I am a bit short of time this weekend, but Fritz was nice enough to send me a summary of the meeting and websites that are useful, and I am attaching that below. Thanks Fritz! I notice that he did not include his book titles, so here they are:
From DaNel (Her favorite information from past newsletters):
Teaching with Problems and the Problems of Teaching, by Magdalene Lampert. Ms. Lampert was one of the originators of active learning, and much has been written about her, including a recent NYT article.
Symmetry, the Monster
Arrival of the Fittest - Fritz's second recommendation of this book. It's about biological robustness depending on the robustness of the networks that make up an organism or group..
I didn't get the name of the last book. It was about how we are polluting our water systems with sewage. Maybe Fritz can bring it again.
We meet next on January 10th at J.D.'s house for our annual toy meeting. Ask for physics toys for the holidays, then bring them to show at our meeting. We will also plan our semester at that meeting. So put it on your calendar now.
I am also attaching a sheet of information below from DaNel. She was nice enough to compile a "best of STEMAZing" for us. If you are not subscribed to the STEMAZing newsletter, you should sign up - it's a great source of support for teachers, and includes things you can use immediately in class as well as notice of upcoming events. Go to the link below to sign up.
From Fritz:
Ms. DaNel L. Hogan
Director of The STEMAZing Project
200 N. Stone Avenue
Tucson, AZ 85701
DaNel Hogan was an Einstein fellow and likes Nuclear Energy. She also was Physics teacher in high school.
Ring with chain to drop to create a knot holding the ring.
Puzzles: (1) two paper circles taped together at right angles: make a square bigger than your face. (2) Take square, make two cuts and twist.
Pam and Chris and Mark solved it at our meeting.
Concord Consortium: http://concord.org/
Community Shares of Southern Arizona Tucson: http://www.faqs.org/tax-
Donors Choose: http://www.donorschoose.org/
Dolores Gende: 
Tutorials on Waves: http://cpphysics.homestead.
SuperPi Day March 14th, 2015.
Diffusion versus Convection Confusion: The spread of a scent: You can smell it because of convection.
Homopolar Motor
Neodymian magnet, screw, battery, wire stripped.
The tip of the screw must be on the knob of the battery and hanging straight down.
May turn up to 10,000 rpm
DaNel’s Electromagnetism lab from STEMAmazing
Recommended book:
The Physics of Christmas: From the Aerodynamics of Reindeer to the Thermodynamics of Turkey
by Roger Highfield
$14.97 Bought.
Rob’s Mousetrap Car. Didn’t get to see it work. Would like him to make a YouTube video and send us a link.
Mentioned: Phet, American Science Surplus in Chicago,
JD disabused me of the idea that the metaphor of metabolism is like combustion has some value.
From DaNel (Her favorite information from past newsletters):
STEM on the Cheap
How would you like to be able to turn your cell phone or tablet into a close range image taking device for only $1? The image to the left shows a cell phone camera focused on the eye of Abraham Lincoln using just such a lens. Better yet, the lens you need is available in a device you can find at Family Dollar - a key chain laser pointer! Learn more about this $1 LASER pointer macro lens hack today and start taking interesting, close up pictures tomorrow!
STEM Educator Site (Grades 6-12)
What does innovation look like, and how can one generate innovative ideas in the classroom? The Design Process: From Idea to Solution collection is build around "design thinking" and is intended to help educators and learners explore the invention of real, practical solutions of some of the world's most pressing problems.
The Design Process: From Idea to Solution collection is made up of four videos, each with an accompanying lesson plan. Young learners can watch college students from around the country engage actively with the design thinking process, and can draw inspiration from them. Teachers can use the lesson plans to easily guide their students through the design process, helping students to develop unique, innovative ideas and strategies of their very own.
Help your students with lessons on Generating Ideas, Organizing for Innovation, Strategy Mapping and Communicating Ideas!
From NOVA Education, PBS LearningMedia and funding from the U.S. Department of Energy.
The Math of Energy series teaches math concepts through real-world situations that are based in the energy industry or fundamental energy relations. The series is targeted for high school students, but the concepts are valuable to viewers of many ages. The videos educate viewers about the importance of mathematics in the everyday world, especially with relation to energy topics.
The Math of Energy collection has a separate short video to answer each of the following questions:
- How much coal does your cell phone use?
- When will fossil fuels run out?
- How much energy do you use each year?
- How far away is the Annapurna III mountain?
- How fast is my horse?
- What will be the global population in 2060?
- What is the price of gasoline around the world?
- Is a high-speed or low-speed train more efficient?
STEM Educator Site (K-16), STEM Video
The mission of Understanding Science is to provide a fun, accessible, and FREE resource that accurately communicates what science is and how it really works. The process of science is exciting, but standard explanations often miss its dynamic nature. Science affects us all everyday, but people often feel cut off from science. Science is an intensely human endeavor, but may portrayals gloss over the passion, curiosity, and even rivalries and pitfalls that characterize all human ventures. Understanding Science gives users an inside look at the general principles, methods, and motivations that underlie all of science.
Check out the Science in Action: How Science Works video from the California Academy of Sciences explaining the process of science with an exciting new spider discovery! One of many Understanding Science Teacher Resources for K-16 educators.
STEM Educator Site (PreK-12)
RAFT Idea Sheets are easy-to-use hands-on experience guides linked to core curriculum topics. Use the Idea Sheets Search Tool to rapidly pinpoint activities perfectly suited to the grade level, subject area, and content standard you want to cover. Idea Sheets are based on readily-available, low-cost materials such as cardboard tubes, bottle caps, old CD's, etc. Over 700 Idea Sheets are available for FREE!
STEM Site
If you are trying to teach students about the scale of the solar system, this scale model of the solar system, If the Moon Were Only 1 Pixel, is a phenomenal tool! How long does it take you to scroll out to Uranus or Saturn or the dwarf planet - Pluto If the Moon Were Only 1 Pixel?
STEM Demonstration Tool
Gravity Visualized is a video of physics teacher Dan Burns explaining his space-time warping demo. A 2-kg mass in the middle with rolling marbles show orbits. A large marble rolling with a smaller one next to it will mimic the Earth-Moon system. Two handfuls of marbles thrown in opposite directions will show why the survivors all go in the same direction, just like the formation of the solar system. Imagine how students from K-Gray might play-to-learn with this exceptional space-time simulator!
For additional information on how to build your own, scroll down to the Spacetime Simulator section of thePretty Good Physics - Modern Physics website.
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(K-Higher Ed)
The Concord Consortium STEM Resource Finder features some of the best of their free, open source educational activities, models and software tools. You can search by keyword or filter by subject, grade level and type to find the right resources for your learning goals.
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 STEM Educator Site
PhET Interactive Simulations range in complexity from elementary to university-level and cover subjects like physics, biology, chemistry, earth science, math and cutting edge research.
Check out John Travoltage to teach about static electricity or Color Vision to explore how red, green and blue light can create a rainbow of colors!
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