Teaching the Tsunami

Here are a bunch of resources for teaching your kids (whether you’re their parent or teacher) about the earthquake and subsequent tsunami that hit Japan last week and continue to cause devastation. This is a great opportunity for real-world lessons in plate tectonics, geography, the physics of quake-proof buildings, the movement of water, Japanese history, the benefits/drawbacks of nuclear power, and even compassion; this last item is perhaps (in my opinion) the most important subject that is the most sorely neglected.

An entire half-hour video on constructing quake-proof buildings.

Live footage of the wave washing ashore and (at about 1:21) washing away an entire town.

Intense before-and-after photos of the destruction from the NYTimes.

Details about the ongoing nuclear reactor meltdowns.

And, because knowledge means nothing if we don’t use it, the Red Cross is accepting donations to help with disaster relief.  Your kids could have a sushi dinner or a Japanese bake sale as a fundraiser and send the proceeds to a disaster relief organization like the Red Cross. They could also learn origami and sell paper cranes to benefit disaster relief–a great way to learn about the culture of the people they’re helping. Here’s another list of organizations currently providing disaster relief in Japan.

Thanks to Margie Clayman for much of the inspiration for this post.

Edit: moar links plz!

Animal Refuge Kansai needs volunteers and donations.

News on the ground indicates that Apple stores are providing crucial centers for communication and electricity.

George Takei is trying to help!

More information about the nuclear reactors in Japan. Thanks Wendy Z!

A Smithsonian geologist explains that the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11th was 1,000 times more powerful than the one that recently hit Haiti. Whoa!

Happy Pi Day!

What’s the big deal about Pi and why are we celebrating it today? Pi, Greek letter (π), is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi Day is celebrated by math enthusiasts around the world on March 14th.

Celebrate with music…

…or Pi Day arts and crafts.

There’s also Trivia!

A haiku contest!

You can take the Pi Day Challenge!

Or, my personal favorite, bake a pie!

We are all connected

…and we are made of stars.

Find more music videos relating to science featuring Carl Sagan, Bill Nye and others at Symphony of Science!

The Lethal Loris

First, watch this adorable video of a Slow Loris with a tiny umbrella.

So tiny! So cute! So fond of a cocktail umbrella!

Then go over here and read about the endangered Slow Loris, the world’s only venomous primate. Hopefully the Loris can be saved by conservation and local education efforts. For ways to help, check out International Animal Rescue!

Thanks to Myke Amend and Emily Lydic for the links!

Edit: Apparently the Loris trade is even worse than I thought, and these animals are often mutilated and doomed to die of infection in captivity. Another case of wild animals belonging in the wild and not in our homes!

Zombies are real!

In a new take on an old favorite, four new types of fungus have been discovered that turn ants into zombies, taking over the ants’ motor control and ultimately killing them.  George A. Romero has nothing on Ophiocordyceps!

The Walking Cactus

There was a wild period — roughly 520 million years ago — when life, for no obvious reason, burst into a crazy display of weird new fantastic forms — producing creatures in shapes never seen before or since. Consider this animal, the newest fossil discovery from Jianni Liu in China. She calls it “the walking cactus.”

For more detail on lobopodians (and lots of other really interesting stuff) check out “It’s Not Exactly Rocket Science,” a Discovery blog.

The Science of Kissing

Heard on the Thom Hartmann Show this afternoon: How kissing helps you choose a compatible mate. The way your lover tastes and smells is appealing on a chemical level, and those chemical clues can indicate compatibility of a couple’s immune systems for creation of healthy offspring.

Interestingly, birth control pills, which “fool” a woman’s body into thinking she’s pregnant, can change a woman’s scent reception and alter who she finds attractive. Some studies have even suggested a link between modern hormone birth control and the high divorce rate!

Venn Diagrams for n00bs

Today I had the pleasure of enlightening a bunch of 16-year-olds on the topic of Venn Diagrams. Fortunately, the internet makes that an easy task.

Start with this helpful beginner diagram by Natalie Dee.

Then show them this Hannah Montana diagram and this (my personal favorite) platypus with a keytar diagram.

Most of them do not like Hannah Montana, but they know who she is, so the diagram is culturally relevant to them, which they like.

Yes, when you show them a beaver and a duck “making” a platypus some of the kids will be express amazement that a beaver and duck can mate and produce a platypus, so be careful how you phrase this one, and be sure to dispel the mistaken belief  that a mammal and a bird can produce offspring.

Did I mention they’re sixteen years old?

But I digress.

Next you want to explain that a VD (heh) can be used to describe the relationships between more than two ideas, which can look like this (note that I removed the reference to the Holy Trinity) or this or this. Despite what the kids might think, diagrams don’t have to be boring! If they’re laughing then you’ve achieved your goal. Encourage them to make their own hilarious Venn Diagrams.

A couple of resources:

This Is Indexed is great for all kinds of clever graphs and diagrams, most of which are a bit too erudite for high schoolers, but some of which are still useful

GraphJam prides itself on depicting pop culture in graphs and diagrams, so it’s perfect for culturally relevant sources, but watch out for the controversial

I Select You, Naturally!

I don’t usually post anything on Sundays, but tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, so I should post these before it’s too late!

Awesome free science-themed Valentines

Even prettier science Valentines

Thanks to Geeks Are Sexy for posting the first set and one of their facebook fans for posting the second!

Squid Vid

I can always count on my friends to point out articles and videos that would suit this blog. Today’s strange squid, which vaguely resembles the alien from Independence Day, provides a great opportunity to talk to students about the inhabitants of the deep ocean. We’re always wondering what’s out there in space–but there’s a whole world on this planet that we’ve barely begun to explore, as this slightly creepy video proves:

Alien-like Squid with “Elbows” Filmed at Drilling Site

The article also brings up issues of conservation, so this would be a great way to introduce kids to the ethics of science. While oil rig cameras can provide us with great, low-cost ways to observe deep-sea fauna, the rigs themselves do incalculable damage to the sea bed, and massive oil spills kill millions of wild animals each year. Is it appropriate for scientists to use the resources of  companies that may be destroying the very species they’re trying to study?