Comments on: What was your favourite school science experiment?

By: Britton Cole

Britton Cole — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 16:44:45 +0000

I like to tell people that I was once bitten by a shark. What I don’t tell them right away was that the shark was a very dead and preserved dogfish shark that I was dissecting, when I accidentally pulled down on some muscle/tendon in the gill area that caused its mouth to close on my finger. The damn things have really sharp teeth. A fair amount o’ blood loss on that day.

When our biology class dissected the fetal pigs, we gave them unfortunate names, like Babe, Oscar (from Oscar Mayer), Scneider, Porky, etc.

By: Tris Hussey

Tris Hussey — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 08:15:37 +0000

I love that! A perfect example of a) hard work to follow an idea –key for scientists and b) finding simple and innovative ways to test and solve a problem.

By: Dior

Dior — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 20:00:57 +0000

As a judge at many science fairs, one project stood out to me. An eighth grade girl wanted to do a project involving cancer. She had no lab background and had no idea what she wanted to do, so she called all the oncologists listed in the phone book starting with “A” and moveing on. 80 phone calls later she found a doctor who would help her.
They found a paper that showed an ice helmet could reduce hair loss from chemotherapy. Some how the two got to talking about striations on fingernails caused by chemo-a big thing if you are trying to paint your nails. So they decided to soak one hand in an ice bucket and use the other hand as a control (brilliant!!).
It worked, and I awarded her a scholarship from AWIS.
Einstein said it best:”Imagination is more important then intelligence.

By: The HomelyScientist » The Tangled Web battling the Dark Side of science

The HomelyScientist » The Tangled Web battling the Dark Side of science — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 18:39:39 +0000

[...] I’m still in Boston … coming home soon … I was at Harvard Square yesterday though, no time for the museum . But … the Tangled Web science blog carnival picked my favourite school science experiment post I submitted for this week’s edition. [...]

By: The Inoculated Mind : Tangled Bank 52

The Inoculated Mind : Tangled Bank 52 — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 17:29:57 +0000

[...] But tragedy has befallen the people of the Old Scientific Republic. Stephen “Qui-Gon” Granade has discovered that the dark side of the force surrounds a youngling’s science fair entry that has gone unnoticed, or worse, cultivated by one of the Sith. Always two there are. And two there are of accounts by Jedi Trainer Sandra Porter on how to most effectively bring up padawan-learners to become strong biotech apprentices. And Rebel Flight Officer Tris Hussey recounts his academy days, inviting everyone to relate their favorite science fair experiments at The Homely Scientist. [...]

By: Tris Hussey

Tris Hussey — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 04:55:08 +0000

Ah electrolosis … the hope for generating hydrogen for hydrogen fuel cells.

Just for the record … that wasn’t a hydrogen bomb. It was hydrogen burning and recreating …

yep water. Hydrogen burns, combines with oxygen and viola! Water again!

BTW … BC is one of the leading centres for generating hydrogen for fuel cells.

A hydrogen bomb, as in the mutually assured destruction thing, is a thermonuclear weapon a fusion bomb. Fusing at high speed and pressure tridium (H3) and that’s a kaboom. It’s also what fuels the sun.

Fission, well that’s another story.

By: Angelo

Angelo — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 04:42:43 +0000

Back in high school Chemistry, when we trapped some hydrogen we got from some chemical reaction into a beaker and turned it upside down into a basin of water. Then we got the beaker and lit the top! Mini hydrogen bomb! No explosion, just a loud popping sound! Way cool!

By: Deb L

Deb L — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 18:09:49 +0000

Oh wow, science class experiments. I don’t know about favorites, especially since we did experiments in bio 1&2, chemistry, and physics; but I remember the giant locusts preserved in formaldehyde (stinky), and the live frogs we were supposed to pith after conducting the range of motion jumping experiments (most of the class made the teacher pith the frogs). Wave tables were interesting, and combining stuff in crucibles fraught with potential danger. The experiment to find optimal glucose solution for CO2 production in yeast was entertaining- the room smelled like a brewery for days. I think my favorite one is probably one of the physics experiments- we had a steel ball suspended from a metal arm dangling over empty floor, and taped a razor blade to the edge of the table. Task- calculate where the ball would hit the floor when swinging the string so that it would be cut by the blade. We had to do all our calculations ahead of time, and put a styrofoam cup on the floor where we thought it would land, and THEN swing the ball while the teacher watched. Ours was the only one that nailed the ‘X’ dead center.

um, yeah, so I was a total nerd in school good times, great memories.

By: Bald Man

Bald Man — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 18:00:28 +0000

Fetal pig dissection in high school. Though my dad did a pretty good mini-course on the periodic table back in 3rd grade. I still remember the “Flower Children” elements. Any guesses which ones they are?

By: Tris Hussey

Tris Hussey — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 15:37:44 +0000

Whew. As much as it might turn people off, forensics and physical anthropology are so important. In fact my anthropology major was geared towards the archaeology end of things and it was a physical anthropology course that got me hooked … I didn’t actually take Anthro 101 until I was almost finished!