Bringing the Stars into Your Living Room
I got a sneak preview of Portable Planetarium Presentations‘ upcoming new show Aliens! in a friend’s living room. Yes, that’s right, the company has designed an even more portable planetarium that can fit in a living room. I sat inside the planetarium with about 20 children and adults to discover the connections between pop culture and…
Read MoreTalking STEM with the Mayor
This afternoon, I had the privilege of joining DaNel Hogan, director of The STEMAZing Project, for her meeting with Tucson’s Mayor Jonathan Rothschild. DaNel presented him with a quick outline of this summer’s STEMAZing Institute, three days of superlative professional development for Southern Arizona’s K–12 teachers. Teachers will choose from seven strands: Dark Skies: From Light…
Read MoreCome for the sludge, stay for the STEM (and STEAM)
I was lucky enough to tag along on a trip to the Pima County Tres Rios Wastewater Reclamation Facility with Sonoran Desert Homeschoolers. The facility is on the SW corner of Ina Road and I-10, just north of the sports park. First, everyone should know that there was almost no smell at all. None. I did…
Read More2015 SARSEF Cox Future Innovators Night
I had the pleasure of attending SARSEF‘s 2015 Cox Future Innovators Night on March 11 at the Tucson Convention Center. What a blast! More than 75,000 STEM research projects were entered in Southern Arizona science fairs this school year, and 1,903 of them were selected to compete at SARSEF. The TCC exhibition hall was lined with…
Read MoreBuilding STEM Connections Around Arizona
This afternoon, I was a lady who lunched. My dining companion was Antoinette Beiser, Lowell Observatory‘s Leadership Gifts Officer. Our paths had crossed late last year when Antoinette was looking for ways to get the word out about Lowell Observatory to potential donors in Southern Arizona. Today was our chance to talk in person. Our conversation ran…
Read MoreDante Lauretta on Planet Formation and the Origin of Life
Number two in the seven-part 2015 UA Science Lecture Series gets underway Monday, February 2, at 7:00 p.m. at UA’s Centennial Hall. Be sure to arrive before 6:30 p.m Seats fill quickly in the auditorium — Tucsonans love science! This year’s theme is Life in the Universe, and tonight, Dante Lauretta will discuss Planet Formation and the Origin…
Read MoreTurbulent flow in Van Gogh’s The Starry Night
Fascinating four and change minutes talking about turbulent flow and what Vincent Van Gogh depicted in works like The Starry Night. An unexpected intersection of STEM and art. Thank you to my friend, Trudy, for sending this my way!
Read MoreFrom STEM to STEAM
My big idea for the day is to rename this endeavor from Debbie Does STEM to Debbie Does STEAM. The thinking behind it is that it will have a longer life, that there is already momentum building to incorporate the creative aspect of art, music, writing, into the STEM universe–I don’t want to end up with…
Read MoreNature Connects features stunning LEGO® artistry of Sean Kenney
I came across a 2014 news story out of Miami, when Zoo Miami hosted Creatures of Habitat, a traveling exhibition created by LEGO® artist Sean Kenney. The traveling exhibit, originally hosted at the Philadelphia Zoo, depicted nine animal species whose habitats are stressed–from a harlequin frog to a polar bear. Over a six-month period, Sean used more than 250,000 LEGO® bricks to…
Read MoreTucson’s 2015 Arizona SciTech Festival events
The Arizona SciTech Festival‘s 2015 kickoff is January 31, with a fantastic downtown Phoenix event, Connect2STEM. But what if you’re in Baja Arizona? What’s happening when? Give us our STEM! The Arizona SciTech Festival website offers a sortable events calendar–if you’re looking for Tucson-area events, select Pima County and/or Southern Arizona as filters. Here is…
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