Create a reusable shopping bag!

The museum has been giving away Reusable Bags, as our member giveaways, for a few years now...which everyone loves! I just found a contest though Kroger to design your very own bag. If your bag gets the most votes, then it becomes the design for Kroger's reusable bag and you win $1000.00 dollar Kroger card! Whoop Whoop, that is music to anyones ear now-a-days!

Here is my design, vote for it! If you create a bag, let me know and I will vote for yours! Good luck and let mother earth serve as your artistic inspiration!

-Kristen!

On MLK day we get a new bear cub!!!

Welcome to your new home Yona!!! Yona will be arriving at the museum on January 15 and we are very excited for Yona to live here with our other 4 bears.

Yona was rescued from Townsend, TN and found weighing around four pounds: still a defenseless cub. She was found on the side of the road and picked up by a good hearted woman, who later named her Yona meaning 'bear' in Cherokee. The woman later called the Appalachian Bear Rescue for help in raising the cub...and they are sending Yona to live with us!

Unfortunately, Yona was imprinted by all of her human interaction and can not return to the wild. Imprinting is defined as a permanent visual socialization that will occur as soon as the animal or bird is able to focus. How does this affect Yona in particular? Yona was found at a very early age; she was then totally dependent on people for her food, shelter, warmth, skills, interactions and love. This seems like a good idea in the beginning, but as she grew older she bonded to people not bears. ABR tried to place Yona with their other bears; to re-introduce her to her own species & have her learn to be a BEAR... but she was too imprinted for the wild.

Yona will serve as a shining example of why we do not take in wild animals. It is not only very dangerous, but also selfish on the humans' part. A life in captivity is nothing compared to a life in the wild. I am glad Yona found such a great place to spend the rest of her life!

It costs the Museum more than $25,000 a year to care for its rescued bears. If you would like to help you can adopt a bear or make a contribution by calling the Museum at 919-220-5429 ext. 352.

Cheers to Jimmy!

This is just a quick shout out to Jimmy, my manager! He has officially been working at the museum for 10 years! He has transfered from a few different departments- but he now calls the Science Education Resource Center home, and we are lucky to have him.

Congratulations!!!!!

Now Introducing....Lacy!

We have gone through many changes in the SERC lately...but the most exciting is gaining a new colleague...Lacy! She has been volunteering with us for about 6 months; refurbishing DPS science kits, SIAS kits and helping clean up our building. She was in need of a career change and we were in need of a new addition to our team.

Welcome to the museum Lacy!

Citizen Science: Butterfly Bash- Dare Cafe!

This year was our 10th Anniversary of the Magic Wings Butterfly House, so we celebrated it with Butterfly Bash this year!  There were many new exhibitors and some veteran ones too!  If you remember from my last BFB post, I told you about Dare Cafe!  We talked about Entomophagy, different types of insects to try, the nutritional value and we got it all on video!  

Brad (he is in charge of our Nanoscale Science programs and research at MLS!!) and I made this awesome video of Dare Cafe!  It highlights some unforgettable moments from the program and shows off many of our members and visitors loving bugs! It will make you want to come to our bash NEXT year and experience this!

A big thanks to everyone who participated in Dare Cafe, to Brad for the help with this video and to Nancy and Uli for making the bash possible!  The amount of hard work that goes into these events is mind blowing, it really makes me appreciate my fellow life and sciencers! 

Here are pictures taken by a member.  Her whole family really dug into this program and raised the bar for everyone (young and old) to give it a try! Thanks Maya!! 

Did you make it on the video?  If so, tell us how it turned out!  We are very proud of our productions here and we love feedback! 

Citizen Science: What to do with all those batteries?

So, how many items do we all have in our homes that are battery operated. I stopped counting at 25 (of course I think most of my daughter's toys consume batteries to make some noise ). Batteries are everywhere, and are of many different types. The other day while replacing a few I started wondering how to properly dispose of these things and came to a few realizations... Not all batteries are created equal!!

Most of the batteries that we purchase are alkaline batteries and unfortunately there aren't many recycling options for these. Fortunately legislation was passed to rid these disposable batteries of mercury and other harmful materials which previously was leaching out of landfills. The trouble is billions of the batteries are purchased by Americans every year and there are being used once and then discarded.

What can I do (or should I do) you may ask. Well think about using a rechargeable battery when possible. Yes, they do cost more money upfront but, you get many more uses out of them so the payback period is short. It would cost a ridiculous amount to operate my digital camera for instance if I kept putting disposable batteries in it. Additionally the main types of rechargeable batteries can be recycled at many easily accessible locations. So really it can be a win-win decision to buy rechargeable batteries for many of your devices.

We use A LOT of batteries in our DPS science kits too, Elecrticity and Magnetism uses 60 batteries per kit!  That adds up pretty fast when you are sending out 14-20 kits every rotation! 

As for how batteries work, here is a link to some great information. And, for those that are really curious and want to do some hands on experiments with making a battery or electrical energy source out of household items, the SERC has a Science in a Suitcase kit that will allow you to do just that!  

Cool Tools: Julmarknad!

Hi everyone, Nancy here.

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of representing the Museum at the annual North Carolina Scandinavian Christmas Fair or "Julmarknad" which means Christmas Fair in Sweden. One of our beloved staff members here is very actively involved in the event through SWEA, the Swedish Women's Educational Association. Each December 13, many people celebrate the feast day of Saint Lucia in homes throughout Sweden and other Nordic countries. Known as the festival of light, Lucia Day marks the return of daylight and longer days to Scandinavians and officially ushers in the Christmas season.

I spent the day talking with folks about the night sky and creating "constellation cans" with them. We explored star maps and guides and used them as inspiration to design the cans so we could "see the stars" inside. This is a great activity to do at home with your budding astronomer:

You can use an empty oatmeal box (save the lid), some black construction paper, a pushpin, scissors, transparent tape and some star stickers to decorate the box. First, wrap the outside of the box with black paper and tape down. Trim any excess paper. Use the star stickers (we like the small metallic ones teachers usually use as reward stickers;you can find them at most office supply stores) Next, remove the lid of the box. Place another sheet of black paper over the opening of the box and lay flat. You won't need a full sheet, just enough to cover the opening with about an inch and a half leeway all the way around. Next, take the lid and push down over the paper until the lid locks in place. Now you are ready for your "constellations". Take the pushpin and poke holes through the lid/black paper. You can recreate a constellation like the Big Dipper or Orion or just create your own. When you're finished, turn the box over, take your scissors (adults should do this part to help keep kids safe) and use one blade to saw out the entire bottom of the oatmeal box.

Your constellation can is ready! Just hold up, aim the lid towards a light source above you, look through the bottom and you will see the stars!

Here are some good resources on the night sky: Google Sky, NASA and Astronomy for Beginners

The SERC also has a lot of great resources that you can check out on star gazing.

Stay tuned and stay curious,


-Nancy

Citizen Science: TechShop is coming!

Hi everyone, Nancy here.

At the Museum, there is never a shortage of tinkering going on. Whether it be someone on the facilities staff trying to safely extract a broken bulb from a light fixture or the exhibits technicians working on the propulsion rocket exhibit or our staff mechanic maintaining our train engine, there are always opportunities to creatively solve problems and create new things.

Growing up, both my dad and older brother were both into working on cars and motorcycles. These days as a hobby, my brother still designs and builds engines for IHRA class dragsters. When dad wasn't doing automotive restoration, he indulged in other hobbies like building and repairing shortwave radios and telegraphs and woodworking. My mom was very patient and tolerant of all of the random things that entered our home and the things that never left...We had a spare room and a shop in our basement so there was plenty of space to work.

DIY and hobbies serve a lot of benefits for people. They can reduce stress, aid in problem-solving and memory retention and some projects can even save you money. Sometimes, ideas and materials can get so big that there isn't always space to work on them where you live. Enter a very cool concept called TechShop.

TechShop is a membership-based workshop that gives you and other creative people access to a wide variety of tools and equipment, expert training and classes on how to use them and introduces you to a wide community of people who like to think big and make cool things.

Check out the TechShop community website to learn more.

Stay tuned and stay curious,
-Nancy

Kit Tidbit:Getting ready for a DPS kit rotation!

The resource center has so many functions! We are here for our own employees, our members, teachers, home schoolers and parents. We also work with Durham Public Schools (DPS) to supplement their science curriculum. The students get a chance to get down and dirty with science!!!

This is going to be a super quick overview of DPS's Science Initiative...I know you're excited :) The program works with Kindergarten through 6th grade. There are 4 kit topics per grade level, all are designed to target the NC Standard Course of Study. We (The Museum) help DPS by refurbishing all of these kits. The schools receive them on a rotational basis, and they will get all 4 kit titles each year. Every kit is unique, with everything needed for all the experiments from pencils and paper down to the gravel and animal cards!

One kit in every grade receives a title that is animal focused. This means that it comes with an animal card; which means when the teacher receives the kit, she will order his/her animals for that kit. They will come to him/her in the mail. These science kits are really cool and there's no better way to learn than to actually use your hands and do it!

So, we are getting ready for our third rotation this year, we have about 3 weeks to refurbish
A LOT of kits! We are making labels, counting supplies, shopping and getting mentally prepared to do this! It's a lot of work, but it is such an awesome program and that makes it totally worth it!

(This picture is of the first grade Solids and Liquids kit!)

Hello World - Welcome to the SERC!

Hi, Hey, Hello! My name is Kristen Wolfe. I am a Science Education Resource Center (SERC) Assistant at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, NC. I am creating a blog to tell people about the awesome resources we have available. Upcoming posts will talk about new things we are doing, interesting science topics and ideas from websites and community contacts. We want to be a general science contact for inquiring minds!!

In the weeks to come, there will be new posts from my colleagues. Until then, I want to tell you a little bit about Science in a Suitcase kits. They are a great RESOURCE for parents, teachers, home schoolers, babysitters or any one working with kids!! These age-specific kits are aligned with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study - everything you need for a fantastic science experience is included! AND there are discounts for MEMBERS!!!:).