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Newton Network Newsletter

October 2009

Newton Network News:

Greetings from the Newton Network!

Now that we’re getting back into the swing of the new school year, it is once again time to provide you and your students with fun and educational classroom activities.

Music is something all cultures share. From the steel pans of Trinidad to the Taiko drums of Japan, music can inspire and uplift those who listen to it. But what makes the sound in the first place? This month, we provide music and sound-based activities and experiments meant to inspire you and your students.

Also, check out the Kid’s Science Challenge, the Science Olympiad, and UNR’s Mobile Engineering Lab.

In This Issue:

Music Experiments- Explore sound in your classroom with interactive websites and lesson plans.

Kid’s Science Challenge- Have students send questions in for a chance to win awesome prizes.

Science Olympiad- Start preparing for the March competition.

Mobile Engineering Lab- Have engineers from UNR come and talk to your students and lead them in hands-on activities.

Professional Development Opportunities- PBS TeacherLine offers online courses and the upcoming School Science and Mathematics Association conference

Newton Network- New resources added to our website.

Music Experiments- The science of sound is a fascinating subject to teach. Here we have found sound and music-based experiments for your teaching and viewing experience.  

The San Francisco-based Exploratorium always has interesting science exhibits and activities. The online music exhibit has movies demonstrating how sound works, frequently asked questions about sound (like why does my voice sound weird when I hear it in a recording?) and online activities like creating your own step dance routine. (http://www.exploratorium.edu/music/)

The Glenbrook Physics lab’s website offers a physics tutorial that covers the basics of sound science. Each of the lesson plans are very in-depth and each lesson can be used separately or in a series. Check out the site at (http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/gbssci/phys/Class/sound/soundtoc.html) for more information.

Looking for a way to explain how the ear works or why sound echoes? The Kill o’ the Grange National School has created a fun website for K-6.  The pages provide several different experiments and activities pertaining to how sound and music work. Try out the Larynx Laughs or Squawkers and Screechers for fun and easy experiments (http://homepage.eircom.net/~kogrange/sound_index.html)   

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Kid’s Science Challenge- The Kid’s science challenge is a nationwide competition for students in grades 3-6. Students send in science problems to be solved by real scientists and engineers. Every year has a different set of topics for students to pose questions in. This year the topics are Bio-Inspired designs, Imagining Sports on Mars, and Detective Science. The student who wins in each category gets a chance to go to the San Diego Zoo, Space camp, or Pali Adventures camp. Visit their website at (http://www.kidsciencechallenge.com/) for more information and registration dates.  

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Science Olympiad- It’s time to start getting ready for this year’s Science Olympiad! The Olympiad started 26 years ago as a grassroots organization and has since spread across the country. Teams compete in regional competition and then have the chance to move on to the national level. This year’s state tournament will be held at Rancho High School in Las Vegas on March 6^th, 2010. The registration form is available on the Olympiad’s site at (https://soinc.org/)

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Mobile Engineering Lab- UNR’s college of Engineering Outreach program offers this fun program for students in grade K-8. The Mobile Engineering lab is a program that brings engineering to the classroom by providing presentations and hands-on experiments. The hands-on experiments include building bridges and fans from K’nex and building a mini electric motor. The program is geared towards schools 30 minutes or less away from the UNR campus but all are welcome to contact the program director, Debbie DeLauer, at ddelauer@unr.edu or (775) 327-2256. Or visit their website at (http://www.unr.edu/engineering/outreach/me2l.html)

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Professional Development Opportunities-

PBS TeacherLine offers high-quality, graduate-level courses in a flexible online format so you can fit learning into your busy schedule from anywhere with an Internet connection. Courses begin on October 28^th and are all approved by the Nevada Department of Education. For more information, go to their website at (http://www.pbs.org/teacherline/). Or, for Northern Nevada, contact Johana Franca at (775) 682-7805 or johana@knpb.org. For Southern Nevada, contact Craig Cuddihy or Mark Nelson at (702) 799-1010.

The School Science and Mathematics Association is having its annual conference in Reno this year. The SSMA is a professional organization geared towards bringing together researchers and teachers to promote research, scholarship and practice. They also strive to improve school science and mathematics and to advance the integration of school science and mathematics. The conference is taking place from October 22-24 and registration is happening now. They are offering a special one day registration of $25 for Saturday (members or non-members pay the same). For more information, visit their website at (http://www.ssma.org/)

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Newton Network – We have added two more resources to our website:

• SciJinks – We featured the weather activities available on this site last month but there is so much more available, so we have added this to your resources page. (http://scijinks.jpl.nasa.gov)
• Exploratorium – This is one of our featured sites this month but don’t stop with just the excellent activities on sound.  Check out everything that is offered at (http://www.exploratorium.edu/) or from the Resources page of our website. 

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