bit foggy on our day to Clingmans Dome, but the fog cleared just enough to snap some pictures of the surrounding forest and mountains.  Beautiful!  And this is just one snapshot from our trip.  There was so much more that we saw!  Over the next couple of weeks I'll share our trip experiences on this blog.  If you've never been to this area, I highly recommend it!  Great scenery, great hiking, nature, and more!

Merlin TV Series

With the current season of TV shows I watch coming to an end I need to find something else to fill my time while working out each morning.  I came across Merlin and am quite pleased after the first few episodes.  I've declared it a keeper I will watch until the end of the series.

Merlin

Merlin is a classic fantasy series with wizards, dragons, sword fighting battles, etc.  Who doesn't like that!?!?!?  :-)  Check it out!

Remembering My Dad

Today marks the one year anniversary of my dad's death due to brain cancer (glioblastoma).  He died the morning of June 4th, 2017 after surviving 3.5 years after being diagnosed.  Well beyond the median lifetime for this very aggressive form of cancer.  Over this past weekend we completed our local move to a different house.  I realized this was the first move in my life without my dad helping, and there have been a lot of moves.  Counting my moves to/from college dorms, grad school, our first house, etc., he helped with all 11 of my moves over a time span of just 9 years.  We lived at our first house for 12 years so it's been awhile since the last move back in 2006.  He was always there to help with those moves, whether it be driving the large moving truck, carrying heavy furniture, helping with costs, or buying food because all of our kitchen stuff was packed!

The move this past weekend was bittersweet knowing he wasn't there to help us with the next home adventure in our life.  On one hand I'm glad he wasn't here given the damage the cancer had done to his cognitive abilities.  He wasn't the same person anymore and his death last year was more a relief than anything else.  On the other hand, I wish he was healthy and still here with us.

No one said life was easy.

This Blog's History: Blue Moon

This one's an oldie, but a goodie! Are blue moons really blue? Why are they called blue moons? Click the link to read the original post I wrote on this back in 2012.

Are Blue Moons Really Blue?