Happy Halloween!

Count the Black Dots


Did they disappear like ghosts when you tried to focus on them? A phenomenon called ”lateral inhibition” makes a bright surrounding area look darker, and vice versa. Spooky!

Carl Sagan Day 11/09

Carl Sagan Day

Announcing the First Annual Carl Sagan Day: A Celebration of Astronomy

WHAT: A celebration honoring the legacy the life and contributions of the great astronomer, author, and philosopher, Carl Sagan, on the 75th anniversay of his birth.

WHY: Carl Sagan was a Professor of Astronomy and Space Science and Director of the Laboratory for Planetary Studies at Cornell University. He served as an advisor and consultant to NASA, and played a major role in the establishment of SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence). He was a Pulitzer Prize winning author and most familiar to the public through his COSMOS series on NOVA. In addition to numerous awards, recognitions and honorary degrees for his outstanding contributions, he is acknowledged as one of the most effective public faces of astronomy and space science throughout the world. Sagan died in December 1996.

WHEN: Saturday, November 7, 2009, 12 noon - 10:00 PM

WHERE: Broward College Central Campus, 3501 SW Davie Rd., Davie, FL 33314

HOW MUCH: The event is free to all! Activities is planned to take place include teacher workshops, children’s activities, showings of the COSMOS series episodes, food, magic shows, science displays, planetarium programs, telescope workshops, games, door prizes, star-gazing, and many surprises.

CONTACT: Carl Sagan Day

I was looking for an excuse to post this: Carl Sagan - 'A Glorious Dawn' ft Stephen Hawking (Cosmos Remixed). Enjoy!

Hoop Glider

ENGAGE
If you throw a plain straw, it doesn’t go very far. But when you add paper hoops, the straw glides through the air!

EXPLAIN
It’s because the hoops act like wings. Things that fly, like insects, birds, and airplanes all have wings. But wings are not all the same shape and size. Different wings can be better for different kinds of flight. For example, an eagle has long, wide wings that help it glide. An airplane has wings with small flaps that move up and down to turn the plane. Try changing the wings on your glider. How does it fly with different wings?

EXPLORE
What you need:
• Paper
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Tape
• Non-bendable, plastic drinking straw

What to do:
1.Cut two strips of paper. Make one strip 1 inch wide and 5 inches long. Make the second strip 1 inch wide and 10 inches long.
2.Curl each paper strip into a hoop. Tape the ends together. Now you have a big hoop and a small hoop.
3.Tape the small hoop to one end of the straw.
4.Tape the big hoop on the other end of the straw. Make sure the big hoop lines up with the small hoop.

ELABORATE
Newton's 3rd Law of Motion: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Thrust is the force exerted when to throw a hoop glider.
Drag (or air resistance) is the reaction force against thrust. The more "stuff" there is, the harder it is to move that stuff through the air.
Lift is the force that keeps a hoop glider up in the air. The curved surface of the hoop glider's loops create a difference in pressure above and below the loops, which deflects the hoop up.
Gravity is the reaction force, pulling the glider down toward the center of the Earth.
Gravity is a constant and cannot be changed. But by maximizing lift, minimizing drag and with just the right amount and direction of thrust, hoop gliders can fly quite far!

EVALUATE
Hold your Hoop Glider in the middle of the straw, with the small hoop in front. Throw it gently like a spear. It might take some practice to get the hang of it. How far does your glider fly?

EXTEND
What will happen if . . .
• you make the straw smaller?
• you change the size of the hoops?
• you add a third hoop?
Choose one thing to change (that’s the variable), and predict what you think will happen, then test it!

Other websites to check out
Science Bob's The Incredible Hoop Glider
The Exploratorium's Science Explorer Hoopster
Museum of Science Hoop Glider Engineering
PBS Kids ZOOM Hoop Glider PDF

Bottle Rocket Seminar

Water Bottle Rocket Seminar

WHEN: SATURDAY, NOV. 7, 2009, CAFETERIA
8:00 am – 1:00 pm

WHERE: Don Estridge High Tech Middle School

1798 NW Spanish River Blvd.

Boca Raton, Florida 33431
Phone: (561) 989-7800

WHAT: Design a rocket around an ordinary 2 liter plastic soda bottle that stays in the air the longest possible time.

Science
• Thrust
• Newton’s laws
• Center of gravity/pressure
Technology
• Problem solving
• Design processes
• Construction processes
Engineering
• Prediction
• Technological design
• Modeling
Math
• Trigonometry
• Truncated cones
• Axial symmetry

WHAT SHOULD YOU BRING: (2) 2 LITER BOTTLES (PER STUDENT), PACKAGING TAPE, EASTER EGGS, PARTY HATS, DISPOSABLE PLATES (NOT CARDBOARD), PERMANENT MARKER, MEASURING TAPE OR RULER, SCISSORS, EXACTO KNIFE, AND EMPTY PAPER TOWEL ROLLS, NEWSPAPERS.

PRESENTED BY: PRATT AND WHITNEY

DIRECTIONS: FROM SOUTH—TAKE I95 NORTH TO YAMATO, GO WEST ON YAMATO TO MILITARY TRAIL, GO SOUTH ON MILITARY TRAIL TO SPANISH RIVER BLVD. TURN LEFT ON TO SPANISH RIVER BLVD. MAKE A SHARP RIGHT TO DON ESTRIDGE MIDDLE. FROM NORTH—TAKE I95 SOUTH AND FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS ABOVE.

-----
10/29 UPDATE: Safety Concern
Palm Beach Post: Plastic bottle explodes in Palm Beach County boy's face as he tries to duplicate YouTube experiment

Safety is very important with any rocket. Rockets are safe when everyone understands and abides by safe behavior. Only plastic drink bottles should be used, and new bottles should be used whenever possible. Bottles should be retired from use after 10-15 launches.

CAUTION: Children should be closely supervised when they are using rockets. Even if they understand and agree to the safety rules, there will be lapses in concentration or judgment. Children cannot be made responsible for the safety of others. A child may feel it is enough to tell a two-year old to stay out of the way.

Launch Safety Instructions:
• Select a grassy field or athletic practice field that measures at least 30 meters in width. Place the launcher in the center of the field and anchor it in place. (If it is a windy day, place the launcher closer to the side of the field from which the wind is blowing so that the rocket will drift onto the field as it descends.)
• As you set up your rocket on the launch pad, observers should stand back several meters. It is recommended that you rope off the launch site.
• Do not point your water rocket at another person, animal, or object. Water rockets take off with a good deal of force from the air pressure and weight from the water.
• The team member responsible for pumping air into the rocket should wear eye protection. The bottle rocket should be pumped no higher than about 50 pounds of pressure per square inch, but never above 90 psi. Before launching, consult the following table provided for coaches in the SECME Olympiads:

Table of Distances for a Given Pressure
Pressure ----- Typical Classroom Maximums
20 psi ----- 26 meters
40 psi ----- 51 meters
60 psi ----- 77 meters
80 psi ----- 102 meters

• When pressurization is complete, everyone should stand in back of the roped off area for the countdown. Two-liter bottles can weaken and will explode. Bottles should be retired from use after 10-15 launches.
• Continue to countdown and launch the rocket only when the recovery range is clear.
If you do not experience successful liftoff, remember that the bottle is pressurized and may blast off when you touch it. Be careful; do not let it hit you. Never stand over the rocket. A team member should retrieve the rocket.

Sir Isaac Newton

by David Arns

Under a spreading apple tree,
The village genius stands;
His mind conceives of wondrous things,
He writes them with his hands;
His fame goes forth to all the world--
He's known in many lands.

A tiny babe on Christmas Day
in 1642
Was born to Mrs. Newton
while outside, the cold winds blew.
And on the farm, through childhood,
precocious Isaac grew.

And after chores, he built devices
to see just how they worked,
To see what laws of nature
underneath the workings lurked.
(When people called them "toys," that's what
got Isaac really irked.)

His mother saw he was no farmer,
sent him off to school;
He quickly showed at Cambridge
that he was nobody's fool:
He began to bring to light the laws
that all of nature rule.

In one chapter in his story
(though apocryphal, it's said),
An apple, falling from a tree
impacted on his head,
Which drew his thoughts to gravity,
and we all know where that led.

He wondered if, by any chance,
the self-same gravitation
That pulls an apple to the ground,
affected all creation:
The moon, the planets, and the sun. . .
Thus went his cogitation.

He determined that the gravity
of earth indeed controls
The orbit of our moon, as 'round
the earth it ever rolls.
Now, describing it mathematically
was one of Newton's goals.

He discovered that the math you need
to show the laws of nature,
Surpassed the knowledge of that day;
the cosmos' legislature
Required new math, so Newton wrote
his "fluxions" nomenclature.

He talked of falling bodies
and his famous Laws of Motion,
And of colors seen in bubbles
and the tides upon the ocean.
And his crowning jewel, "Principia,"
created great commotion.

Yes, Newton's brilliant mind, it was
a trunk with many twigs--
His mind branched out in every way
(right through his powdered wigs).
His greatest contribution, though,
was cookies made from figs.

He Fixes Radios by Thinking!

The 2009-10 SECME theme for the national student competition is "SECME: Igniting Minds Through STEM Education."

In the Essay competition, Phase I is an interest inventory. What makes you smile, gets you excited, makes you want to "do" something? What SECME activities do find to be fun? Why are they fun for you? How can you make a living doing what you enjoy? What kinds of jobs are there? What kind of education do you need to prepare you for these jobs?

STEMinar at Seminole Ridge High School

S.T.E.M.inar at Seminole Ridge High School

Saturday, December 12, 2009
8:30 am – 1:00 pm

Attention: SECME students and school coordinators!
Join master teachers, proud parents and creative community engineers to work on Olympiad projects. Build and break bridges; blast off bottle rockets; blueprint your banners; and battle in the brain bowl!

Register online at
http://tiny.cc/m9vDR
Email questions to Erich Landstrom at SeminoleSECME[at]gmail[dot]com

Please bring any existing Olympiad submission which you would like to receive assistance. Bring any necessary supplies (such as balsa wood, glue, etc.) for projects that you want to start that day.

Directions to Seminole Ridge High: Travel west on Southern Blvd. (SR 80, or Route 441), or Okeechobee Blvd to Seminole Pratt Whitney Road. Turn north. School on west, across from Callery Judge Grove, before Winn-Dixie plaza.

When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer & Sky

The 2009-2010 SECME theme is "Igniting Minds Through STEM Education." As you read the two poems below, contrast the poet of "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" with the poet of "Sky." Which poet has a mind ignited by STEM education?

When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer

When I heard the learn'd astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts, the diagrams, to add, divide,
and measure them,
When I sitting heard the learned astronomer where he lectured with
much applause in the lecture room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander'd off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars.

Poet: Walt Whitman (Books by Walt Whitman)
Poem: 5. When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer.
Volume: Leaves of Grass - 15. Songs of Parting
Year: Published/Written in 1900

--------------------

Sky

See the wonders of the sky--wondrous sky!
Astronomic marvels everywhere do meet the eye!
They are waiting, waiting, waiting
for us just to take a glance,
And behold them in their splendor,
Filled with awe that they engender,
as we gaze in dreamlike trance;
And we stare, stare, stare
through the icy winter air,
And are dazzled at the glory
of the heav'nly inventory
Of the sky, sky, sky, sky, sky, sky, sky--
At the heav'nly inventory of the sky.
See the mighty galaxies--galaxies!
Twinkling at us shyly through the branches of the trees.
How they shimmer, shimmer, shimmer
(or it so appears to us),
But their distance is enormous,
So astronomers inform us:
Some, a billion light-years plus.
But they shine, shine, shine,
with a radiance benign,
That belies the brilliant, blinding,
awful glare that we'd be finding,
Were we near, near, near, near, near, near, near--
The glare that we'd be finding, were we near.

Think about exploding stars--dying stars,
Throwing through the heavenlies their luminescent scars.
See them glimmer, glimmer, glimmer
with a wispiness of light
From their tendrils filamental
Made from gases elemental
in the darkness of the night,
Reaching out, out, out,
on their interstellar route
Leaving light-years far behind them
where the gravity confined them
In the stars, stars, stars, stars, stars, stars, stars--
In the fusion-heated centers of the stars.

Or think about our neighborhood--our neighborhood!
We have asteroids and planets to explore (and yes, we should).
They are spinning, spinning, spinning
as they orbit 'round the sun,
And their paths, which are elliptic,
All are close to the ecliptic
As they make their annual run.
They go round, round, round,
Yet, in vacuum, make no sound,
But continue their rotation,
their precession and nutation
Through the years, years, years, years, years, years, years--
They continue their rotation through the years.

Poet: David Arns
Poem: Sky
Volume: March 1998 issue of "The New Zealand Science Monthly", March/April 1999 issue of "Quantum Magazine".
Year: 1997

Seminole SECME schedule, Winter 2010

Schedule subject to change

W, 10/21 - MTVs technical report & drawing
Sa 10/24 - Saturday SECME Seminar: Tech Rpt & Drawings
W, 10/28 - Tech rpt writing in Media Center
W, 11/4 - Water bottle rocketry construction
Sa, 11/7 - Saturday SECME Seminar: rocket construction
W, 11/11 - NO meeting
Sa, 11/14 - Engineering Family Fun Day
Tu, 11/17 - blood drive “Give Blood: It’s Not Rocket Science”
W, 11/18 - Water bottle rocketry
W, 11/18 - SECME Coordinator Meeting 4:30 PM
Th, 11/19 - Business Bash & Open House for Class of 2014
Tu, 11/24 - Fizzix Funday (Launch It: water bottle rockets with egg payload)
W, 12/2 - Rocket refinement
W, 12/9 - Rocket technical drawing
Sa, 12/12 - Saturday SECME Seminar: Seminole Ridge
W, 12/16 - Rocket technical drawing refinement

Student Signatures in Space update

From: NASA News
Sent: Monday, October 19, 2009 4:58 PM
Subject: NASA Updates Shuttle Atlantis Target Launch Date, Crew Rehearsal

RELEASE: 09-246

NASA UPDATES SHUTTLE ATLANTIS TARGET LAUNCH DATE, CREW REHEARSAL

WASHINGTON -- NASA is targeting Nov. 16 for the launch of space shuttle Atlantis' STS-129 mission from the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Managers for NASA's Space Operations Mission Directorate and Exploration Systems Mission Directorate met Monday and decided to adjust Atlantis' target launch date to optimize the agency's ability to launch both Ares I-X and Atlantis before the end of the year. The same launch team at Kennedy is supporting both the shuttle and the flight test of the Ares I-X rocket, which is targeted to lift off on Oct. 27. Ares I-X is scheduled to roll out to its launch pad at 12:01 a.m. EDT Tuesday.

Atlantis' new target launch date will give Ares I-X launch opportunities Oct. 27, 28 and 29. NASA has yet to schedule Atlantis' new target liftoff date on the Eastern Range.

The change to Atlantis' targeted launch will affect the launch countdown dress rehearsal for the shuttle's six astronauts. The astronauts arrived at Kennedy on Monday for the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test and related training. The simulated countdown has been rescheduled to Nov. 3. The astronauts will practice emergency escape and other related training while they are at Kennedy this week and return there Nov. 2 to conclude their rehearsal work.

The agency's Flight Readiness Review meeting for STS-129 is set for Oct. 29. NASA will schedule an official launch date for Atlantis following that meeting.

For more information about the STS-129 mission and its crew, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

-end-

Remarks by the President to students: WORK HARD

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
__________________________________________
For Immediate Release October 07, 2009

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA AT AN ASTRONOMY EVENT WITH STUDENTS
South Lawn
8:07 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: From the moment humans first walked on this Earth, we've been endlessly fascinated by the stars. As long as we've been around, we've been trying to unlock the mysteries of the universe and figure out our proper place in the cosmos and somehow make sense of it all.

It was 400 years ago this year that Galileo built his first telescope. It was just three times more powerful than the naked eye. But he kept on working on it, and improving on it, until he built one 33 times as powerful. And then he turned it towards the sky. And he discovered that our moon wasn't smooth, that Venus had phases, that Jupiter had moons, and that Copernicus was right -- that we do revolve around the sun.

Now, we've come a long way since then. While Galileo's first telescope had lenses an inch wide, the Hubble Space Telescope has mirrors about seven and a half feet wide. A few years ago, the Hubble showed us the deepest image of the universe ever taken. And in that image, we can see about 10,000 galaxies, and each of those galaxies can hold billions of stars. Now, that's a lot, but get this: It would take 13 million of those images to map the entire sky. That's how immense it is.

So there are a lot of mysteries left and there are a lot of problems for you students to solve. And I want to be a President who makes sure you have the teachers and the tools that you need to solve them.

And that's why we're working to reinvigorate math and science in your schools and attract new and qualified math and science teachers into your classrooms, some with lifetimes of experience. That's why we've launched a Race to the Top to raise standards and upgrade your curricula and improve teaching and learning in math and science. That's why we're making a college education more affordable, so that by the time many of you graduate in 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.

And that's how we'll move American students to the top of the pack in math and in science over the next decade, and guarantee that America will lead the world in discovery in this new century.

But that's going to take more than just what I as President or anybody in government can do -- it's going to take each and every one of you students. It'll take your sense of wonder, your passion, your persistence, your willingness to dedicate your lives to the pursuit of discovery. And it's going to take some hard work. Caroline and Lucas didn't just get lucky; they pored over data before they knew what they had found. Galileo worked for years to prove his theories. The Hubble's journey from paper to space took decades, because that's how success is won -- test by test and trial by trial.

The Man in the Arena

Our SECME chapter, sponsored by Mr. Erich Landstrom, provides many opportunities for students to participate in hands-on activities that involve engineering problem solving techniques. The club provides not only a deeper understanding of the engineering profession but also a foundation for college-level engineering education.

In other news, our students competed October 9 in the second annual Engineering Olympics, hosted by Florida Atlantic University’s chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Teams competed in a series of timed engineering challenges using a ‘brown bag’ of supplies for each event—pasta tower, popsicle stick bridge, marshmallow catapult, and aluminum foil boat.

Our Hawk heroes: captain Kayleigh Previte; co-captains Aleen Touma and Daniel Lowenthal; Ralph Regis; and Zack Wiggins.


"It's not the critic who counts, not the one who points out how the strong man stumbled or how the doer of deeds might have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred with the sweat and dust and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause and who, at best knows the triumph of high achievement and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."

- Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), 26th US President and 1906 Nobel Peace Prize-winner.

MTV Math and Matching

The "MTV Math and Matching" student worksheet was created with two goals in mind:
1st - The Mousetrap Vehicle Design Engineering Competition: to improve student performance on the technical report and interview portions of the SECME competition
2nd - The Seminole Ridge Community High School 2009-2010 School Improvement Plan (SIP). The SRCHS SIP has been developed by teachers, students, parents, administrators, and community members to set a plan of action for the entire Seminole Ridge Community High School community to improve the academic achievement of all students in the school. The objectives in the SIP are a combination of federal, state, and local mandates as well as school designed objectives unique to SRCHS students. SECME is a part of the SRCHS SIP to enhance student problem-solving skills in science and mathematics, and to apply student conceptual learning to reality-based projects.

MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Marie and Andrew were testing their mousetrap vehicle (MTV). They set up a trial run to calculate the N value of their MTV. The N score of the MTV is the product of the ratio of w (the weight of the mousetrap) to W (the weight of the entire vehicle) multiplied by the square of D (the distance the MTV travels) to L (the length of the entire mousetrap vehicle). Which of the following tools would be best to use to measure the N value of their MTV?
A. Stopwatch and balance scale
B. Metric tape and stopwatch
C. Metric tape and balance scale
D. Balance scale and thermometer

2. What would Maria and Andrew need to know in order to calculate the average speed of their mousetrap vehicle?
F. distance and direction
G. time and acceleration
H. mass and acceleration
I. force and distance

3. Which of the following is the main force that stops the motion of a mousetrap vehicle?
A. a push or a pull
B. gravity
C. heating
D. friction

4. The amount of force required to start the mousetrap vehicle moving is
F. less than the force required to keep the vehicle moving
G. the same as the force required to keep the vehicle moving
H. greater than the force required to keep the vehicle moving
I. not related to the force required to keep the vehicle moving

FREE RESPONSE

These sample test materials are designed to help you prepare to answer FCAT Science questions. Some FCAT Science questions require you to provide your answers by filling in numeric grids.

1. In the 2009 SECME National competition, The Crusaders mousetrap vehicle was 0.083 meters long, had a mass of 0.0292 kilograms, and it crossed a distance of 24.625 meters. Suppose the mousetrap vehicle operated for 16 seconds. What average speed, in meters per second, did the Crusaders' mousetrap achieve?

2. In the 2009 SECME National competition, the Blue Devils mousetrap vehicle was 0.152 meters long, had a mass of 0.0572 kilograms, and it crossed a distance of 18.286 meters. Suppose the mousetrap vehicle started from rest and operated for 18 seconds. Assuming the acceleration was constant, what average acceleration, in meters per second squared, did the Blue Devils' mousetrap achieve?

3. In the 2009 SECME National competition, The Anomalies mousetrap vehicle was 0.108 meters long, had a mass of 0.0506 kilograms, and it crossed a distance of 24.765 meters. Suppose the mousetrap vehicle started from rest and operated for 17 seconds. How much horizontal force, in newtons, did the Anomalies' vehicle apply during its total movement?

4. In the 2009 SECME National competition, The Hybrid Kids mousetrap vehicle was 0.368 meters long, had a mass of 0.0911 kilograms, and it crossed a distance of 12.828 meters. Suppose the mousetrap vehicle started from rest and operated for 20 seconds. How much momentum, in kilogram-meters per second, did the Kids' vehicle create during its total movement?

5. In the 2009 SECME National competition, the Lightening mousetrap vehicle was 0.184 meters long, had a mass of 0.0813 kilograms, and it crossed a distance of 13.720 centimeters. Suppose the mousetrap vehicle started from rest and operated for 18 seconds. How much work, in Joules, did the Lightening vehicle achieve during its total movement?

MOUSETRAP VEHICLE MATCHING
Choose the correct vocabulary term that identified the parts of the mousetrap vehicle. Words may be used once, more than once, or not at all.


Vocabulary Bank
- Axle
- Gear
- Rail
- Mousetrap Base
- Locking lever
- Spring
- Bail arm
- Pull string
- wheel

A. ______________________________

B. ______________________________

C. ______________________________

D. ______________________________

E. ______________________________

F. ______________________________

ANSWER KEY FOR SECME SCHOOL COORDINATOR

Cassini Scientist for a Day: Live Webcast from NASA/JPL

Students across the United States will get to ask scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., questions about the rings of Saturn, and the moons Titan and Tethys -- all targets for the students who participated in the Cassini Scientist for a Day essay contest.

The questions will be answered during a live event that will air on the "NASAJPL" channel available on Ustream TV at:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasajpl on Tuesday, Oct. 20, beginning at 3 p.m. EDT. This program will also be archived for later viewing.

More information about the Cassini Scientist for a Day essay contest is at: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/education/scientistforaday8thedition/ .
With data collection for the bi-annual Scientist for a Day outreach activity, the spacecraft obtained images of three possible targets, Saturn and the rings, Tethys with Saturn's rings, and Titan. The data will be returned to Earth on the next downlink. After reviewing essays submitted by participating students, winners will be selected and the results presented at a live teleconference on Oct. 20.
More information on the Cassini mission is available at: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and http://www.nasa.gov/cassini .

Dimensions of Literacy: What Do We Want the Public to Learn?

Today is Blog Action Day. Blog Action Day is an annual event held every October 15 that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day with the aim of sparking discussion around an issue of global importance.

Blog Action Day lead me to Framing Science, the weblog of Professor Matthew C. Nisbet. This excerpt was originally written about climate change. But as the goal of SECME is "to increase the pool of historically under-represented, geographically under-served, and differently abled students who will be prepared to enter and complete post-secondary studies in science...thus creating a diverse and globally competitive workforce," I edited it to broaden it's scope into a more general post on what it means to be prepared in science.

There needs to be more focus and clarity about the goals and outcomes of public engagement and communication, even down to the most basic questions as to what do we want citizens to learn? Or put another way, what dimensions of knowledge matter to public engagement and participation?

Unfortunately, well intentioned commentators have confused the important distinctions on science literacy to the point that the term has lost its meaning in popular discussion. Yet based on the relevant literature in science communication, below are several dimensions of literacy and knowledge that are likely to matter to public engagement. More work is needed in measuring these dimensions of knowledge in research studies and in evaluating different types of communication and media initiatives that might promote learning specific to one or several of these areas:

Civic science literacy refers to a level of understanding of scientific terms and constructs sufficient to make sense of a news report, and/or to interpret competing arguments on the reality and risks. It also involves understanding how scientific investigation works, and how expert agreement develops over time.

Social, legal, and ethical knowledge commonly refers to information about who funds research, how relevant policy decisions are reached and by whom, the ethics and values that guide decisions, and the connections between the climate change debate and other societal areas such as the economy, partisan politics, or national security.

Participatory knowledge refers to information and details on how a citizen can get involved and have a say in decisions that are made about climate change at the community or national level. Emphasizing this dimension of knowledge promotes a two-way exchange of information between experts and the public. Knowledge conveyed to the public might include the range of organizations in their community; upcoming major events, decisions, or meetings; and the names and contact information of key government organizations and officials. Web sites that make contacts and participation easier through direct email links or displaying maps for event locations would also reduce barriers to participations.

Localized and experiential knowledge involves evaluating and drawing connections between complex science-related topics and local impacts or relevance. Public education in a city or region should therefore be tailored to these unique connections and needs of the public.

Practical science literacy refers to knowledge that can be applied to solving common everyday personal problems such as consumer and household decisions or interpreting the packaging on energy appliances. Many Americans express that they would like information on what personal actions they can take that would have the "most bang for the buck," in other words the actions that are likely to make the most difference in terms of cost-savings. As expert agreement emerges on these questions, focusing communication around these practical, consumer dimensions is likely to increase public engagement and action.

Classroom to College to Career

On October 7, Jim Kunard, professional engineer and past president of the Florida Engineering Society's Palm Beach chapter, joined electrical engineer Shams Moghadam in a visit to our SECME club. They began their talk with a review of the technical drawings for the emergency generator building at school district HQ and brought it home by reviewing students’ technical drawings for the mousetrap-powered cars to compete in April's districtwide SECME Olympiad. Their demonstration of engineering expertise showed our Hawks a ‘flowchart’—from classroom to college to career—and emphasized the importance of engineering innovation to our everyday lives.
Jim Kunard
Shams Moghadam
Hawks
Our SECME chapter, sponsored by Mr. Erich Landstrom, provides many such opportunities for students to participate in hands-on activities that involve engineering problem solving techniques. The club provides not only a deeper understanding of the engineering profession but also a foundation for college-level engineering education.

Student Signatures in Space update

Hello Student Signatures in Space 2009 schools,

Our signatures have been manifested on the upcoming STS-129 Space Shuttle mission, which is currently scheduled for launch on November 12. Originally we had thought the signatures might go on STS-130, but they have been confirmed for STS-129.

This is a terrific 11-day mission to the International Space Station aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis. Atlantis will deliver parts to the Space Station, including a spare gyroscope. The mission will feature three spacewalks, and will return Space Station crew member Nicole Stott to Earth.

After the mission, we will get the flight certifications and crew photos from the astronaut office and begin shipping posters back to schools. It usually takes about 8 to 12 weeks after the mission concludes to get all posters returned.

I will email out more info in the future. Until then, you can get more details about STS-129 at the sites below:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts129/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-129

Thanks!
April Tensen
S3 Program Manager

Cassini Scientist for a Day, 8th edition update

The final numbers for the U.S. edition of the Fall 2009 Cassini Scientist for a Day essay contest are in:
U.S. entries: 330 essays
Number of U.S. students: 372
Number of teachers: 41
Number of U.S. states: 19 plus Puerto Rico -- including Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming for the first time
Number of homeschooled students: 8

Most international deadlines are in late October, so in a month or so Outreach will have a sense of how many students participated internationally.

Seminole SECME "Hawk Talk" newsletter Fall 2009

In Fall 2009 issue of the Seminole SECME "Hawk Talk" newsletter
- October 2009 Events with guest speakers and engineering olympics
- update on Seminole Student Signatures in Space
- Seminole Ridge STEMinar on December 12
- SECME Spotlight on Florida Atlantic University
- Tech City engineering exhibit at Explorium
- President Obama's September speech to students

Click here to download a PDF issue of the Seminole SECME 'Hawk Talk' newsletter Fall 2009

Building a Better Mousetrap Car Competition

In the annual Engineering Olympiad, SECME students are challenged to create a "mousetrap car" that can be entered into a competition. Before starting the mousetrap vehicle (MTV) design challenge, students should have a good understanding of simple machines, force and motion, and the design process. The spring of a mousetrap can store a considerable amount of potential energy when it is pulled back and its tension is increased. When released, this energy can be transformed into the kinetic energy of movement, making the mousetrap the perfect "motor." As the trap closes, the metal bar pulls a string that has been wound around the axle of the MTV. This causes the axle and attached wheels to spin, propelling the MTV forward. While many aspects of the MTV's design can change, this is the basic method of movement.

The MTV Engineering Design Competition requires participation in four areas:
construction and performance, technical drawing, technical report, and interview.

Construction and performance (100 pts)
The N score of the MTV is the product of the ratio of w (the weight of the mousetrap) to W (the weight of the entire vehicle) multiplied by the square of D (the distance the MTV travels) to L (the length of the entire mousetrap vehicle).

The N score is compared to the highest performance score of the competition site (NL) and multiplied by 100.

Design Drawing (50 pts)
The accuracy to which the drawing illustrates the actual MTV, the proportions in the drawing correctly relate to and represent the team's actual MTV, the correctness of the names/labels of all of the parts in the drawing of the MTV, and the quality of the visual presentation of the MTV drawing entry.

Technical Report (50 pts)
The describing the design, construction, and operation of the MTV. Outline, organization, precision, sentence formation, and mechanics are considered.

Team Interview with Judges (50 pts)
A 5-10 minute discussion with 3 team members will cover details of the car‘s design and testing. Teamwork, application of technical principles, knowledge of formulas, and oral communication skills are all considered.

Living By the Launch Pad: Florida Fall 2009 Launch Schedule

Launch Time: Oct. 27, 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. EDT
Launch Vehicle: Ares 1-X • Test Flight
Launch site: LC-39B, Kennedy Space Center, Florida

The Ares I-X flight test is NASA's first test for the Agency's new Constellation launch vehicle -- Ares I. The Ares program is being developed to replace the space shuttle for launching astronauts. The Ares I-X sub-orbital test flight will provide NASA with an early opportunity to collect valuable engineering data from the vehicle and prove flight characteristics, hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I.

Launch Time: Nov. 12, 4:04 p.m. EST
Launch Vehicle: Shuttle Atlantis • ISS ULF 3
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida

STS-129 will be the 31st U.S. mission to the International Space Station and will return space station crew member Nicole Stott to Earth. The mission will feature three spacewalks. Space shuttle Atlantis will deliver components including two spare gyroscopes, two nitrogen tank assemblies, two pump modules, an ammonia tank assembly and a spare latching end effector for the station's robotic arm to the International Space Station. And, most excitingly, our Seminole Student Signatures in Space poster has been manifested to fly on STS-129. After the mission, we will get the flight certifications and crew photos from the astronaut office and begin shipping posters back to schools. It usually takes about 8 to 12 weeks after the mission concludes to get all posters returned, after which the poster will be displayed at Seminole Ridge High.

Be an engineer at the Explorium's exhibit "Tech City"

The Children’s Science Explorium in Boca Raton allows visitors to invent, design and create in Tech City for Fall 2009.

Tech City is a traveling exhibition that includes fun, interactive stations where visitors solve the kind of real-world problems that engineers face. The exhibits present an engineering approach with opportunities for designing, building, testing, and modifying.

Dam the Creek

Visitors prevent the creek from flooding Tech City by building a gravity dam using metal blocks.

Earthquake!!!

Visitors design and build structures, then test the results against earthquake forces on the shake table.

Build a Bridge


Visitors experiment with model bridges at the build and test station. They can also walk across three 2.4 meter-long bridges with different levels of sag.


Seperation Station

This component features a hydraulic system of clear pipes where visitors can experiment with different filters to separate out plastic beads.

Design the Plaza

Visitors can experiment with the trade-offs between aesthetics and cost while designing patterns using tiles on a city plaza model.

FAU ASME 2nd Annual Engineering Olympics

The FAU Student Chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers announces our 2nd Annual Engineering Olympics

ABOVE (left to right): Seminole SECME "Hawk Heroes" Aleen Touma, Kayleigh Previte, Ralph Regis, Zack Wiggins, Daniel Lowenthal

When: Friday, October 9, 2009 from 9:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Where: FAU Boca Raton Campus, Live Oak Pavilion, Student Union Building.

ABOVE: Ralph Regis working on popsicle stick bridge challenge.

Objective: Teams compete in a series of engineering challenges or events – similar to the decathlon in the Olympics. Each team receives a ‘brown bag’ of supplies for each event to complete each challenge. FAU ASME members will judge events (5 – 8 in all) and award points. The three highest scoring teams earn a gold, silver or bronze medal for each team member and the gold medal team’s school is presented a trophy.

ABOVE: Daniel Lowenthal ready for judging on parachute challenge .

Registration Information: $50 PER TEAM; limit three teams per school. Each team size cannot exceed five students. Please indicate how many members will be on the team, and make checks payable to ASME at FAU.

Registration Deadline: Friday, October 2nd 5:00 PM Space constraint limits us to 25 –30 teams; please RSVP as soon as possible to reserve a spot in the competition. RSVP to Katharine Lurie at kalurie (at) gmail (dot) com and direct all inquiries to Kate – chairperson of the ASME Olympics Last year’s event was great fun and lots of laugh … high school advisors, we learned our lesson – no “super glue” without acetone readily available this year!

ABOVE: Aleen Touma (left) and Kayleigh Previte (right) work on the aluminum boat challenge.

We are requesting local media coverage (newspapers and television stations) so have teams dress appropriately should they decide to cover this event. Lunch is provided to all participants – including high school advisors!

ABOVE (left to right): Seminole SECME "Hawk Heroes" Aleen Touma, Kayleigh Previte, Ralph Regis, Zack Wiggins, Daniel Lowenthal.

GOOD LUCK to all Broward and Palm Beach High School Team Participants!

SECME Spotlight: Florida Atlantic University

Florida Atlantic University, in Boca Raton, Florida, has a dynamic history of “firsts” in post-secondary education and a strong history as a SECME Member University. In 1964, Florida Atlantic University (FAU) officially opened with designs to be a whole new kind of university – the first Information Age university…“one that would harness broadcast technology to beam classes to students wherever they might be…” FAU introduced the nation’s first degree program in ocean engineering and it welcomed the first woman to head a Florida public university. Today, FAU serves 27,000 students on seven campuses and sites.

ABOVE: Brenda Simmons and Seminole SECME students

SECME students will be interested to learn about FAU’s Division of Engineering Student Services (DESS). Many SECME “long-timers” will recognize the DESS Director’s name: Brenda Simmons! Formerly on the SECME National staff, she is now sharing her commitment to student academic success with FAU’s College of Engineering and Computer Science. Make sure your SECME students visit DESS’s pre-collegiate/dual enrollment activities page to learn about many outstanding learning opportunities!

Students are generally required to have a 3.0 high school GPA and a 440 on both the math and reading portions of the SAT.

Students with a lower GPA can be admitted if they have higher SAT scores. The average high school GPA for FAU is 3.3, the second lowest of the 11 schools in the state university system. Just 36.5 percent of FAU students graduate within six years, also the second lowest in the state system. While that's partly because the school serves many non-traditional, part-time students who take a long time to graduate, FAU data show some areas of concern among more traditional students. About 16 percent of freshmen in 2000 dropped out within six years. Another 25 percent transferred to two-year community colleges, an indication that university work was too difficult for them.

K-12 Korner – Konnecting Engineers with Kids

The Florida Engineering Society (FES) is a 4000+ member organization representing the interests of engineers in Florida. The Palm Beach Chapter of the FES is getting more and more involved with bringing engineering into the classroom. The K-12 Committee has begun its activities for the new school year. The committee has already spoken to the SECME school-based staff and some opportunities have arisen (with more coming). Last year, the FES Palm Beach Chapter donated over 500 hours of time to the students of Palm Beach County. That is a TON of effort for which FES has every right to be proud. The gift of their time has such a huge positive impact. Any one who has volunteered knows how great that feeling can be.

One of the main purposes of the committee is to connect engineers with students in grades K-12 in order to:
(1) expose students to engineering achievements and the importance of engineering innovation to our everyday lives,
(2) provide opportunities for students to participate in hands-on programs that involve engineering problem solving techniques, and
(3) create opportunities for increasing involvement in activities and programs that provide a deeper understanding of the engineering profession and a foundation for college-level engineering education for those students who have the ability and the inclination.

Mr. Jim Kunard, PE (and past president of FES Palm Beach Chapter), and Shams Moghadam, P.E. (specifically, an electrical engineer), visited with Seminole SECME on Wednesday, October 7th. They began with the technical drawings for an emergency generator building for the School District of Palm Beach County, and brought it back around by reviewing our technical drawings for our SECME mousetrap powered cars. Their engineering expertise is helping Seminole SECME students make that connection between the classroom and a career!

Banner block out

The birth of "gear head". This banner is the permanent backdrop in my classroom, and used for Open Houses.

Reminder: 10/3 MTV Design S.T.E.M.inar

Mousetrap Vehicle Design STEM Seminar
There will be a special Seminole SECME meeting on Saturday, October 3rd from 9 AM to 1 PM in Mr. Batchelor's room 7207. The topic will be Mousetrap Vehicle Technical Drawings.

You MUST attend BOTH days. As you built it on Wednesday, you will blueprint it on Saturday! “No shows” will be off SECME permanently.
- Yes, you can leave early for work
- No, this does not apply to the banner team.
On Saturday, as a part of the Engineering Design Competition, each team is required to prepare a scaled drawing depicting the car that they have designed and built. The maximum number of points for the Engineering Design Competition Mousetrap Car Drawing is 50. But any entry not meeting the following requirements will be automatically disqualified.

If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master,
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

- Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)