February 17, 2015
Not Your Grandma’s Science Competition – Part 2
This post is the second in a three-part series highlighting youth science competitions that task young people with the real challenges and rewards of a life in research.
Stories by Amanda Baker
Amanda Baker is a science communicator and outreach advocate. She has a geoscience PhD from Cornell University and has managed open-access, academic journals as well as the outreach journal Frontiers for Young Minds. She is currently writing and editing science content for kids, from curriculum materials to magazines like Smore. She has served as a Science Olympiad national event supervisor and taught a first-year writing seminar on sustainable earth systems while at Cornell.
February 10, 2015
Not Your Grandma’s Science Competition: Part 1
This post is the first in a three-part series highlighting youth science competitions that task young people with the real challenges and rewards of a life in research.
Mind & BrainFebruary 3, 2015
Teens These Days, Always Changing Their Gray Matter
While we all may vary on just how much time we like spending with other people, humans are overall very social beings. Scientists have already found this to be reflected in our health and well-being - with social isolation being associated with more depression, worse health, and a shorter life.
January 27, 2015
Aiming Too High (Or Too Low) When Communicating Science
I recently had the opportunity to take part in a workshop for researchers about communicating science to the public. At one point the speaker suggested that the first step for anyone would be to learn how to translate scientific concepts so that a child would be able to understand them.
January 20, 2015
What Rabbits and Martian Rovers Taught Me About Scale
Quite often when I am looking at photos, I just feel like something is missing. It is not a criticism of the light or the composition, but rather that something is, quite literally, missing: a scale.
January 13, 2015
This Box is Heavier; I Can Just Hear it! Illusions of Sight and Sound in the Blind and Deaf
The last time someone told you to look at an optical illusion, they probably described it as playing a cool trick on your eyes. But these quirks of perception - as well as most other illusions - have more to do with tricking your brain than anything else.
January 6, 2015
How Many Raincoats Does it Take to Model a Prison Escape? Using Models to Get Into Those Hard-to-Reach Places
New technology is developed each year that lets us measure things that are smaller, colder, faster, or farther away than ever before. But there are some things, even with all of this technology, that we just can't measure.
Mind & BrainDecember 23, 2014
It's Beginning to Smell a Lot Like Christmas: The Neuroscience of Our Nostalgia
Have you ever smelled something so familiar that it felt like you were transported back through time into one of your earlier memories? Have freshly baked cookies, your grandmother's chili sauce, or a specific brand of sunscreen after a long winter actually affected the way you feel?
TechnologyDecember 17, 2014
#SHAKING! How the Internet is Changing the Way We Respond to Earthquakes
With services like Twitter and Facebook ready at our fingertips, the internet is making it possible for people to share more than ever about their personal experiences.
December 9, 2014
Hot Dogs in Cages and Dead Gecko Feet: The Importance of Asking Small Questions
When we hear about science in our textbooks or on the news, we usually only hear about the big moments: discovering DNA, studying gravity, or understanding plate tectonics.
December 2, 2014
Language: What Your Brain Remembers Even if You Forget
What is the earliest thing you remember? How old were you? What was happening? Have you ever wondered about all the things from before that moment that you can't remember?
Mind & BrainNovember 25, 2014
Hearing: It's Not Just For Your Ears Anymore
Everyone learns about the senses from when we are very young. We smell with our noses, taste with our tongues, see with our eyes, touch with our skin, and listen with our ears ...
The SciencesNovember 18, 2014
How Scientific Are Your Instruments?
What do coins, a Wii remote, or card games have to do with science? More than you might think. Scientific instruments are devices specifically designed to measure the subject of your research reliably and accurately.
The SciencesNovember 14, 2014
It is Never too Early to Think—and Communicate—Like a Scientist
When you think about the job of a scientist, what images come into your mind? A chemist wearing a lab coat surrounded by beakers? A geologist out studying rocks in the desert?