Lab Out Loud

Find show notes at: http://www.laboutloud.com/

Show note at: http://www.laboutloud.com/

Get Show notes at: http://www.laboutloud.com

Show notes at: http://www.laboutloud.com

Show notes at: http://www.laboutloud.com/episodes

Get show notes at: http://www.laboutloud.com/

Show notes at: http://www.laboutloud.com/

Show notes at: http://www.laboutloud.com

Show notes at: http://www.laboutloud.com/episodes/

find shownotes at: http://www.laboutloud.com/

find show notes at www.laboutloud.com

show notes at: http://www.laboutloud.com

find show notes at: www.laboutloud.com

Show notes at www.laboutloud.com

Find show notes at www.laboutloud.com

See Show Notes at: http://www.laboutloud.com/episodes/

Find show notes for this episode at: http://www.laboutloud.com/

Find show notes for this episode at: http://www.laboutloud.com/

For this episode, we chatted with Dr. Karen Harpp, Associate Professor in Geology at Colgate University in New York. Dr. Harpp talked with us about her research, science outreach and creating connections between science teachers and researchers. Colgate Geology Karen Harpp's Homepage Volcanoes in the Classroom: A Simulation of an Eruption Column Dive and Discover: Interview with Geochemist Karen Harpp Polar Palooza Underwater Volcanoes of the Northern Hawaiian Islands Crew Mt. St. Helens Volcano Cams Mt Etna Volcano Cams List of Volcano Cams West Bend, WI SeisMac Science Friday Live Broadcast in Milwaukee, WI May 16:, 2008: Great Lakes Water Issues and The Science of Brewing Pictures from Science Friday Broadcast Cory Doctorow's Craphound.com Little Brother Book Tour Little Brother on Amazon.com

In response to the movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, we decided to talk with someone who has invested her life defending evolution. Dr. Eugenie Scott, Director for the National Center for Science Education, talks to us about the movie, the NCSE response, and the place of evolution in science education. National Center for Science EducationExpelled Exposed: Flunked, Not Expelled - What Ben Stein isn't telling you about Intelligent DesignBen Stein: "Science Leads you to Killing People"Doonesbury Comic regarding medicine and Intelligent DesignThe Post-Crescent: It's Your Call PZ Myers (Pharyngula) gets expelled from ExpelledBoston Globe: No Intelligence Allowed in 'Expelled'Scientific American: Expelled ExplainedExpelled Producers Accused of Copyright Infringement

For our contribution to Earth Day, we had the opportunity to chat with Bill Nye about his new show on the new Planet Green channel called Stuff Happens. Preview from the Show: I’m doing this other thing called “Stuff Happens? for the Discovery Channel. It’s strictly for a new channel Discovery is re-purposing – they’re calling it "Planet Green". So all the programming is green, or about environmental issues and stuff. And so this show is about consumer choices that you can make to live a more environmentally responsible life. I am a serious hobbyist. I have four kilowatts of solar panels and I have a solar water heating system that I, if you will, designed – along with a guy who’s worked in solar in southern California for many, many years…I hired him, and two very good plumbers, and these guys who were good with gas mains, and we re-rigged the whole house. So now I have solar hot water that pre-heats the water before it runs through two tankless hot water heaters. So my gas bill in the summer is less than $10. There’s an old supply chain from the South American Western Coast to North American farmers. And what is supplied is fish feed made from anchovies. So, American bacon pigs are fed fish from South American oceans. And so many fish are fished so aggressively that penguins are going out of business. The penguin ecosystem has been devastated, and penguin populations have been decimated by this practice. So we encourage you – the listener, the viewer – to buy…organic, grain-fed bacon. That’s what we want you to do to reduce the market for this anchovy feed. And it’s just something that humans are kind of doing by accident, but on such an enormous scale that’s it’s screwing up an entire ecosystem in the south western Pacific. The baby steps are important. The hardest thing for everyone to understand about the environment is that every single thing you do affects everybody in the whole world. And the reason, nominally, is that we only have one atmosphere. We can only breath from one source of air – we all share the air. So this is a fundamental idea that’s hard to get; it just doesn’t seem possible. I throw out this magazine and instead of recycling it, yeah – you’re lowering the quality of life of everyone on earth. So you go to the store and you buy one [compact fluorescent light bulb]. Ok, but if you replace every lamp in your house, or every lamp in the main rooms… Replace every one of those lamps, and you will see your power bill go down… Now there are some whining, unbelievable-freakin’ whiners out there who tell you that we can’t change to compact fluorescents because of the mercury - "there’s no way to get rid of the mercury that’s in those lights and it’s gonna kill everybody." So let’s keep in mind that it was the year 1951 when American industry went to buying more fluorescent lamps than incandescent lamps. That is to say, if you work at any sort of factory anywhere, they have fluorescent lights – ‘cuz it’s so much cheaper. And so those lights are required by law to be recycled and the mercury recovered. And there are services that recover the lights and recover the mercury. So we just gotta do the same thing for domestic consumers – for people that buy ‘em for their houses. For cryin’ out loud – this is not, if I may, rocket surgery. This is actually a little more complicated that: trying to motivate everyone to do the right thing with regard to their old lamps. And of course it can be done; it’s a metal. Who doesn’t want to recover a metal? It’s valuable, it’s shiny, you can see it – of course you can do it. Politically, [a scientific debate] is an unsophisticated idea. None of the three candidates remaining would ever consent to a science debate. None of them are scientists. None of them would admit to being experts in any way about anything about science. So of course they're going to say no; they have to say no. This pursuit of science debate is an exercise in futility. Instead, we need to rephrase it - in my opinion. My best idea so far, is to rename it something else - the "nondependence on foreign oil" debate, the "health" debate, the "energy" debate, the "competitiveness" debate - that's pretty good... But naming this thing the "science" debate sabotages it from the get-go. And of course I support the idea, but the best correction I can think of it to rename it. The "competitiveness" debate - yes. Links: Planet GreenBill Nye the Science GuyNye LabsEyes of NyeBill Nye on WikipediaGreener Pastures from the New York TimesThe Science Channel: 100 Greatest Discoveries

This week we talk to Terry Devitt from WhyFiles.org.Preview from the Show: Our primary mission is to look at what is going on in the world every week and find some corner of the scientific enterprise that lends itself to a public conversation about science, and then we drill down into that, to contact the best experts that we can find to try to shed light on those dark corners of science - the places and things that people don't know about, and to provide more than what you're going to get in a straight-up treatment of science than one routinely encounters in popular media. I think it's safe to say that after we complete our formal educations, most people only encounter science through popular media, and so a big part of the Why Files mission is to help people come to grips with science - what it is, why it's important, why it makes a difference in our lives on a daily basis. It's really essential that people in a democracy have some understanding of how we generate knowledge, because it impacts our lives in important ways every day. Links: Why Files Educator Page Why Files Classroom Materials The Why Files Archives Baseball Spring Training The Science of Polling CSI's: Cool Science Images Subscribe to The Why Files with their RSS Feed

Today's guest calls himself the Bad Astronomer. Phil Plait is an astronomer, an author, and a well-known blogger at www.badastronomy.com. Phil talks to us about myths and skepticism in the science classroom. Special Announcement: Don't miss Lab Out Loud's Conference Coverage live from the NSTA conference in Boston! Preview from the show: Plait: I am in fact a skeptic. In the public mind - if you ask somebody "what's a skeptic" - most people think it's a cynic or a denier, somebody who just doesn't believe in anything. And that's not strictly true. All a skeptic is, is someone who demands evidence for a claim. If you come up to me and say the sky is pink, I'm going to say "what is your evidence for this?". Or I'll say, "that's an interesting claim, but here's the evidence against it." It's someone who applies critical thinking, logic, evidence, observation, the scientific method to any sort of claim. Science is all about skepticism. They are hardly different - I mean skepticism is a tool of science. Richard Feynman (the physicist) said "science is a way of not fooling ourselves. It's a way of figuring what's out what's really going on". And skepticism is just a way of looking at things. It's making sure that if you're thinking about something, if there's a claim that's being made - whether it's by a person or even yourself, there's a way of examining it so that you can test its reality or not. And the problem is, it's not something we teach our kids. In fact, we teach them exactly the opposite. We teach them to believe in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny. We go to movies where the skeptic is always a jerk, and the end is always the supenatural cause or trust in humanity or whatever." Plait: Scooby Doo was a great cartoon because in the end, it really wasn't a ghost or whatever, it was always old man Marley wearing a mask, who didn't want the developers to come in and destroy his farm or whatever." Plait: When you're teaching kids to the test, and you're saying "here's how you do the math" without explaining why, "here's what you're supposed to get in the results in the lab" without explaining why, we're not teaching our kids science. We're teaching them nothing, we're teaching them belief, faith - and that's not what science is about. Science is not about belief, science is about evidence. Follow the Bad Astronomer: Bad Astronomy BlogContact InfoTwitterFacebook Group Posts from badastronomy.com discussed on the show: Standing an Egg on End on the Spring EquinoxAre Apollo Moon Photos Fake?Bad Astronomy: Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from Astrology to the Moon Landing "Hoax" Books: Bad Astronomy: Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from Astrology to the Moon Landing "Hoax"read NSTA's recommendation of the book Death From the Skies (pre-order from Amazon.com) Skepticism on the Internet: The Skeptics DictionaryJames Randi Educational FoundationPZ Myers: Pharyngula BlogPoint of Inquiry PodcastSkeptical Inquirer MagazineSkeptoid PodcastSkepticalitySkeptic's Guide to the Universe

This week we talk with Steve Silberman, contributing editor for Wired Magazine. Steve talks to us about the demise of the chemistry set (as related to his article Don't Try this at Home) and what that might mean for the future of scientific curiosity in our children. Preview from the Show: In the last few years, a kind of perfect storm of concerns and legislation has arisen that has had the unintended effect of discouraging amateur chemistry. Kids really want to fall in love with science. And I know how much the teachers really want to communicate their own enthusiasm about science to their kids. But with fears of liability, and these restrictive laws, and just a kind of general paranoia, instead what's being transmitted to kids is some kind of combination of boredom and fear. I would say that one of the reasons that I became a science writer was that I had a well stocked chemistry set when I was in elementary school, that contained many things that I am sure are now illegal. If we're cutting off the possibility of future generations of being interested in science - at the same time that the performance of American kids in science starts to go down around 12th grade, the number of science and technology related jobs in the world are going continually up - so we're creating a gap here where we need people in science and technology, but we're no longer giving them the access to the things that could help them become interested in the subject. Links: Articles by Steve Silberman from Wired MagazineUnited Nuclearsee them on Wired Science in Dangerous Science Federal Hazardous Substances ActThames and Kosmos C500 Chemistry Set12 Angry Men: "Endangered Species - the Chemistry SetNYPD Seeks an Air Monitor Crackdown for New YorkersBooksThe Boy Scientist Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood Julius B. Cohen’s 1910 Practical Organic Chemistrysciencemadness.orgTED Talks Video5 Dangerous Things Things You Should Let Your Kids Do

Get a preview of what's in store for you at the 2008 National Conference on Science Education, as we chat with conference chair Joyce Croce. New to an NSTA Conference? Visit the NSTA Conferences Newcomer's PageAttend the First-Timers Session: Thursday, March 27th 8:00-9:00, repeated on Thursday, March 27th 3:30-4:30 free Conference Links Boston Convention CenterConference RegistrationHotel Reservations and TravelOnline reservationHousing Reservation Form Conference ProgramPrintable Conference Preview (PDF)Session Browser/Personal SchedulerConcurrent Sessions and Events Presentations and WorkshopsFeatured SpeakersExhibitor Workshops Ticketed Events Science Assessment: Research and Practical ApproachesProfessional Development InstitutesScience for Teachers of Young LearnersNSTA SymposiaShort CoursesField TripsSocial Functions Conference Strands Using and Abusing DataSharpening the Edge in ScienceCutting-Edge Research: Foundation for the FutureInstructional Technology: Research and Applications for the Science Classroom Special ProgramsNSTA’s Exemplary Science Program (ESP)Teacher Researcher DayNSTA International Science Education DayInformal Science DayCenters for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE) ProgramNSTA / SCST College Symposium Ultimate Science Classroom Giveaway

In this episode, we chat with PZ Myers - lead author of the blog Pharyngula (Pharyngula is hosted at Science Blogs - a project from Seed Magazine). Myers is a biologist and associate professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris. Contact Information at UM Morris Curriculum Vitae Personal Page Profile on Nature Network Pharyngula Galleries Articles written by PZ Myers at Seed Magazine 2006 Weblog Award Winner: Best Science Blog Preview from the Show: Myers: What you want to do with a blog - it's such an informal medium - if you get all stuffy and treat it as something where you are going to write a formal treatise everyday, I don't think you'll get as much interest. So by keeping it personal, keeping it human, what I think I've done is open up a little window into a science professor's life, which is sometimes scary, but fun. Basler: Do you think that this type of casual communication [blogging] is something really important that the students are going to need in the future, or was it just an experiment to try out because you were blogging? Myers: Oh it's both. I mean, this is a brave new medium. I'm trying new things; I wanna explore this and see what we can do with our students. But I also think it's important for the future of science and science education - that what we want is active, involved learners at every stage of the game. And if this is a way that we can get people talking about science, then that's a huge step - that's important. Myers: My schedule's turning into a frightening thing; it's getting so packed full of requests to talk, but I try to indulge in as much as possible. Bartel: So you're working on Darwin Day instead of enjoying it, is what you're saying? Myers: Well, getting up in front of an audience and talking about evolution and talking about science, talking about philosophy in these ideas - that's not working is it? Links: Wikipedia Entry The Mad Scientist (from Minneapolis/St. Paul City Pages) Monkey's Uncle (from Minneapolis/St. Paul City Pages) PZ Myers on Richard Dawkins (from Seed Magazine) Interview with DailyKos Interview by John Horgan DarwinDay.org Darwin Day Celebration at Lawrence University - February 9, 2008 Books Discussed on the Show: Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin The Reluctant Mr. Darwin by David Quammen

In this episode, Dale talks with physicist Don Lincoln of the DZero detector experiment at Fermilab National Accelerator Laboratories. Don talks about physics, Fermilab, his books, and some opportunities for teachers and students with QuarkNet. Preview from the Show: Basler: Can you give us an overview of what the [Fermilab] does, and what the facility’s goals are? Lincoln: My own lab, Fermilab, accelerates protons and antimatter protons near the speed of light and collides them together. Fermilab has some other programs also where we accelerate protons and smash the protons into a target, which is usually some material - nickel or something. And from that, we extract other particles – which could be neutrinos – which is what we’re doing mostly - and experimenting with those as well.�? Basler: What do you say to the person that says “I hated Physics�?? Lincoln: Well I ask them why they hated physics. Usually they say “well, ‘cuz it was too math oriented and it was difficult�?. And I say, “let’s talk about the world. Have you ever wondered why the sun came up?�? or things like that. And usually I can get them to talk about some aspect of the world that they’re interested in, and show them that, in fact, the study of physics really is interesting in that it explains an awful lot, and shows these interconnections that they might not be aware of. Basler: And you have a book that could help out teachers… Tell us a little about that. Lincoln: Well actually I have two books. The first book…was written intentionally for people who come to my public lectures, because the people who come to the science lectures are usually of course very enthusiastic about science, and they’ve read many of the popular books. This particular book that I wrote, was actually aimed at them, for those who wanted to go a little bit deeper. The second book is not even out yet - it’ll be out in the summer of 2008 – details the new accelerator that is going to be turning on this year in Europe – the large hadron collider, and that one is also aimed at the general audience. Lincoln: High School teachers can join the QuarkNet program. They will then go and work with the researcher, for perhaps a week during the summer, and get a sense of what research is going on. Then they bring that information back to their classrooms. And for many of the QuarkNet center - of which I think there are 50 currently in the country - they get funded to bring high school students in the laboratory to work for the summer – and they get paid to work even. Don's Books: "Understanding the Universe: From Quarks to the Cosmos" The target audience for this book is a lay audience of science enthusiasts. I had high school teachers in mind as I wrote it. Find it at Amazon.com. New book: "The Quantum Frontier: The Large Hadron Collider" (name subject to change, will be out summer 2008.) Maybe it's just better to say that the new book "describes in layman terms the exciting new research program about to start at the CERN laboratory in Switzerland." Links from Don Lincoln: http://particleadventure.org (just cool information about particle physics). http://quarknet.fnal.gov (details quarknet and how to get involved.) http://www.interactions.org/cms/ (a worldwide site for education and image resources) http://www.scied.science.doe.gov/scied/PST/choose.htm laboratory opportunities Slightly outdated database (geographically searchable): http://ed.fnal.gov/lasso/hep_search/search.html Fermilab (Illinois) education office: http://ed.fnal.gov/index.shtml Argonne (Illinois): http://www.anl.gov/Visiting/index.html Brookhaven (Long Island): http://www.bnl.gov/education/ Jefferson Lab (Virginia): http://education.jlab.org/ Stanford (California): http://www-group.slac.stanford.edu/com/ed_educators.htm Los Alamos (New Mexico): http://www.lanl.gov/education/ US Department of Energy (national) http://www.doe.gov/foreducators.htm National Science Foundation (national): http://www.nsf.gov/news/classroom/physics.jsp CERN (Europe) http://education.web.cern.ch/education/ Experiments: CMS: http://cmsinfo.cern.ch/outreach/index.html ATLAS: http://atlasexperiment.org/students.html LHCb: http://lhcb-public.web.cern.ch/lhcb-public/ ALICE: http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/Public/ CDF: http://www-cdf.fnal.gov/ D0: http://www-d0.fnal.gov/

On this week's episode, we talk with Dr. Shoukhrat Mitalipov. Dr. Mitalipov is an Assistant Scientist and a Co-Director of the Assisted Reproductive Technologies and Embryonic Stem Cell Core Laboratory at the Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University. We talk with Dr. Mitalipov about his recent breakthrough in cloning monkey embryos and the scientific methods that got him there. Top 10 Scientific Breakthroughs of 2007 (see #9) Producing primate embryonic stem cells by somatic cell nuclear transfer (Nature) Scientists Use Monkey Clones to Extract Stem Cells (NY Times) Researchers Clone Monkeys for Stem Cells (Reuters) Stem-Cell Researchers Clone Monkey Embryo (NPR) Scientists claim to clone monkey embryos (MSNBC) Scientists Claim to Clone Monkey Embryos (ABC News) Scientists Claim to Clone Monkey Embryos (CBC) Oregon Scientists Say They've Cloned First Primate and Generated Stem Cells (Wired Blog Network) If Cloning Humans is Wrong, So Is Cloning Monkeys (Wired Blog Network)

Adam Rogers discusses the new PBS show titled WIRED Science. Links WIRED Science WIRED Magazine Twitter Dale's account Brian's account Dale's Twitter project Other educators on Twitter

Professor Sir Alec Jeffries talks to us about the discovery of DNA fingerprinting, its uses/abuses and its impact on society. Preview from the Show: I’ve been called the father of DNA fingerprinting - I think grandfather is more appropriate. So basically the baby has grown up and spawned its own offspring – so I’m now granddad – and they are thriving. …But obviously I keep a very, very great interest in watching… just how it’s being used, and indeed, on occasion how it’s being misused, or potentially misused. And on that point, I will certainly stand up and raise these issues. BARTEL: Can you tell us a little bit about how you discovered the technology? By glorious accident. The last thing on my mind in the lead up work to developing that first DNA fingerprint was any thought of forensic investigation. [Later]: I went back that evening to my home and sat down with my wife Sue – very excited – and said, look this is what we’ve come up with; I think we can use it for this, that, and the other. And she said “yeah – that’s great, but you’ve forgotten one thing.�? I said "what’s that", and she said “immigration disputes.�? …And at that point, I remember my blood running cold. Because I suddenly thought "immigration – that is seriously political; this not science anymore. This is getting dangerously into the world of politics." But as history would have it, the very first case was an immigration dispute, and the first application was in immigration. First, DNA fingerprinting wouldn’t have happened without basic blue skies research; it came out of nowhere – it was unpredictable. And secondly, science is a lot of fun. Without that sense of fun, I wouldn’t have come up with this either. I think those are two important messages for the policy makers, but certainly for the young people of today – tomorrow’s future scientists. Links: Professor Sir Alec Jeffries, University of Leicester The Gene Genius (publication from the University of Leicester) Sir Alec Jeffries entry on Wikipedia Discovering DNA Fingerprinting from the Wellcome Trust Pioneering DNA Forensics (from NPR) Privacy Fears Over DNA (article from BBC News) The Informer in your Blood (article from The First Post)

This week we talk with Vivek Wadhwa, columnist for Business Week, Wertheim Fellow at the Harvard Law School and executive in residence at Duke University. Wadhwa will be discussing his recent article (The Science Education Myth) regarding science education in the United States. Quotes from the show: “It’s commonly accepted that the U.S. is falling behind other countries because our children score badly on math and science test scores and so on. The National Academies has sited this data; the President alluded to it in his last State of the Union address in 2006, the U.S. Department of Education talks about it. Everyone seems to accept the fact that the U.S. is falling behind and there is something wrong with our education system...I had a suspicion this was wrong.? “We actually added up the numbers, and we found that the U.S. graduates a comparable number [engineers] to India, and the Chinese numbers are bogus. Basically they’re published from the Chinese government and you can’t challenge it; the Chinese numbers are high, but there are huge quality issues in both India and China.? “The U.S is in pretty good shape. Maybe there are a few small nations, like Latvia and Singapore that come in first place, but those are small countries and you can’t compare a population of the size and the diversity of the U.S.A. with countries like Singapore, which are small and have a different system than we do.? “Almost every indicator that they looked at showed the same trend – that the U.S.A. was improving; it wasn’t getting worse. And that no other country in the world was improving like the U.S.A. was.? “If you look at what spurred the sciences, it was Sputnik. The Manhattan project employed 100-200,000 engineers. Whenever there’s been a crisis, the U.S. has responded to it by putting together national programs. The fact is that global warming is a critical national program. The fact that we’re consuming oil and burning up the world is a critical threat to the U.S.A. There are so many diseases that need to be eradicated. Instead of spending another 100 billion dollars on Iraq, why don’t we take 100 billion dollars and spend it on doing constructive research on eliminating diseases, of improving the world.? “I think the U.S. really has to get its act together. We have to create the demand for engineers and scientists, and create the excitement, and create the motivation for our students to move into these fields. Just graduating more doesn’t solve any it just creates unemployment. But create a demand, create an excitement, is how you solve one of the problems.? Links: The Science Education Myth, by Vivek Wadhwa from Business Week Assessing the Evidence on Science and Engineering Education, Quality, and Workforce Demand, by B. Lindsay Lowell, Harold Salzman; report by the Urban Institute Rising above the Gathering Storm; report from the National Academies Press State of the Union Address by the President; January 31, 2006 U.S. Must act to Close Dentist Gap from Pure Pedantry A Silver Lining to Our Science Struggles by David Epstein, from SEED Magazine (article as podcast) In Science Classrooms, A Blast of Fresh O2 by Natalie Angier from the New York Times Math and Science Education from NPR's Science Friday; November 9th, 2007

This week we talk with Steve Squyres, principal investigator for the science payload on the Mars Exploration Rover Project, & Professor of Astronomy at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Preview from the show: "We have been so incredibly lucky with this mission. I mean, to have that dead wheel, which we thought was a catastrophe at the time, turn up one of the most exciting discoveries of the mission, was very good fortune." "The next big thing, at least in mars exploration, along with the continuing adventures of the rovers, is a mission called Phoenix. And Phoenix is a lander mission that's going to land near the north polar region of mars, and is going to dig down into the soil there, hope to find ice and then, scoop up some of that ice, and put it into a little chemistry set on top of the lander, and find out what's inside of that ice." "What we've tried to do is provide images, provide curriculum materials, and provide information for educators as we go. And I think that's actually the best way to do it, because the thing that makes this exciting is not reading about it in the historical sense after the mission's over, so much as being an active participant - you know following the mission as it's going along. You can go to our website, and you can download the latest pictures from Mars that have come down in the last day or so." Links: NASA's Mars Exploration Page Audio clips with Dr. Steve Squyres, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY Transcript: Mars Rover Update with Dr. Steve Squyres Steve Squyres on NASA Direct Steve Squyres entry from Wikipedia Steve Squyres: Man on a Misson from NOVA Steve Squyres Interview on The Colbert Report Steve Squyres on NPR's Fresh Air from WHYY, March 29, 2004 ABC News Person of the Week Article Father of Spirit and Opportunity, an article from Scientific American, October 2004 Interview with Steve Squyres from The Cornell Daily Sun Mars Exploration Rovers Mission Update blog & Way Cool Scientist! UC Berkeley Distinguished Lecture in Astronomy Lecture with Steve Squyres on Google Video Roving Mars, written by Steve Squyres from amazon.com Brian's "Flaming Pumpkin of Death" Dale's Stop-motion video project

Dr. Sean B. Carroll (Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics and an Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at the University of Wisconsin) talks to us about evolution, his new project, and science literacy. Preview from the show: "What I am very convinced of, from all sorts of experiences of trying to communicate science, is that storytelling is a really valuable ingredient of that. And I don't mean storytelling in sort of a simplistic way, but just engaging the audience, whether they are students or teachers or laypersons, with the drama of scientific exploration, scientific discovery, even scientific debate. Because it's pretty darn common that when scientists find something new, something unexpected, there's a wrestling match for a while, figuring out whether a new view is emerging, or whether someone else is off base. And all of this is a very human enterprise - there's a whole lot of human nature in the game of science." -Sean B. Carroll, discussing a textbook adjunct from Benjamin Cummings that will be available next year "I really wish that teachers had fossil collections...I think that when kids put their hands on fossils - something happens." -Sean B. Carroll, on a wish he has for teachers "Scientific Literacy is broader than just evolution. Evolution is perhaps the poster child for the acute problem that we have. But I think that it's really hard for a student to grasp, and I think it's really hard, I think for a citizen to grasp, when they are just getting the moving banner at the bottom of CNN - [like] "scientists say", "this fossil means that" or "this gene discovery means that." Those are just punchlines and don't really understand the size of the entire enterprise or the cumulative knowledge that's built up and how that's tested and things. Now you could say - how do you convey all that? Practically speaking, I think part of the way you convey all that is that those who are communicating to the public, and I would say especially the media - have to have a better grasp of it." -Sean B. Carroll, on scientific literacy "I think getting the scientific method, and knowledge of the scientific method across in the classroom is really more important than any particular science content." -Sean B. Carroll, on teaching science "I can't encourage anyone more strongly to read what the judge said about the intelligent design case in Dover... It's a masterful opinion." -Sean B. Carroll, on intelligent design in schools Links: Professional Information from UW-Madison: Sean Carroll's Lab Molecular Biology Department Genetics Department SeanBCarroll.com Books by Sean B. Carroll (from Google Book Search) Sean B. Carroll Books on Amazon.com HHMI Holiday Lecture (FREE DVD!) The Science of Evolution video from the New York Times Interview from Discover Magazine "One of the most rewarding aspects of writing for a general audience has been the response of the biology teaching community. I think there is an urgent need to get new, illuminating material into the hands of teachers and their students. I am working on some new paths to do that." Charmed by Snakes - Profile in Nature. Q: What’s the one thing about science that you wish the public understood better? A: "The depth and breadth of evidence supporting scientific ideas: compared with, say, the absence of evidence in areas like astrology, UFOs and ghosts." PDF of decision of court in Kitzmiller, et al. v. Dover Area School District Interview from Science Friday Interview from Talk of the Nation Article from The Scientist Q&A Sean Carroll from Library Journal

Meet the hosts of NSTA's Lab Out Loud podcast - Dale Basler and Brian Bartel. Later, we chat with NSTA Executive Director Gerry Wheeler, as he reflects on Sputnik and its impact on science education, the importance of science literacy and 21st century skills, and how NSTA is helping science teachers both young and old. WSST The Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers WSST's Periodicity Gerry Wheeler Reflects on Sputnik: When Science Suddenly Mattered, in Space and in Class (NY Times) Sputnik Left Legacy for U.S. Science Education (NPR) Sputnik heralded space race, focus on learning (USA Today) Science: Sputnik Redux (Edutopia) Visit NSTA's new website at www.nsta.org NSTA's New Science Teacher Academy With support from The Amgen Foundation, the program will support new middle and secondary school science educators by providing opportunities for professional development such as online mentoring and financial support to attend NSTA’s national conference. New Science Teacher Academy The Amgen Foundation The Science and Mathematics Teacher Shortage: Fact and Myth Toyota Tapestry Home 2008 Online Proposal