New book for bug fans -- Bugwatching!

When one adult or child takes an interest in bugs, it's a good idea to have a book or two with lots of images AND text. Pictures are always interesting, even for people who are learning to read! And science books with lots to read are the kind one comes back to again and again, reading a little, finding new facts, or looking back for something remembered.

Here's a book like that for a family bookshelf! It's called Bugwatching: The Art, Joy, and Importance of Observing Insects. Written by Eric R. Eaton and illustrated by Samantha Gallagher, this book is intended to read a little at a time instead of all at once.

I think it would go well on a shelf next to a journal for writing notes and drawing sketches!

Click here for a link to read about this book on the publisher's page.

Dinosaur skin

Did you think that fossils were all bones and nothing more? Nope! Some fossils are impressions left of footprints or tracks. Other fossils are impressions left by skin textures. Sometimes even the tissues of an animal can be preserved, or visible in the fossil. It can be hard to figure out what we're looking at in a fossil of a soft-bodied invertebrate from long ago, but dinosaur fossils are usually easier to recognise. Some later dinosaurs may have had skin rather like an elephant, while others had skin and feathers like modern birds. There are many fossils with skin impressions showing scales much like a modern iguana or alligator!

Here are some articles about a dinosaur fossil, a nodosaur, that was preserved with skin or skin impressions and some of its innards: 

Check out this link at https://earthlymission.com/dinosaur-mummy-science-discovery-nodosaur-intact-canada/ - for fascinating photos of a nodosaur fossil found in Canada!

If you like to imagine what it's like to work in the field gathering fossils, try this link  https://www.huffpost.com/entry/dinosaur-mummy-unveiled_n_59187ca4e4b0fe039b35436f - for a video of the attempt to lift the wrapped fossil onto a truck.

For more than this brief note, look to this link for better explanations. https://earthlymission.com/perfectly-preserved-dinosaur-mummy-last-meal-science-study-nodosaur/ - for a discussion of this nodosaur's last meal, and wonderful drawings of the dinosaur as it would have looked alive.

Royal Tyrrell Museum hosts Homeschool Day

 Good news for homeschoolers! The Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology is hosting its Homeschool Day on May 19, 2023.

You can read all about this event and activities that are planned, at this link: https://tyrrellmuseum.com/whats_on/special_events/homeschool_days Programs are filling up already. Go to their website and book space in one of their terrific activities for young students! The prices are low and include gallery admission.

This museum is well worth visiting at any time. I've been there with my family and recommend it for everyone interested in museums, fossils, or geology.

Learning About River Mapping

 Did you ever wonder what path a raindrop takes when it falls past your window? Will it reach the ocean? WHICH ocean? I asked that question when we were living on a farm north of Edmonton in Alberta, and investigated with maps and online maps. Turns out, the stream on our farm trickles into a little river called Redwater, which runs into the North Saskatchewan River, out of Alberta, and many many kilometres of rivers and lakes later reaches Hudson Bay via the Nelson River. 

But that journey is not the path taken for ALL the water draining from land around that Alberta farm. About two miles north of the farm is Fairytale Creek. As my friend Billie Milholland confirmed during her mapping project, that creek is part of the watershed for Athabasca River. Many kilometres of rivers and lakes bring that water to the Mackenzie River and the Arctic Ocean. 

Billie's project led to the publication of Living In The Shed, about Alberta's North Saskatchewan River watershed. This is a fascinating book, not only for people living along that waterway, but for people wanting to know more about the natural world where they live. There are many photos and maps which make this book a tremendous resource for learning about rivers and recent history. Here is a link to read more about Billie's book https://www.nswa.ab.ca/resource/living-in-the-shed/ **which includes a link to look at a digital version of her book online!**  And here's another link to read a web page about her other writing https://billiemilholland.ca/

Not everyone is so lucky to have a friend who has mapped the local watershed so thoroughly, but there are many open source projects and datasets for people wanting to learn more about river knowledge. Public libraries and university libraries might have access to paper maps and computerized electronic maps, and online resources. Kayaking and canoeing groups can offer practical knowledge as well as the best maps for paddling and hiking adventures.

Here's a link to River Runner, a terrific website by Sam Learner and his team. Their project is still in beta, which means that though there are improvements to make, a person can have a lot of fun with it already. Check it out at https://river-runner-global.samlearner.com/ and see where a raindrop that falls anywhere on Earth might end up! They have over 20 interesting routes listed at this page.

If you're looking for more details about River Runner, such as the software behind this project, you can go to this link: https://ksonda.github.io/global-river-runner/ 

Good luck learning about your own watershed or interesting places around the world! Water resources are vital for humans and for the natural world.

Spongebob and Patrick sighting!

There's a certain sponge and his friend, a seastar, in a television cartoon. If you've ever caught a few minutes of the cartoon show with SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick, you'll recognise those characters in some real sea creatures filmed by a remotely operated undersea vehicle. Click here for a link to a short article on an Ocean Explorers website, with a 1 minute video. Take a minute to enjoy a live square sponge and a live pink starfish, filmed by a little submarine steered remotely by scientists.

This little video was filmed in 2021 during the North Atlantic Stepping Stones expedition, which you can read about at this link. The goals and objectives of this expedition are summed up on another page, which you can read about at this link, with discussions of mapping and animal observations, and the search for ferromanganese rocks. This expedition by scientists and several young interns was one of many interesting ocean exploration expeditions, which you can find at this link if you're looking for more on ocean science!

 

A Call for Spider Hunters!

Are you a fan of Citizen Science, where volunteers assist real scientists in any of several ways? You'll want to answer a call from Dr Catherine Scott, a spider scientist. At the end of May 2022 she shared on Twitter a call for nature fans to report their spider sightings. She wrote:

Have you started to see candy-striped spiders out & about? Please help us to learn more about these introduced predators in North America by joining the Spider Hunters project! 

Dr Scott is an arachnologist and spider advocate, a natural historian and behavioral ecologist. She used to be afraid of spiders, but now she spends much of her time outdoors searching for spiders and learning new things about their lives. Dr Scott is also active in social media conversations about the natural world. You can find her posts on Twitter at @Cataranea. On July 6 she wrote:

Candy-striped spider season is now well upon us! Please keep an eye out for these spiders and submit your observations to @inaturalist, where they will automatically be added to the #SpiderHunters project. Thanks! 

If you're not on iNaturalist, please feel free to submit sightings to me directly: email photos to mail@spiderhunters.ca!

These candy-striped spiders are not dangerous to people! They hitchhiked a ride to North America on human ships. In North America, candy-striped spiders are an unexpected predator for insects that pollinate flowers.

Dr Scott goes on to add:

Do I know anyone in Saskatchewan? Do you? I am particularly keen to find out whether or not candy-striped spiders are there (yet)! There were records, but they turned out to be mis-IDs. This is the only province where they may not be!

Stink Bug Citizen Science!

Looking for a summer science project? Here's a note for volunteers and citizen scientists in British Columbia, Canada! 

There are stink bugs native to this region that are doing just fine, but in addition to them are new stink bugs. New to BC are Brown marmorated stink bugs ( BMSBs) from Asia. Invasive species of stink bugs have few local predators. They can become a real problem in gardens and farms, not only by drinking enough juices to weaken plants, but by spreading plant diseases. These BMSBs aren't too big a problem where they come from, as there's a kind of wasp that lays its eggs in the stink bug eggs. Now that wasp, too, has been found in BC.

Scientists in BC are looking for stink bug egg samples, to check how many of that kind of wasp are affecting stink bugs. That's where the volunteers come in. Check out this link for information on how to be a citizen scientist, gathering samples for study.

https://bcinvasives.ca/news/that-stinks-help-us-collect-stink-bug-eggs/

Patterns for making snowflakes

 by Paula Johanson

If you're studying math, and fractions, sometimes it's hard at first to see the connection between numbers on a page and real life. That's when it's good to do some baking, where bakers use fractions and precise measurements to make wonderful cakes and cookies and pies. "Baking is science for  hungry people," wrote artist and writer Jeph Jacques in Questionable Content, his internet comic strip about friendship, romance, and robots.

There are other ways to use fractions and precision for fun. Do you like cutting paper to make snowflakes? Or do you like learning about marine life, like crabs or salmon or lobsters? How about making paper snowflakes with images of sea life? 

Here's a link to sea life snowflake patterns that can be downloaded for free, printed at home or the library, then cut out carefully to make decorations. Great for a project with budding marine biologists! These patterns were made by Andrea Mulder-Slayer and her husband Geoff Slater at Kinder Art. If you're making paper snowflakes with a mixed group of children and adults, this free set of patterns is a good thing to print out for that craft session.

What Happens When Scientists Give Their Discoveries Away?

The work that scientists do is real work. It takes time, careful effort, training, and applied knowledge. Sometimes there are hours of tiring or boring work. There can even be heavy lifting or danger! And always, the work of a scientist must be recorded accurately and shared among other scholars. 

So, what is the work of a scientist worth? There are lots of ways to answer that question, from the wages of a researcher working for a corporation or the complex roles of tenured professors and their colleagues at universities. What about their discoveries  -- what are those worth?

There's one example well worth remembering. A hundred years ago, when Frederick Banting, Charles Best, and James Collip discovered how to make insulin, a treatment for diabetes, they patented their discovery, and then sold the rights to the University of Toronto for a dollar each. Banting felt it was unethical for a doctor to profit personally from a lifesaving discovery. Best and Collip wanted to be sure that those who needed insulin would be able to afford it.

Here's another example from an article published this autumn, by Luke D. Lavis. He and his research team developed a new fluorescent dye. It's particularly useful for biologists studying cells. As Lavis wrote in his article, his team agreed to give samples of the dye to any researcher who asked. Over the next four years, they gave thousands of sample of over 50 kinds of dyes. The result has been great for researchers using the dyes, who have done complicated work with living cells stained to show tiny details. The result has also been great for the institute where Lavis and the team work. Read all about it at this link.

Virtual Tour of Snake Dens!

by Paula Johanson

 The Covid-19 pandemic is still affecting everyone during the fall of 2021, even nature centres in outdoor parks. Many nature centres have been closed to the public for most of the past eighteen months. Some centres open or close according to provincial health guidelines. One of those nature centres is Narcisse Snake Dens in Manitoba near the town of Gimli.

This park showcases a fascinating phenomenon! Every autumn, thousands of garter snakes find their way to hide together in underground dens. There they hibernate together, sleeping during the long, cold winters in Manitoba. When spring comes, the snakes emerge and go their separate ways. Take a moment to click on this link, and follow a virtual tour around the trail that shows you several snake dens. Right now in the fall of 2021, garter snakes are gathering at their dens getting ready to hibernate.

Now, maybe snakes aren't your thing, or you're actually scared of snakes. It's okay to be cautious around rattlesnakes and other venomous snakes! But in Manitoba, snakes are not dangerous to humans. Most are garter snakes, and other types listed here at this link. 

What can you do if you're afraid of snakes? It's a good idea to learn more about nature where you live, whether you're on the Prairies in Canada, or anywhere in the world. That will help you to know how much caution around snakes is smart for your area. All snakes have important roles in the natural world. Garter snakes in a Canadian garden or yard are a good sign that this place is healthy for nature.

You can read more about Narcisse Snake Dens and about nature in Manitoba at the online magazine Nature North when you click on this link. They have a lot of information about wild animals and cottage country, and a YouTube channel of videos as well. There's also a link to the Manitoba Herps Atlas of reptiles and amphibians in Manitoba, a terrific resource that maps where people have seen snakes, frogs and toads, salamanders, and turtles. (Herps is the nickname used for amphibians and reptiles, by scientists called herpetologists.)

Forensics and Justice

 by Paula Johanson

The news in Canada this summer is troubling, with stories of unmarked graves on the sites of former Indian Residential Schools. Searches are being done on other former school sites, and in the United States as well. The little that was ever taught in public schools about the Residential School system is not enough, and people are looking to learn more.

Forensics is the science of examining physical evidence. There can be a forensic audit of paperwork and records, but forensic science is commonly used to study physical evidence of a crime.

Here are some books on forensic science  which you can request at your public library, or order online. If you take this list to a library or bookstore, they will help you get a copy. There are other books as well available on this topic, and referenced in the back of these books.

Forensic Science: In Pursuit of Justice written by Sci/Why's own member L.E. Carmichael

ISBN:  ‎ 978-1624035616 Essential Library Publishing

https://www.amazon.ca/Forensic-Science-Pursuit-L-Carmichael/dp/1624035612/

This title presents the history of forensics. Vivid text details how early studies of toxic chemicals and firearm analysis led to modern scientific crime solving techniques. It also puts a spotlight on the brilliant scientists who made these advances possible. Useful sidebars, rich images, and a glossary help readers understand the science and its importance. Maps and diagrams provide context for critical discoveries in the field. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Essential Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing.

 

Look on the author L.E. Carmichael's website at https://www.lecarmichael.ca/books/ and scroll down to find among covers for her many books, the covers for these books on forensics.

Forensics in the Real World by L.E. Carmichael

ISBN: 9781680784794

https://abdobooks.com/shop/show/9632 

 

Fuzzy Forensics: DNA Fingerprinting Gets Wild by L.E. Carmichael

ISBN:9780994817716

https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/fuzzy-forensics-dna-fingerprinting-gets/9780994817716-item.html

Focusing on forensic science to protect endangered animals, this book is winner of the 2014 Lane Anderson Award for exceptional children''s science writing. 

 

Discover Forensic Science by L.E. Carmichael

https://lernerbooks.com/shop/show/14712 

 

Bones Never Lie: How Forensics Help Solve History's Mysteries by Elizabeth MacLeod

ISBN: 978-1554514823 Annick Press

https://www.amazon.ca/Bones-Never-Lie-Forensics-Mysteries/dp/1554514827

This book collects seven mysteries about historic royal figures whose deaths were under suspicious circumstances. Hard scientific facts about crime-solving techniques make this book highly recommended by Sci/Why author L.E. Carmichael.

I Found a Baby Bird!

 by Paula Johanson

Image shared with permission from @GeorgiaAudubon on Twitter.

Continuing our Bird Theme on Sci/Why for another week, here's another post for fans of ornithology, the study of birds. Birdwatching is one of the most popular pastimes in North America, for people of any age and particularly families. For this study, amateurs don't need much more than a notebook and maybe a pair of binoculars. There are SO MANY resources to find at public libraries and online!

As the Audubon Society in Georgia notes, in North America we are entering the season of baby birds. Here are some handy tips so you'll know what to do if you find a baby bird. (Click on the image to see a larger and more readable version.)

 

In case the image isn't clear for you, the tips are very simple.

-If the bird looks injured, call your local wildlife rehabilitation centre.

-If the bird has feathers, hopping on the ground is normal. If it's safe from dogs or cats or people, leave it alone. 

-If the bird is too young to have feathers, put it back in the nest. (Dry, clean hands don't have a lot of scent, and the parents don't care about your scent.)

And remember: even if you can't help that one bird, supporting bird and wildlife habitat in your area will do plenty to help many birds.

A Good Look At Perseverance

 There's a lot of action happening around Mars right now.  In February 2021, three new space probes arrived at Mars. The first was Hope Probe, sent by United Arab Emirates, which will orbit Mars and study the planet's atmosphere for an entire Martian year (that's 867 days for scientists back on Earth!) The UAE space agency has an interactive website at this link which updates Hope Probe in real time.

The second probe to arrive in orbit around Mars during February 2021 was Tianwen-1, sent by China. Their orbiter is looking at a potential landing site for their rover, and they hope to land it on Mars in May.

On February 18 NASA landed their own new rover on the red planet, and the rover is called Perseverance. Here's a link to a video about the exciting landing for this robot that will drive around Jezero Crater on Mars like a little remote-controlled car: http://youtu.be/tlTni_HY1Bk 

NASA now has available some audio recordings made on Mars by Perseverance. Check out this link to hear the sound of wind on Mars, or of Perseverance's little laser pinging off nearby rocks. Then look at the banner at the top of the page, where you'll find links to info about the mission, the spacecraft, and more. Download some images, sounds, and videos! There's enough Mars news here to keep any space fan busy learning about Perseverance and other Mars explorers. 

Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Mars 2020 Strategic Mission Manager Pauline Hwang, gives remarks during a NASA Perseverance rover initial surface checkout briefing, Friday Feb. 19, 2021, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

At first glance Perseverance looks much like other NASA robot probes that have been rolling around Mars for a while now: Sojourner, Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity. Check out this article on the science website Phys.org or the academic website The Conversation for good descriptions of all these rover probes.

If it sounds to you like there's a lot of traffic around Mars, you're right! There are six other space probes currently orbiting Mars as well: three are from the United States and its partners in NASA's Mars Odyssey (which has been in Mars orbit for twenty years), Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), and MAVEN Orbiter.   
The European Space Agency sent their Mars Express orbiter, which has used radar to determine the possibility of liquid water under the surface of Mars. India sent its Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) and the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter was sent by a European and Russian partnership.

If you're like me, there are times when you've looked at a photo of a Mars rover and been frustrated because good ol' Opportunity didn't take a photo of itself from the right angle to show you exactly what it looks like from behind, or above, or off to the left. It's possible to get a really good look at Perseverance rover, though! There's a page on NASA's website that has a 3-D image modelling Perseverance. If you click on this link, a page will open with an image of the rover. You'll be able to download the 3-D image, click on it with your computer and pull the image this way and that. You can turn Perseverance around, or upside down, and get a good look at how the camera arm attaches. As well, you can click on this link to see a similar image of Ingenuity, the little helicopter drone that can fly above Perseverance. On March 11th NASA's Mars Helicopter team did a live chat (that you can watch at this link) answering questions about their plans for Ingenuity.

If you're making a piece of art, or an illustration for a school paper, it will be nice to use this 3-D image to move the model into just the exact position you need. Rovers are popular robots to illustrate science fiction stories, and many rovers appear on the covers of science fiction books or magazines. 

Here's a little rover that appeared on issue 6 of Neo-opsis Science Fiction Magazine. Artist Stephanie Ann Johanson designed the cover with a digital drawing of a robot on the moon. The image was inspired by the third story in issue six, Survival Strategies by Vaughan Stanger. Stephanie is an artist, assistant editor and art director of Neo-opsis Science Fiction Magazine. She also has several illustrations and covers designed for many of the magazine's 31 issues.

Comets!

 Comets have always mystified people looking up into the night sky. When Comet Hyakutake was blazing across the night sky in 1996, I was lucky enough to be living on a farm an hour's drive north of Edmonton. For my family, the sky above our farm was PLENTY dark for comet-watching. We didn't need to be told where to look. The comet was big, and plenty bright enough to see.

image by E. Kolmhofer, H. Raab; Johannes-Kepler-Observatory, Linz, Austria (http://www.sternwarte.at)

On several evenings that winter we took sleeping bags out into the yard and lay on the snow, looking as the fuzzy ball of light in the sky grew bigger till it looked as big as the full Moon. We took turns with a telescope and a pair of binoculars to get a closer look. Comet Hyakutake had a wispy tail, too, that stretched till it looked as long as the Big Dipper across the sky. That wispy, hairy-looking tail on a fuzzy ball is why we use the word "comet" to describe them. "Comet" is a way to say "hairy star" in Latin. Even the Egyptian pharaohs 4,000 years ago called comets by their word for "long hair."

Our family was not the only one looking for information about comets on the Internet. What was a comet? Where did they come from? What were they made of? We found lots of sites with information from NASA and observatories. One of the best websites was written by a Canadian observatory with a program called The Centre of the Universe. The comet moved on and faded from sight, but I was still interested.

The very next year, 1997, Comet Hale-Bopp blazed across the sky. There's a great story at this link about how it was discovered by two people on the same night, who were looking in the right direction. It was wonderful to lay out in our snowy yard again with our sleeping bags and telescope and binoculars, and once again watch an amazing comet. It felt like we could actually SEE the comet moving and its wispy tail fluttering behind it.

But it was hard to get our kids to stay outside for more than about twenty minutes. Yup, this was a mysterious and fascinating object in the night sky! But they had seen the previous amazing comet just a year ago. After half an hour, they were cold enough to want to go inside. They promised to make hot chocolate -- enough for all of us. They knew I'm a science fan and just had to lay out there for a while longer.

I'm still a science fan. I still look up into the night sky, tracking planets and comets. As well, I go to the websites for space probes that have gone through comet tails like Ulysses, or the newer ones that have visited comets, like Rosetta and its lander Philae. On Twitter, I follow messages tweeted about space probes visiting the asteroids Bennu and Ryugu. There's so much to learn about space probes! And I'm still learning where to look.

Tom Lehrer songs now in public domain!

by Paula Johanson

Part of learning about science is talking and thinking about science. And singing about it too, if you're someone who appreciates the humour of Tom Lehrer. Not every family will laugh at every one of his songs, but most families will find something funny in at least one of his songs about science or math. There's a Tom Lehrer song listing the elements from the Periodic Table of the elements, which is funnier to sing or hear than you'd think a list would be. It's all the two-syllable and three-syllable rhyming, which is humourous in English-language poetry for some traditional reason. Actor Daniel Radcliffe (who played Harry Potter in the films) has been known to sing this song at parties, and at least once on television.

Another song Tom Lehrer wrote had some cutting satire about Wehrner von Braun, a rocket scientist. Lehrer also wrote songs for the short television videos known as Schoolhouse Rock and for the television show The Electric Company, which were landmarks in the field of education using video/television.

As writer Cory Doctorow says on Twitter:

Tom Lehrer is one of our great nerdy, comedic songwriters, a Harvard-educated mathematician who produced a string of witty, unforgettable science- and math-themed comedic airs with nary a dud.

Now in his nineties, Lehrer remains both a political and scientific hero, sung the world round by geeks of every age. When my daughter was young, we taught her "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park."

Undergrads at UC Santa Cruz would sign up for his math class just to learn freshman algebra from the "Wehrner Von Braun" guy. Now, Lehrer has done something absolutely remarkable. 

In a note on his website, Lehrer has released the lyrics (and music, for those songs where he was the composer) into the public domain. He warns fans to download the songs before 12/31/2024, when he says he will delete his site. https://tomlehrersongs.com

Only the lyrics to 96 songs are in the release; Lehrer cautions the accompanying music will appear later "with further disclaimers." In his note, Lehrer urges us to make up our own tunes for these: "In particular, permission is hereby granted to anyone to set any of these lyrics to their own music and publish or perform their versions without fear of legal action." 

 

Why would anyone choose to give up the copyright to his songs? Well, for several reasons. Lehrer is in his nineties and has already retired from his academic career and from performing his songs. You can read about Lehrer's colourful life in a Wikipedia article about him which has many references for further reading. Some of his songs from the Electric Company are at this link and they're well worth learning.

If you want to learn more about copyright and creative commons licensing, there are many books and articles on the topic. Creative Commons has a website at this link. Copyright in Canada is managed at this link where there is lots of information you can read, including a Guide to Copyright you can read online at this link. 

Anatomy for education

 by Paula Johanson

How are children and youths to learn about bodies for health and sex education? This topic is a matter of careful thought for many parents. And there are resources to help families with learning the science of anatomy for health and sex education.

Some of these resources are formal and written about the science of how this knowledge helps people. The United Nations World Health Organization has an e-book on International technical guidance on sexuality education, available for free download. Click on this link to find their page with links to this free e-book in English, French, Spanish, Japanese, and Russian, and also a link to another page with several more free articles to download in English.

For people needing something more oriented to family learning, there's a whole page of resources recommended by doctors on body knowledge and more available at this link from Planned Parenthood. This list includes recommended books for parents to read on their own and books they can share with their children.

Some teenagers and parents find the website Scarleteen to be useful, with articles on bodies, health, gender, relationships, and more. Scarleteen has been online for over twenty years. While it's not a place for doing science, it's a place for learning. It also has places to ask questions, including a message board and live chat.

Among the newest resources now available is We Are Beautiful, with a website at this link. The organisers of this website are concerned about a lack of educational material that shows the diversity of our bodies. As they note, some people worry that their bodies are ugly. This website has images (in green or purple) of body parts based on adults of many ages and shapes, to show the variety of shape that is normal. These images are also free downloads for a 3D printer.

Even adults who think they know all about their bodies can find things to learn from these books and websites, to improve their knowledge and health.

Countdown to launch of new Mars mission!

On Thursday July 30, NASA will be launching their newest probe with a mission on Mars! There are a terrific assortment of social media activities during the countdown, and lots of free materials to find online about this probe named Perseverance. The Perseverance mission is bringing along a tiny helicopter named Integrity, which will be the first helicopter to fly on Mars, when they get there in February 2021.

Here's a link to the NASA website with plenty of information. You can sign up to receive a countdown to Thursday's launch, or learn about the probe's mission, or watch the launch in real time and many videos at your leisure. Whether you want to learn a lot or just have a good time, this is a science website with lots of content.

Fans of science have an amazing assortment of learning materials and fun stuff available here. If you're more interested in comets or stars than you are in Mars, keep looking through NASA's website at http://www.nasa.gov where you can find links to pictures, videos, articles, and all sorts of information.

If you're on Twitter, check out the hashtag #CountdownToMars for updates all week.

Home Science Project: making circuits with play dough

by Paula Johanson

Today's post is a short one, but will be fun for anyone playing at home making electric circuits. If you are learning about how to make projects that light up, or buzz, or move, you probably already have what you need. Click here for a link to a website discussing popular kits for kids to use making electric circuits. There are many places you can find online where families can buy and have delivered by post a kit, full of electrical parts that are safe to use when following simple instructions.

But you might also have another useful material at home for making circuits for models or toys or science projects. Did you know you can make play dough that conducts electricity? And you can also make play dough that insulates, so no power is conducted? All you need to make either of these doughs are ordinary food ingredients for baking cookies.

Check out the website at SquishyCircuits.com by clicking on this link. On their website there are tutorials and instructions. Though they sell packages of electrical parts and play dough, they also have play dough recipes for free download. As with any science project, it's important to be safe. Beginners and younger kids will need adult supervision.

Free Homeschooling Resources for Isolating Families

Hey, people who read Sci/Why website! We've got new resources added to this post.

With the coronavirus pandemic, nearly all the schools, libraries and museums are closed for most of our readers. Here are some free online resources that will be useful for families who are doing some homeschooling, or just want to have interesting things to do. If you have more free online resources to recommend, please share them in the comments below.

Due to the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus, Binogi will open up its content to all Canadian teachers, students, and parents to provide remote teaching and learning throughout spring 2020. This platform looks terrific! We learned about it from this article at Sooke Pocket News. The article explains more about Binogi and their learning program, with links to Binogi's website, so check it out.

There's a page of resources for educators at the website for Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory, which you can find at this link.

Remember, if you're a family with kids home from school, you might have no need to set up formal homeschooling lessons! It's probably best to start with a wander through these amazing books and videos, to find what is interesting for you. Maybe you will read through an entire unit and learn a formal lesson, or maybe you'll find that it's animal webcams that make your family happy about science. There's no wrong answer.

Our own LE Carmichael has just launched a new book, The Boreal Forest. Check out our Sci/Why blog at this link for the post she wrote about her event  If you're missing the public library or bookstore, she says: "Click over to Youtube to enjoy this video of me reading from The Boreal Forest on #IntlForestDay" 
Here's the link for that reading! 

Here are some great comments on writing about science for young people, from Sci/Why's own Joan Marie Galat, who wrote on this topic for Edmonton Public Library. Click here for a link to read what she and several other Canadian writers have to say about researching and writing our books!

Now that we're all practising social distancing, we can't go to libraries or museums. Though many of us can go for a walk to a park or beach or hiking trail, some people don't have that option for a field trip. Here's a link found by Sci/Why's own Margriet Ruurs, which leads to over THIRTY virtual field trips you can take on a computer. You and your kids can visit animal webcams, the Louvre and other museums, or even Mars! Just click on this link:
https://abdodigital.com/?tk=414F33301B8E136DEE3F0A93BF1795E1

If you're into the space program or astronomy, the NASA website at http://nasa.gov will lead you to an amazing amount of science and space program resources you can read, download, and more. NASA also has a Kids' Club (click here for the link) with games, stories, calendars, and more.

Remember that Canada's National Film Board has over 400 Canadian films in English and in French available for anyone to watch online at http://nfb.ca .

If you or your child are a high school student in Canada, do not panic about school credits for graduation! Every province in Canada is working on this issue, and there will be a way to ensure students can finish school credits. E-mail your school and your province's Ministry of Education to learn what is being done in your area.

There is particularly good news from Alberta on this matter, from Alberta Distance Learning Centre which has resources used by many Canadians across the country and around the world. Their website is http://adlc.ca and they have 300 courses being used, 200 of which are online. They advise other distance learning programs nationally. They are used to hearing from parents and school boards.
Click here for a link to an article by CBC News about this amazing distance learning centre, and what they're doing to help students who had not planned to need to study at home.

I'll add right now the particularly bad news that the Alberta government had JUST announced they were reducing funding this year for the Alberta Distance Learning Centre and CANCELLING it entirely. If you're living in Alberta, let your government know what you think of cancelling this excellent and cost-effective education program, which is a major employer for the town of Barrhead as well as employing many teachers and tutors who work online.

Scholastic Books is promoting their Learn At Home website (click here for the link) which has learning content for children from pre-Kindergarten to Grade 6. There are five days' worth of materials, with more on the way.

Abdo Digital Publishing has sent out word that they are making their digital library FREE for people to download and use from their website, http://abdodigital.com. This American publisher has resources including books in Spanish as well as English.
They have both an Elementary Digital Bookshelf for pre-Kindergarten thru Grade 8 at this link
https://abdodigital.com/?tk=414F33301B8E136DEE3F0A93BF1795E1
and a Secondary Digital Bookshelf for Grades 5 through 12 at this link
https://abdodigital.com/?tk=840BC558E6676AB1F4C9FA29D8EC6D69 

As their note today said:

To help stop the spread of COVID-19, schools and libraries are closing across the country. ABDO wants to ensure that readers everywhere continue to have the opportunity to learn and grow during this unprecedented event. Our digital products are available for free now through June 2020.

The Bug Girl is now an author!

Did you hear the story of seven-year-old Sophia Spencer? Since she was a toddler, Sophia has loved bugs and learned about them. Her mother put out the call for... well, that would be telling.

Don't expect me to tell more about the Bug Girl. Click on this link to find out about her BRAND NEW BOOK now available from Random House.


(Kids these days! She's still in grade school but she's already friends with bug scientists and she's the author of a book from Random House. Oy!)