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Winter
2004
CONTENTS
1-JOURNEY TO MARS!
2-ASTROBIOLOGY: OUR SEARCH FOR LIFE
BEYOND EARTH
3-WEATHER STATION
4-FEATURED PATHWAY: ELECTRICITY,
MOTORS, AND METERS
5-PHYSICS TREASURES FROM K-12 INSTRUCTIONAL
MEDIA CENTER
***JOURNEY TO MARS!
<http://www.exploratorium.edu/mars/index.html>
From microbes to mysterious faces
to meandering canals: Is there proof
of life on Mars? What do snowflakes
look like on Mars? Explore these
possibilities and more, including
the inner workings of the Mars Exploration
Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity,
which will land on Mars in January.
This site will also display our
month-long Journey to Mars Webcast
series, bringing near-live images
of the red planet to our audiences
on the museum floor and the Web.
Check
out the amazing teacher resource
material specifically for the Journey
to Mars project: <http://www.exploratorium.edu/mars/teachers/index.html>.
***ASTROBIOLOGY:
OUR SEARCH FOR LIFE BEYOND EARTH
<http://www.exploratorium.edu/origins/arecibo/index.html>
Find information about life throughout
the universe with resources garnered
from such diverse sources as NASA,
the SETI Institute, TERC, the Japan
Science and Technology Corporation,
and more. Learn about the tools
used to search for life beyond earth,
meet the scientists who study astrobiology,
and watch our Webcasts online. Be
sure to visit TERC's Astrobiology
Curriculum site at <http://astrobio.terc.edu/>.
***WEATHER
STATION
<http://www.exploratorium.edu/weather/>
What is barometric pressure? What
is the relationship between barometric
pressure and wind speed? Is there
a correlation between outside humidity
and air density? Ask students to
translate the graphs into words
that describe what happened over
the last week or month. Get students
interested in a phenomenon they
experience every day: weather!
***FEATURED PATHWAY: ELECTRICITY,
MOTORS, AND METERS
<http://www.exploratorium.edu/pathways/guided/electricity_teacher.html>
When tiny, negatively charged particles
called electrons flow through a
wire, you have an electric current.
When you bring an electric current
and a magnet together, interesting
things can happen. Explore a Pathway
that shows what happens when magnets
and electricity work together.
Pathways
are collections of support and assessment
materials for teachers who bring
their students to the Exploratorium.
However, the principles in the Pathways
can also be used with our Online
Snacks, scaled-down versions of
our museum exhibits: <http://www.exploratorium.edu/snacks/>.
Each Pathway has two versions: one
for teachers and one for students.
The teacher version includes links
to state science standards and provides
additional support materials, as
well as sample answers to the worksheet
questions.
***PHYSICS
TREASURES FROM K-12 INSTRUCTIONAL
MEDIA CENTER
<http://www.k12imc.org/pg1257.cfm>
The Little Shop of Physics at Colorado
State is not horrific at all. It
contains 60 experiments that use
hands-on materials and computers:
<http://littleshop.physics.colostate.edu/>.
Find
unsolved mysteries of physics, investigated
by Stephen Hawking, at WNET: <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/hawking/html/home.html>.
The
Physics Of.... hosts student-project
Web pages depicting the physics
of guitars, baseball, breakdancing,
eyeglasses, and handstands (among
other explorations): <http://www.kent.wednet.edu/staff/trobinso/physicspages/PhysicsOf.html>.
Explore
the connection between atomic physics
and biochemistry: <http://sciencenet.tpl.toronto.on.ca/>.
(The site is in both English and
French.)
Some
students harbor a "fear"
of Physics. This site can dispel
some confusion, such as why satellites
don't fall to the earth and how
seesaws work: <http://www.fearofphysics.com/>.
___________________
Visit
our Membership web page at<http://www.exploratorium.edu/membership/index.html>
for more details about the great
benefits of becoming an Educator
or Family/Educator Member. Questions?
E-mail us at member@exploratorium.edu
or call 415-561-0302.
___________________
The Exploratorium EduNews is sent
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librarians, school administrators,
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and updates about our
initiatives in teaching and learning.
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