Author Archives: Chris Chiaverina

In this video series Chris Chiaverina discusses the details of the "Learning Cycle" phases of this teaching model. Watch as his guest teachers describe their experiences and methods.The Learning Cycle is an approach to science instruction first developed by Atkin and Karplus in 1962 while working on the SCIS (Science Curriculum Improvement Study) project.

One of the first science toys I ever owned was a water rocket. Essentially a plastic container with fins, the rocket is prepared for flight by partially filling it with water and pressurized air. When released, the rocket’s contents exit a small hole at the base of the rocket in one direction, pushing the rocket ahead with amazing speed in the opposite direction. A case of action-reaction, pure and simple.

You may not be aware of it, but polarized light is all around you. Do you have an LCD flat screen television, a laptop computer, a calculator, or other liquid crystal display? Well then, you have been exposed to polarized light. Light reflected from non-metallic surfaces such as water, a polished table top, and glass is also partially polarized as is the light scattered by the earth’s atmosphere.

Unlike solids, fluids have no definite form but instead assume the shape of their containers. Fluids include all liquids and gases and a rather strange state of matter called plasma, an ionized gas that scientists believe accounts for 99% of the matter in the visible universe.

Thermodynamics and the thermal properties of matter are inextricably linked to daily living. Most everyone has an innate sense of hot and cold, checks the temperature outdoors before deciding what to wear, knows that spilled water will eventually evaporate and not to expect a snow storm on a hot July day.

Shadows are ubiquitous, but often go unnoticed. Shadows are important historically, for they provided early evidence that light travels in straight lines. Humans constantly, but unconsciously, use shadows to judge the shape of objects in their environment. Because shadows reveal much about an object’s extension in space, they are often used to heighten the illusion of depth in a painting.

The sky offers a wide variety of stunning optical effects. A source of inspiration for poets and songwriters alike, these atmospheric phenomena include red sunsets, rainbows, mirages, halos, glories, and coronas. These effects are the result of the interaction of light from the sun or moon with the gases in the atmosphere, clouds, ice crystals, smoke, dust and other airborne particulates. Some of these phenomena can be seen almost every day; others occur less frequently. In this issue of CoolStuff we will examine examples of atmospheric optical phenomena and how they may be demonstrated in the classroom.

Each new school year offers endless possibilities for igniting student interest in science. The principles students study in your classroom touch every aspect of their lives. Seeing the science involved in everything from a rainbow to a rock concert can be rewarding and enjoyable; having an understanding of the underlying physical principles behind these phenomena serves to heighten these experiences even more.

The constituent colors in a beam of light are revealed when the light is dispersed by a raindrop or passed through optical instruments known as prisms and diffraction gratings. In each case, an array of colors, or spectrum, is observed.Much of what we know about the makeup of matter has been gained through spectroscopy, the study of spectra.

We've decided it’s time to revisit the Haunted Laboratory in search of even more science tricks and treats.This edition of CoolStuff features some new exhibits designed to put a spooky spin on science. The displays, selected with ease of construction in mind, use materials and apparatus found in most science storerooms.