Citizen Science: Recycling Symbols...broken down!

As we are quickly approaching the holiday season I find myself thinking about the amount of trash and recyclables that we are going accumulate- everything from the containers that our food is coming in all the way to the wrapping paper from opening gifts...and the list goes on.  I hate having to guess if something can actually be recycled or not...and what if I pitch it and it actually could have been recycled!?! Then what?

It has me thinking about what the recycling symbols actually stand for?  I have been searching for the correct explanation of the plastic protocol, and I have finally found a great explanation!!  This site does a wonderful job of explaining what each symbol stands for and what types of products it represents!

Here is another great site about recycling.  It has lots of options and ideas about recycling, reuseing, upcycling and where to discard the item if you truely have no use for it!  

And here is a nice way to recycle your old wine corks! 

"Championship" workout for the Holidays

While checking out this year's upcoming ACC basketball season, I stumbled across a great article about a simple workout, just in time for the holidays. I know a lot of people don't have time to exercise, especially during the holiday season, but a couple minutes during commercials or halftime while you follow your favorite team can be good for anyone. And hey, isn't that what DVR is for?

The Never Fail Lid Remover

If you have ever tried to unscrew a tight metal lid on a jar, and you can't, you know what happens. Either someone else does it for you, or you tap it against the counter trying to loosen it up. Well, no more having to ask for help! If you just hold the lid of the jar under hot water for one minute, it should twist right off!

How is works: Most things expand as they get warmer. When the jar is heated up, the molecules inside it expand, causing lid to loosen. Since metal is a better conductor of heat than the glass jar, it heats up much faster , giving you the upper hand on removing that stubborn lid!

Let me know if you have any other tricks of your own!

Cool Tools: Kiss Your Brain!

Hi everyone,

Nancy Here.

With all of the research out there about Alzheimer's Disease, people are eager to learn more about the onset of the disease and what they can do to help slow it down or protect against it.

My son's great grandmother is living with Alzheimer's. Her doctors firmly believe that had she not been active her whole life, that the effects of the disease would be much more prevalent and would limit her daily activity. She is an active senior and is thriving in an assisted living community where she still has latitude to socialize with friends and family and keep busy and healthy.

Researchers claim that there is growing evidence that lifestyle and environment play a big role in Alzheimer's prevention in some people. Here are some things researchers recommend to help prevent or slow down the onset :

• 
  Avoid jarring your brain - this is easy, wear a helmet when doing physical activity like bike riding, skate boarding, equestrian sports and skiing and when you're in a car, don't forget to buckle up!


• Staying in touch with your friends and participating in social activities have numerous health benefits. Volunteer or join a club or civic group as another way to network socially. ( and help your community)


• Eat a healthy diet and get regular exercise.


• Exercise your mind to keep your brain active and sharp. You can learn a new language, play an instrument, start a hobby ( I've started crafting, it's not pretty. Hey, it's the process not the product, right?), read, do puzzles like crosswords or sudoku or play games.

Check out this site. On fitbrains.com you can subscribe for a small fee to enjoy all the features or play as a guest like I do. My favorite is "Welcome to the Busy Bistro". It's harder than it looks but it's a fun engaging way to keep your brain active.

My former office mate Kay's mom is a retired teacher. Her trademark saying to her students when they got a question right or connected with something was "Kiss your brain!" Indeed. Give your brain some love.

Stay tuned and stay curious,

-Nancy

Cool Tools: And, we're back....

Hi everyone, Nancy here.

We want to thank all the staff and volunteers here at the Museum as well as some terrific friends that came in to help us get the next round of science kits ready for Durham Public Schools.

Last month, we had the pleasure of being asked to be community partners with our friends at WTVD Channel 11 Eyewtitness News and spent an entire day with them in their booth at the North Carolina State Fair. We got to meet some of the on air personalities like Glenn Willey and Amanda Fitzpatrick and spend time with fairgoers talking about the Museum and doing weather activities with some of the children.

I have to admit I was a little intimidated talking about weather around Glenn, who is the Meterologist on the morning team, but it was pretty cool seeing the kids get into learning about the different weather instruments we brought (like thermometers and rain gauges) and examine cloud patterns on cloud charts.

If you have been out to visit our Museum and have "captained" a sailboat out at the pond in Catch the Wind, there is a station that describes the Beaufort (Wind Force) Scale which is an empircal measure for weather intensity based mostly on wind power. It tells us what to expect conditions on land and sea to be at certain wind speeds. Use of the scale is helpful as weather is often forecasted using this scale globally.

An instrument that meterologists use to measure wind force and velocity is something called an anemometer. We helped the kids make pocket anemometers with a pattern on heavy cardstock and a standard paperclip. Most of the kids at the fair were registering about a "4" on the Beaufort Scale which meant that there was a moderate breeze.

If you are interested in making an anemometer, contact us and we'll get you a pattern. Make sure you address your request to the SERC.

Many of the folks that stopped by the booth were intrigued by the rain gauges and asked where to get them. You can find them in the garden departments of most retailers and they are fairly inexpensive. There are some sophisticated ones that you can buy online but of course, we at the SERC are advocates for the DIY approach. You can make a child-friendly one with a clear cup and a wide craft stick. Just use clear tape to adhere the stick to the cup. Make sure the stick extends past the bottom of the cup enough so that it can be staked into the ground. Use a ruler and a black permanent marker or grease pencil to mark off increments in inches. We also found this version that might make a fun science project.

And now, back to you.

Stay tuned and stay curious,
-Nancy

Kit Tidbit: Building a Science In A Suitcase kit from start to finish!! (part 1)

These next few blog posts are going to be about our most recent project in the SERC, creating a new Science In A Suitcase (SIAS) kit from the very beginning to the end. The topic for this kit is going to be Wetlands, and will be targeting grades 6-8. So...here we go!!

The first step to this process is figuring out the topic and budget for our new baby. We decided that a Wetlands kit concentrating on middle school science is going to be great for many reasons. The main thought is because we have an awesome Wetland at the Museum, and we really want educators to take note and use the resource around us! Another reason we chose this topic is because we can incorporate lots of field study activities...and get ready - an ENVIROSCAPE!

For those of you who do not know what an EnviroScape is, its a table top model of an Environment in which you can manipulate different aspects of it. The model we chose is titled "Wetlands" and it shows all the different industrial reasons a Wetland can become polluted. Because we're all about interactive science and work with lots of inner-city schools, this quote really sold me on including this resource.

"We go out in pairs with the EnviroScape to inner-city after school programs and Native American resource centers. Many people are unaware of the importance of wetlands. With EnviroScape we can dramatically show the points we are trying to make and the kids love it. Everybody gets a chance to interact and they get excited about learning something new."

JANE SCHMITT, League of Women Voters, Henrietta, NY.

The next step is to create great hands on activities for the kit! This is where we are now. Soon to come I will explain the process is this too! For me, it is all a trial and error because this is my first time creating a SIAS kit!!! Until next time:)

Citizen Science: CFLS...The Return!

Hi everyone, Nancy here.

Kristen submitted a great post about the Lamp Corporation's green fundraising initiative utilizing sales of CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lights).

CFLs are efficient, save money and help reduce air and water pollution.

Many of us are starting to replace incandescent bulbs with CFLs. We have even started using them in the "Earth Moon, Sun" and 5th Grade "Weather" Science Kits we refurbish for Durham Public Schools! However, because these bulbs contain a small amount of mercury embedded in the glass tubing, it is important to make sure they are disposed of properly and safely.

Here are some sites that were recommended as part of a continued effort to educate Museum staff and volunteers as well as our members and folks in the community about sustainability.

This is a link to a list of 4 places in the area where you can recycle/dispose your light bulbs.

Home Depot announced that they were a nationwide recycling center for CFL bulbs sometime last month.


If you know of any other local sites that accept CFLs for safe disposal, please share them with us.

Stay tuned and stay curious,
-Nancy