Trip to AMNH

So you're going to the American Museum of Natural History, huh?  Pretty neat.  What are you going to see? That's a tough question to answer if you've never been to the museum before, and it's the type of museum where it can take days to really take in all the exhibits.

In preparation for our trip I'd like you to take some time and look at what the museum has to offer, and make some decisions about what you would like to see.  There are some special exhibits the museum is hosting, including a really interesting looking one called The Power of Poison.  These are temporary installations, so you most likely won't have a chance to see them if you visit the museum again.  Then there are the permanent exhibits:

• Biodiversity and Environmental Halls
• Earth and Planetary Sciences Halls
• Birds and Reptiles and Amphibians Halls
• Fossil Halls
• Rose Center for Earth and Space
• Theodore Roosevelt Memorial
• Mammal Halls
• Human Origins and Culture Halls

Within each of these exhibits are various halls that explore one specific topic.  Some exhibits, like the Fossils and Human Origins have many many different halls to explore - and you could spend the entire day just viewing those.  

Take some time and explore the exhibits on the AMNH website, and using the interactive floor plan, decide what it is you would most like to see while you're at the museum.  I will ask each person attending the trip to give me a top 5 list of specific halls (not just the ones listed above) / exhibits they would like to see.  I will try to match you up with people with similar interests for the day of the trip, so that you get to see as many of your top choices as possible.  

I was lucky enough to grow up near the museum, and I spent a lot of great days there, so if you have any questions for me fire away.  What are my favorite exhibits?  That's really tough to say - my favorites have changed over the years, but the fossil halls, especially the Hall of Saurischian Dinosaurs and the Hall of Ornithischian Dinosaurs, and the Rose Center have consistently remained favorites throughout my life.  

Philadelphia Science Festival 2014

Philadelphia is known across the country as a major hub for science and medicine.  In order to promote that association some local universities and scientific organizations started the Philly Science Festival. The fourth annual Philadelphia Science Festival is taking place April 25 - May 3rd all over the Philadelphia area.  Saturday, May 3rd is the largest event, the Science Carnival, taking place on the parkway (near the Art Museum).  They will have over 150 exhibitors, and activities for all ages. Best of all, it's free!

On Friday, April 25th there is an astronomy night with locations all over the region, including one in nearby Glassboro.  There are also a lot of open lab events where people can go inside real science labs and observe the work that scientists do on a daily basis.

DuPont Challenge

Our Salem County neighbor DuPont has announced topics for this year's DuPont Challenge, an essay contest they sponsor for high school students all around the country. Students have to write a 700 - 1000 word essay about one of four topics:

• Together, we can feed the world. 
• Together, we can build a secure energy future. 
• Together, we can protect people and the environment. 
• Together, we can be innovative anywhere. 

In class during our science article reviews we often talk about these four topics, and you can use information you've learned in school and by reading science articles to help in your writing. If you are interested in submitting an essay you can check out the official rules and start putting together ideas for this project.

Oh, and did I mention there are prizes? First place winner gets a $5,000 savings bond and an all expenses paid trip to Orlando, Fl. There are also prizes for runners up.

Entries can be submitted starting November 15 and ending January 31, 2014.

2013 Philadelphia Science Festival

The third annual Philadelphia Science Festival is taking place April 18 - April 28th all over the Philadelphia area.  Saturday, April 20th is the largest event, the Science Carnival, taking place on the parkway (near the Art Museum).  They will have over 140 exhibitors, and activities for all ages.  Last year it rained on Carnival day, but we're hoping this year the weather will hold out for us.

Monday and Tuesday (22-23rd) there are also a lot of open lab events where people can go inside real science labs and observe the work that scientists do on a daily basis.

The Science (Epidemiology) of Crime

I just read a very interesting article about how chemistry can influence human behavior in astounding ways.  In the article the author describes how industry, and chemistry, may have caused the crime waves of the 60's and 70's.  Here's an excerpt:

"Experts often suggest that crime resembles an epidemic. But what kind? Karl Smith, a professor of public economics and government at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, has a good rule of thumb for categorizing epidemics: If it spreads along lines of communication, he says, the cause is information. Think Bieber Fever. If it travels along major transportation routes, the cause is microbial. Think influenza. If it spreads out like a fan, the cause is an insect. Think malaria. But if it's everywhere, all at once—as both the rise of crime in the '60s and '70s and the fall of crime in the '90s seemed to be—the cause is a molecule."

Turns out the lead being used in leaded gasoline (to prevent engine knocking) was exposing millions of children to high levels of lead, which is linked to increased levels of violent behavior.  The fact that environmental lead levels were high and crime was high does not necessarily mean that the lead caused the crime - but the authors of the article present some really good evidence of causality.  Another example of how environmental pollution can have major effects on human wellness. 

Another rule broken!

Anyone who studies biology for long enough realizes that eventually an exception is discovered for almost every "rule".  We all learned that one of the things that separates animals from plants, protists and bacteria is that they are heterotrophs - no photosynthesis for bunnies and jellyfish.  Except recently researchers have discovered that aphids (those tiny green insects that crawl all over your tomato plants) might be able to do photosythesis. Aphids can synthesize carotenoids (orange pigments), and these aphids made more ATP when placed in light then when they were moved into the dark. Now they have to figure out how the process works.

SCVTS Art Show Invaded by Budding Scientists

For the first time some of our ABMS students have decided to enter artwork into the SCVTS art show on May 3.  The chemistry 102 students had completed a periodic table printmaking project, and hung it up for display.  Tiles from past classes will also be on display. 

We are not sure if there are any prizes awarded at this art show, but as far as I'm concerned these guys win the Au.