New Horizons: Here and Now

On January 19^th 2006, a rocket lifted the New Horizons probe from the surface of the Earth, never again to return. At the time of this writing, the early afternoon of July 14^th 2015, the probe has completed its flyby of Pluto. For some NASA scientists, today is the most important day out of the three-thousand, four-hundred and sixty-three that have passed since launch. Those few thousand days include others with their own special importance, however. Through my office door I can hear the low, joyful roar of children playing here at the museum. Save for a handful of older kids, each of those girls and boys marks one of those days since January 19^th of 2006 as their birthday. For their whole lives, this piano-sized, plutonium-powered robot has been speeding through empty space at velocity of over nine miles per second away from the sun. And they are all still going strong, on paths unknown.

I was born in the year 1985 in Huntsville, Alabama. As a child, I made regular visits to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center located there; space exploration fascinated me then as it does now. My interest in rockets and astronauts dominated the design choices of my childhood bedroom, which featured a hanging mobile of the solar system. Pluto, then included as a planet (but what’s in a name?), was represented as a grey, mostly formless rock. That was our best guess at the time as to what it would look like. We now know, though just for the past few weeks have we known, that to have been an error. Pluto, as it turns out, is a ruddy world with varied geographic features. Certainly the original guess could have ended up being accurate, but as it stands this serves as a perfect example of my belief that inquiry and exploration are practices that enrich our world. Learning and understanding are value-adding courses of action. Pluto is a real place and, standing beneath it in the night sky, the only thing between it and you is the distance and a few miles of air. We now know what it looks like. We didn’t before.

The kids I work with on a daily basis as the science educator of this museum are in the business of exploring the universe around them. They are aligned in this sense with the grownups of the world who have gotten jobs as scientists, and certainly some of the voices I hear even now outside my door will one day deliver presentations at important academic conferences or discuss the design of an experiment late into the evening with researcher peers. Regardless of job title, however, it is my personal and professional goal that visitors to our museum, young and old alike, gain some kind of new appreciation for this world and those around us. Science is one of the tools that I have to assist with that, and a wonderful thing about using science is the fact that it can show us how interconnected everything truly is. The gravity on Pluto is not as strong as Earth’s, but it follows the same rules as the gravity on Earth. Understanding how the radio waves we use to send commands and hear from New Horizons work also leads to an understanding of the light that we use to see. The same rules of color-mixing that the probe uses in order to take photographs is taking place with paint and brushes right now a few yards from my office. No matter your starting point, seeking to understand the universe can take you to unexpected places. All roads lead to everywhere.

In just a few short weeks we will temporarily close our doors to undergo a renovation. Upon reopening, there will be a dedicated science area that we are calling Step Up to Science. Another new addition to the museum will be our climbing globe, 14 feet in diameter. If we were to create a scale model of the solar system based upon that as our Earth, the moon would be about 3 feet, 10 inches across and located, on average, 422 feet away. The sun would be 1,530 feet across and a bit over 31 miles away. Pluto, for its part, would be 2 feet, 7 inches across and almost 1000 miles away from our front door. And New Horizons itself would be an invisible mote of dust drifting by, only ever having gotten as close as 14 feet to Pluto’s surface in our scale model, taking five seconds to move an inch. One day in the not-so-distant future, kids sitting at our Science Bar will draw up maps of our scale model solar system. Or they will program a robot. Or they will toddle right past me and to the lunch tables, still waiting for the day or the question or the experiment that piques their interest. We will be here, just as Pluto is there. I look forward to the adventure!

Professor Labcoat celebrates National Maker Week!

Hello everyone! Professor Labcoat here. It’s National Maker Week, and today I’d like to show you how to learn about electrical circuits using play dough!

We use electricity to power all kinds of things every day. Electricity is what we call it when charged particles are pushed around, and we can make, or “generate”, electricity in many different ways. The power plants that generate electricity for entire cities use huge magnets to push electricity through the big wires that we see along the side of the road, solar panels use light energy from the sun to push electricity around, and batteries use chemical reactions.

The materials needed for this experiment are 4 AA batteries, a light emitting diode (LED), and some play dough that’s made with salt. There are many recipes online for play dough; I made some by combining 2 cups of flour and ½ cup of salt with roughly 1 cup of water added slowly. Food coloring can make for a fun color addition. You can also add a couple of teaspoons of oil and a teaspoon of cream of tartar to help with the texture, or just use some of the store bought variety!

Finding a light emitting diode (LED) might be a little tricky. I took apart a small finger-mounted flashlight to get mine. These parts are also available at many electronics stores or online for less than a dollar apiece.

The first thing we need for our circuit is something to generate the electricity. The chemical reactions inside the batteries will do this for us by pushing charged particles from one side of the battery to the other. We want all the push to go in the same direction, so we need to line up our batteries end-to-end and pointing in the same way. A little ball of dough acts as a conductor between our batteries. We need these batteries to push the electricity hard enough to make our LED light up. We measure the push of electricity in units called “volts”. Each battery gives 1.5 volts worth of push to the electricity, so four in a row give 6 volts of push total. This should be strong enough to move electricity through both the dough and the LED.

The play dough is our conductor. Instead of electrons moving through metal, our electricity will take the form of tiny pieces of the salt (called “ions”) moving through the water in the dough. It takes more energy to move ions through dough than to move electrons through metal, so dough wouldn’t make a very good extension cord. It is safe to use with the batteries, however, because it won’t heat up as a metal wire would. Plus, it’s fun to squish!

Electricity can only move through LEDs in one direction, so you might need to switch yours around a little bit before it works. Once you’ve got a circuit together, you can try out different things! What happens if your dough rolls are fat and short? Skinny and long? Does it change the brightness of your bulb?

There are many people who have created many great lessons to go along with this kind of circuitry. Check out the wonderful work of the University of St. Thomas and their “Squishy Circuit” homepage!

I hope you enjoy making your play dough circuit and learning about electricity! There are many wonderful things that we can use science to build and understand, and Makers the world over have created many fantastic resources for Young Makers!

Take care!

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Science Around Atlanta: Physics & Roller Coasters

Hello girls and boys! Professor Labcoat here!

In my last blog post, I said, “No matter what you’re interested in or what question you have, there’s probably a scientist somewhere trying to figure it out.” That’s very true, because science is a way to learn about the world around us and everything that’s in it. There are all different kinds of scientists who are interested in all different kinds of things! You can learn more about almost anything that you’re interested in by using science.

The other day, my friend Cayce got to go to Six Flags Over Georgia to try out their Batman: The Ride roller coaster…backwards! She had a lot of fun, and even got a video of her on the ride! I decided that it’d be fun to use her video to talk about the science we can learn from roller coasters.

When I was a kid, I wasn’t a big fan of roller coasters, but I like them more and more these days. Roller coasters do some pretty cool things. They can go very fast, turn upside down, and make you dizzy very quickly. It seems pretty complicated at first, but science can help us to understand complicated things!

To figure out roller coasters, we need to think about things called “forces”. A force is a push or pull on something, and this can happen in a lot of different ways. When something pushes or pulls on something else, we say it’s “applying a force”. For example, if you push someone on a swing, you are applying a pushing force to them. If the wind blows your hair around, that’s a force the wind is applying to your hair. And you’re stuck to the ground because the earth’s gravity is applying a force pulling you downward!

Some kind of force is needed to make something start to move, slow down, or change direction. We might not always realize this is what’s going on, however, because forces can show up in places that we don’t always expect.

For example, if you throw a beanbag, you push on it with your hand to apply the force to get it to start moving. Once the beanbag leaves your hand, it’s not getting any more force from you. There are still forces on the beanbag, though, and these forces work against the force of your throw! One force is a push back from the air the beanbag is moving through. This slows the beanbag down a little bit. Another force is the force of gravity. This pulls the beanbag towards the ground. Finally, when the beanbag hits the ground, the ground applies a force that stops it from moving!

This all seems very normal to us because we deal with these kinds of forces in our everyday lives. It took scientists a long time to figure out all of these forces are happening, because everybody was so used to them! But, if you were an astronaut in space far away from the earth with no air around you, no ground under you, and no gravity to speak of, and you threw a beanbag, it would keep going in a straight line for thousands of years! It wouldn’t have any other forces around to change how it moved.

So, what does this have to do with roller coasters?

A person riding a roller coaster, such as my friend Cayce, moves in a lot of different directions at different speeds. All these changes in speed and direction mean that there are a lot of forces changing the way the person is moving. When we ride a roller coaster, we feel these forces as pushes and pulls from the straps on our seats.

One of the most important forces for roller coasters to work the way they do is the force of gravity. Just like our beanbag example, where the force from your hand gives the beanbag the push to get it started, gravity provides the force that moves you around on a roller coaster. You see, there are no motors or engines on roller coaster cars. What happens at the start of almost every roller coaster is the ride pulls you up a tall hill, and then pushes you off the edge. You can see this in Cayce’s video: at the beginning, she and her sister slowly move up a hill. The moment they start moving after that, the only force that’s making them move faster is the force of gravity pulling them down!

The first hill of a roller coaster is always the tallest part of a roller coaster, because after gravity starts to pull you around, it won’t be able to make you move to a taller place than where you started. In much the same way, if you drop a bouncy ball (without throwing it at the ground!), it will never bounce higher than where you dropped it.

Roller coasters are designed to make sure that the forces they apply to the riders aren’t enough to hurt them; this is a big part of the reason why you have to be a certain height to ride roller coasters! The seats are designed to make sure that they push and pull on the right parts of people. When roller coasters go upside down, the forces applied to the riders make sure that gravity can’t pull them out of their seats. And, sometimes on roller coasters, as the forces are changing around, you don’t feel any forces at all! This is called feeling “zero-g”. The “g” stands for “gravity”, and this means that you feel weightless. A feeling of weightlessness is what astronauts in the International Space Station experience! It’s only during special occasions that we get to have that sensation on the earth, which is one of the reasons roller coasters and other fun amusement park rides are so exciting!

I hope you enjoyed learning about roller coasters with me, and I look forward to talking about all sorts of other things with you in this space. Take care!

Professor Labcoat & Superhero Scientists!

Hello girls and boys, parents and friends! Professor Labcoat here!

I work at The Children’s Museum of Atlanta as the Science Educator. This means that I get to do all kinds of activities here at the museum as well as in classrooms all across Atlanta and the surrounding area! Whether I’m mixing up a chemical reaction to make foamy bubbles, making my hair stand on end with static electricity, or using invisible ink to show how germs move around, I’m always having fun!

Science is all about trying to figure out how stuff works, from the tiniest pieces of the tiniest speck to the biggest things we can see out in space – as well as everything in-between, including you and me. No matter what you’re interested in or what question you have, there’s probably a scientist somewhere trying to figure it out. And the best part is that, one day, that scientist could be you!

You see, all scientists get their start the same way everyone gets their start: as a kid. I, Professor Labcoat, am no exception. I was a kid who wanted to be all sorts of things when I was growing up. At different times I wanted to be a garbage man, a puppeteer, a veterinarian, an actor, a doctor, a teacher, a scientist, and an architect. It was tricky to choose, but after I finished high school, I decided to go to college at Georgia Tech and study something called Materials Science and Engineering, or MSE for short. People who study MSE learn all about different kinds of metals and plastics and other stuff that things like cars, spaceships, sandwich bags, and comfy chairs are made of. They learn how to make things, measure things, and sometimes even how to break things! I enjoyed figuring things out and working in a laboratory, but as it turns out, my favorite thing to do is to share what I’ve learned with other people and show everyone around me what a cool world we live in.

One of the coolest things about the world is the fact that I know a lot of wonderful people who are working to make the world a better place. These are my Superhero Scientist friends, and I’d like to eventually introduce you to all of them! For this special first blog post of mine, however, I’m going to start with my friend Kathy Silver.

When I was in college learning how to be a scientist, Kathy was in some of my classes with me. She’d started working in the laboratory before I did, and when I came along, she helped to teach me how the different tools and machines worked. Even grownups don’t know everything, and we all have to help each other figure stuff out sometimes. Nowadays, Kathy works at the Georgia Tech Research Institute, or GTRI for short. There, she works with other scientists to try and solve all kinds of problems, and figure all kinds of things out. I decided to pay my friend a visit, so I went down the street to Georgia Tech to visit Kathy and see the buildings where she works. I decided to ask her some questions so that you could learn about her and her job. Girls and boys, allow me to introduce: My friend Kathy Silver, a Superhero Scientist!

Prof. Labcoat: How old were you when you decided you wanted to be a scientist?

Kathy Silver: Probably about 10 or 11.

PL: Was there anything else you wanted to be growing up?

KS: A medical doctor.

PL: I thought about doing that too! What is your favorite thing about your job now?

KS: Learning about new things happening on our campus that help others.  For example, some researchers are looking at less painful methods to deliver vaccines/medicines traditionally delivered via shots.  No more painful shots at the doctor’s office!

PL: I’m sure a lot of my friends would like that! But sometimes things that are no fun are necessary. What is the hardest part of your job?

KS: Deciding when an experiment is not working as expected and knowing when it’s time to move on to another approach

PL: That can certainly be tricky. I once spent six months trying to make one measurement, and after all of that time it didn’t work and I had to start all over! I eventually figured it out, though. What are you working on right now?

KS: Some of the work we are doing in our lab includes materials analysis (determining how and why something broke, for example), lithography (a method of printing) on very small objects (called micro-lithography) and viewing objects at the atomic level with special microscopes.

PL: That sounds cool! What kinds of special tools do you use?

KS: Liquid nitrogen (temperature of about -320 F, more than twice the coldest temperature ever recorded in Antarctica) , optical and atomic microscopes, and lasers.

PL: Wow. That all sounds really interesting! Is there anything you’d like to tell my friends who might want to have a job like yours?

KS: Do well in school, do math and science homework (don’t get discouraged when it seems too difficult – seek out help from your teacher), read for fun and most importantly, be curious.  Curiosity is not only the first step in the scientific process, it is also a scientist’s best trick for keeping their work fun and rewarding!

PL: That’s some great advice! Thank you so much, Kathy!

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I’m so happy that I got to introduce you to my very first Superhero Scientist friend. Keep checking the blog to hear more from me and I promise to show you some cool stuff, answer your questions, and introduce you to even more Superhero Scientists!

Thanks for reading!

-Professor Labcoat

Save the World With Your Fellow Super Kids!

This week, we are super excited about welcoming a new feature exhibit on Saturday. This is always a very exciting time for everybody here at the Museum. We love watching the pieces come together and something that we’ve heard about for months click into place. This one looks truly terrific and we are really looking forward to exploring it with you!

The exhibit, Super Kids Save the World exhibit, is based on a children’s book, George Saves the World by Lunchtime, which was written by Jo Readman and illustrated by Ley Honor Roberts. The book was developed by the Eden Project, an educational charity located in Cornwall, England, which is dedicated to showing the importance of taking care of our world. George Saves the World by Lunchtime features an ordinary family, who in the course of their day save the world simply by making responsible choices. George, Flora and Grandpa demonstrate that by taking simple steps, families can become eco-friendly superheroes in their own communities.

Super Kids Save the World features immersive environments inspired by the book where children can learn about “green” practices in their community. The exhibit features a family home with a garden; a re-use charity shop, where kids learn to donate outgrown items instead of discarding them; a recycling center, where today’s trash becomes the materials of tomorrow; a gas station and a Smart car, where families learn tips to reduce fuel consumption; a farmer’s market, where foods come free of wasteful packaging; and even a research lab, where alternative fuel sources are under development. Through pretend play, engaging activities, fun graphics and energy-saving tips, kids can find out how they too can become super kids and save the world.

The exhibit was created by The Magic House, a terrific children’s museum in St. Louis MO, and was designed by Killeen Studio Architects. It debuted at The Magic House in April 2010 and, after a local run of eight months, began touring the country. It will be with us for three months and we can’t wait to play and learn in it!

Here are some facts about recycling and reusing materials:

• Recycled paper requires 64% less energy than making paper from virgin wood pulp, and can save many trees
• It takes 90% less energy to recycle aluminum cans than to make new ones
• 84% of all household waste can be recycled
• Every ton of paper that is recycled saves 17 trees
• The amount of wood and paper thrown away is enough to heat 50 million homes for 20 years
• Each person throws away approximately four pounds of garbage every day
• 5 billion aluminum cans are used each year
• Most families throw away about 88 pounds of plastic every year
• How long does it take for waste to break down? Organic materials, like cotton, rags, or paper, take about 6 months. Plastics and aluminum cans will take 500 years!

Learn lots more, and get ready to have lots of fun, when Super Kids opens on Saturday. We look forward to seeing you!

Science for Preschoolers is Fun!

One of the many things adults assume about pre-school age children is that they are too “young” to do science. And if you see science as mysterious green solutions fizzing in tubes and occasionally going “bloop!” or worse, “BOOM!!” that is probably true. But what child development and science education experts know is that young children are natural scientists. For them, nothing in the world is a given. They test and experiment with everything. As an example, an adult knows that if you let go of the ball, it drops to the ground and you have to pick it up – gravity is pulling it there. For a one or two year old – there is always the exciting possibility that this one time, if you let go of the ball – it will go up! So they drop it again and again (waiting for their grown up to hand it back to them) to see what happens. Young children experiment every day like that.

So as adults, how can we help support our young children’s science learning? The National Science Teachers Association has come up with key principles to support this early science learning – and we’ve listed some of them below:

• Adults play a central and important role in helping young children learn science.
  • Children (and adults) have more fun when they learn together and when the adult creates an environment that is open to science learning – which may include making fun messes.
• Young children need multiple and varied opportunities to engage in science exploration and discovery.
  • There are lots of fun ways to do science exploration with young children, everything from going to the park and seeing how many different types of bugs you can find, to visiting the Children’s Museum and seeing if the child can engage in some of the basic science steps: designing an experiment (Can I make the orange ball go to the water play in the ball machine?) to testing different paths (If I put it in the giant corkscrew, where does it end up?) to learning the results (I made it go to the water pool!).
• Young children develop science skills and knowledge in both formal and informal settings.
  • In other words – science happens everywhere! At home, in the community, and in the classroom.
• Young children develop science skills and knowledge over time.
  • To effectively build science understandings, like having your child learn about light and energy, takes place over many days or weeks of discussion and having fun with everything from learning about shadows, to using a prism to make a rainbow.
• Young Children develop science skills and learning by engaging in experiential learning.
  • Hands-on, real life learning resonates with pre-school children. They are not abstract thinkers yet, so they like concrete examples that reflect their daily lives.

As a parent, one of my handicaps with teaching my young children science was my own fear that I didn’t know enough! If my child asked me “How does gravity work?” I would quickly make up an answer having to do with the earth’s huge mass and how that mass pulls lighter things (objects with less mass)  and holds them down. Then the scary next question “what is mass?”  at which point I was out of my depth and quickly changed the subject (Okay, not the ideal parenting technique!). Now, what I would do is say “I don’t know, let’s have fun finding out together” and use some of the great resources available to parents and adult caregivers. I’ve listed some websites below that we use here at the Children’s Museum to help.

The Children’s Museum has lots of opportunities for our young learners to engage with science, from our exhibits to fabulous programs like Exploration Station and Dr. Science Workshops. Please join us and have fun with science!

The Georgia Department of Early Care & Learning has great developmental standards for young children – with a lot of resources for parents and children.

Science Kids: Fun Science and Technology for Kids

The Exploratorium in San Francisco has great info for parents and kids.