This Week in Science

Welcome to the RPS Science based STEM-Lab
home page
Where too much STEM is barely enough!

414 533 page views to June 2018

Launchball from the Science Museum

Time-lapse of the World's Largest 3D Printed Boat
Time-lapse video of the world's largest 3D printed boat being printed by the world's largest 3D printer at the University of Maine Advanced Structures and Composites Center. The boat was printed in 72 hours, is 25' long, and weighs 5,000 lbs.
UMaine Composites Center

Atlas the world’s most dynamic humanoid.

Boston Dynamics is a world leader in mobile robots, tackling some of the toughest robotics challenges. We combine the principles of dynamic control and balance with sophisticated mechanical designs, cutting-edge electronics, and next-generation software for high-performance robots equipped with perception, navigation, and intelligence. Boston Dynamics has an extraordinary and fast-growing technical team of engineers and scientists who seamlessly combine advanced analytical thinking with bold engineering and boots-in-the-mud practicality.
https://www.bostondynamics.com/

Discover Water
The Role of Water in Our Lives - click on picture to go to Project Wet

Try the Tip Tank Game and match the squares - https://wateruseitwisely.com/tip-tank-game/

Watch NASA Engineers LIVE at the Jet Propulsion Lab - building the:
Mars Rover 2020
click the picture to link to the JPL

find out more at https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7418

Send Your Name to Mars 2020
NASA's Mars 2020 Rover is heading to the red planet.
Submit your name by Sept. 30, 2019, and fly along!
https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/
https://mars.nasa.gov/participate/send-your-name/mars2020/

Click on Picture to Submit Your Name

3D Viewing

Get out your old red/blue cardboard glasses and check out the stereo scenes from NASA.
Type '3D' into the searchbox of NASA's Archives of Astronomy Picture of the Day and view the amazing 3D pictures.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html

Play! Explore! Create! Share! And discover the wonders of our amazing planet!
Learn about biology in a fun way.

Click picture to go to PBS

Deadly Sea Creature - Blue Angel
Epic Wildlife
Published on Jun 7, 2013
This strange sea creature is the Glaucus Atlanticus also known as the blue angel, blue dragon and blue sea slug is a marine gastropod mollusk. This tiny animal species is quite the predator.

3D Print the Blue Angel - https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2790519

Science as a Human Endeavour - Biology

Some of the Natural History Museum's most famous specimens were collected by Charles Darwin and Captain Robert FitzRoy during the round-the-world voyage of HMS Beagle between 1831 and 1836.
Click on the link below to take you to the swf file and start your interactive journey with Darwin (open with Internet Explorer)
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/search.html?q=interactive+journey+of+the+beagle

Explore the Website of the Week
How do you learn to make? By making! Whether you're a newbie or an experienced maker attempting something new, it helps to practice basic skills before starting your own original projects. Make's hands-on workshops from the world's top makers will prepare you to hack, tweak and build whatever you dream up.

click on picture to go to Make

 Defining an Engineering Design Problem with Paper Aeroplanes
Well worth signing up for the Latest Science Buddies News

Click on picture to go to Science Buddies

Earth and Space Science Year 5 - Build the James Webb Telescope - Science as a Human Endeavour

Click on picture to go to NASA's paper model

Website of the Week
The Story of Chocolate
Easter eggs, chocolate bars. For thousands of years humans have been fascinated with the delicious phenomenon that we call “chocolate.” Discover the complete story behind the tasty treat that we crave in chocolate, cacao (kəˈkɑːəʊ). Cacao shouldn't be confused with cocoa powder which usually has some type of added sugar.
Greg Blew and the Field Museum.org have created an amazing interactive showing the creation of a bar of chocolate. Year three teachers might like their students to see how much heat is involved in creating the delicious food product. Heat can be produced in many ways and can move from one object to another (ACSSU049).

click picture to go to the Field Museum Archive

Video of the Week Jumbo squid caught on camera for Blue Planet II

BBC Earth Unplugged
Published on Mar 8, 2018
SUBSCRIBE 548K
Profile on Edith Widder, bioluminescence expert that took enormous steps in understanding animals behaviour in the deep sea. Subscribe to Earth Unplugged for more amazing animal videos - http://bit.ly/SubscribeToEarthUnplugged

Digital Technologies
Engadget reports on how you can turn your tired laptop into a speedy Chromebook using Neverware
https://www.engadget.com/2016/02/18/neverware-turns-your-tired-laptop-into-a-speedy-chromebook/

Explorify for primary schools
https://explorify.wellcome.ac.uk/
https://vimeo.com/explorify
Rostrata Primary School teachers are impressed by Explorify.
Explorify is an exciting programme of free activities for primary school teachers. | Spark Curiosity | Develop Thinking Skills | Increase Your Impact.

click picture to go to Explorify

Video of the Week
How to draw circles
Published on Feb 3, 2017
Ways for drawing a quick circle if you haven't got a compass. Great for craft or art projects at school. Use 3 pencils or pens to make a compass, or use other stationary to help you out.

WEBSITE OF THE WEEK
Create with beautiful 3D Papercraft Models, make displays, create challenges, enhance learning with these paper animal and plant models
Click a picture to go to Sasatoku papercraft

Need some inspiration for Digital Technologies planning?

Connected Learning Advisor, Charles Newton explains how to use this guide to support developing your digital technologies goals and actions.
Many thanks to Margaret Urlich, Assistant Principal, Teacher Coach, Nelson Intermediate School for Sharing

Product of the Week
The Little Bird Company is a wholely Australian owned company and is proud to be the exclusive distributor of "InnoBits" in Australia.

Video of the week
30 Days Timelapse at Sea | 4K | Through Thunderstorms, Torrential Rain & Busy Traffic
Published on Sep 9, 2017
Sailing in the open ocean is a unique feeling and experience. Jeffrey Tsang is a sailor and photographer on a container ship that travels across the globe. Watch his latest video, a time-lapse capturing 30 days of his ship’s journey. It’s mesmerizing! He used 80,000 photos to complete the video.
The route was from Red Sea -- Gulf of Aden -- Indian Ocean -- Colombo -- Malacca Strait -- Singapore -- South East China Sea -- Hong Kong.

What are Specdrums?
Specdrums: Music at Your Fingertips

Specdrums are app-connected rings that turn the world's colors into your own personal sound machine. They let you create beats and melodies by tapping on anything with color, such as your clothes, a 12-color keyboard, or any objects you find around you. You can even draw and print out your own Specdrums instruments.
This is one of Kickstarter's (www.kickstarter.com/projects/364756202/specdrums-music-at-your-fingertips) latest offerings in the world of music technology.

Published on Aug 18, 2017

 DFRobot's BOSON Kit: Powerful Building Blocks For LEGO STEM

The Boson kit breaks down complicated circuits into simple, functional modules that are easy to understand. The kit requires no coding or soldering and is ideal as a STEM classroom teaching tool.
Available - www.kickstarter.com/projects/1371216747/dfrobot-boson-a-powerful-building-block-for-stem
published on May 10, 2017,

What is Brixo?
BRIXO’s Bluetooth-enabled electric bricks are the next generation of building blocks. We’ve taken one of the world’s favorite toys and have empowered kids and adults to create (and learn!) like they never have before. Our bricks, which are Lego™ compatible, safely conduct electricity so you can make them move, spin, light up, and more. Power up your imagination with BRIXO!
More information http://brixotoys.com/

Teachers stay on top of what's happening in Education with these links.

The Blogger

The Organisation's News Feed

The Director's Website

The Association

Video of the Week
Floating Cube
Give your year sixes the challenge of creating their own illusion. How to draw a floating/levitating cube. 3D trick art on lined paper - anamorphic optical illusion.
Materials used: 110lb cardstock, HB pencil, 2B pencil, Blue bic pen, red bic pen, black fine line pen, ruler, scissors.
Published on Nov 6, 2016

Fractions made fantastically fun
Introducing Amplify Fractions, a new digital learning program that takes one of the most critical math concepts and makes it fun for students to learn and master.
With Amplify Fractions, adaptive learning meets great storytelling. Students uniquely engage with personalized learning, feedback and practice – all in an animated story-driven environment.

App of the Week
Start Experimenting in your class With Google's 'Science Journal' App

The free Android app helps you take various recordings from your Android smartphone or tablet sensors. Measure sound (dB) and ambient light (lux) in your physics lessons or run an inquiry all about your surroundings. How loud is your classroom? Watch the real time graphs, measure which classroom is the brightest or go on a soundsafari (download soundsafari recording sheet word doc)

For NASA's spectacular flyover video takes you to Pluto

NASA.gov Video
Published on Jul 14, 2017
NASA scientists have created and just released a spectacular flyover movie of the surface of Pluto from a vantage point even closer than the spacecraft itself.
For Leela I.

Biology Video of the Week

Flying Fish Picked Off From Above And Below - The Hunt - BBC Earth
Published on Jul 12, 2017

Flying fish have a unique adaptation, they can make powerful, self-propelled leaps out of water into air, where their long, wing-like fins enable gliding flight for considerable distances. It appears these Flying Fish are in a no win situation, picked off above the surface by Frigatebird's and devoured underwater by the Dorado.

Japanese Pythagoras Switch - table tennis
Rube Goldberg machine From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Rube Goldberg machine is a deliberately complex contraption in which a series of devices that perform simple tasks are linked together to produce a domino effect in which activating one device triggers the next device in the sequence. The expression is named after American cartoonist and inventor of such contraptions, Rube Goldberg (1883–1970).

Fidgets – a 3D Print project for Kids

What are they all about?
They are the latest craze in schools, slightly more difficult to manage in high schools than in primary schools. They’re simply a bearing that fits into a small plastic frame and allows you to investigate spin.

Inquiry Learning
Most of us can remember marbles, Tamagotchie, Pokimon and football cards. They were distractions but we managed them. Before we demonize the Fidgets let’s look at the science behind them. They seem to have a limited application as a stress reliever or stopping fidgety behavior with no studies reported of the therapeutic benefits. They are however, a lesson in the physics of spin and friction. What is a bearing? Where are they used? Does weight affect the way a fidget performs? These inquiry questions can be answered if you have a 3D Printer. Who could overlook the value added learning that Fidgets bring; hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, the social responsibility (these things are like carrying money) maths and of course language. Fidget is an interesting word.

The 3D Prints
Print many different types of Fidgets at http://www.thingiverse.com/glitchpudding/collections/fidget/page:1

The Bearings
Purchase a box of 608 Series Bearings from your local skate-board shop. They are the common skateboard bearing size with a 22 mm outer diameter and an 8 mm inner diameter, depth 7 mm. They press into printed models firmly. You’ll pay about $2.00 AU per bearing but if you can wait they are cheaper to buy online at places like eBay but the freight may make you think twice.

Try to predict how long this craze might last. We think this craze will last for no longer than 6-8 months.

Knurled Tri-Spinner EDC Fidget Widget / Triple Bearing Spinner by CarryTheWhat,

3D Print of Cassini Author/Origin: Brian Kumanchik, NASA/JPL-Caltech

Video and STEM activity of the week - play full screen.
NASA at Saturn: Cassini's Grand Finale

From; NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory 1,388,698 views
Published on Apr 4, 2017
The final chapter in a remarkable mission of exploration and discovery, Cassini's Grand Finale is in many ways like a brand new mission. Twenty-two times, NASA's Cassini spacecraft will dive through the unexplored space between Saturn and its rings. What we learn from these ultra-close passes over the planet could be some of the most exciting revelations ever returned by the long-lived spacecraft. This animated video tells the story of Cassini's final, daring assignment and looks back at what the mission has accomplished.

For more about the making of this video, including the science behind the imagery, see the feature at https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/3016...

Cassini will make it's plunge into Saturn’s surface on September 15 2017
Want to 3D Print Cassini? Go to https://nasa3d.arc.nasa.gov/detail/jpl-cassini
Ride onboard Cassini using NASA's 3D Interactive Visualization http://eyes.jpl.nasa.gov/eyes-on-cassini.html
For more information go to https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/galleries/images/
What did Cassini's buddy Huygens see when it descended from Cassini onto the surface of Titan (one of Saturn's moons).
What did Huygens see; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9L471ct7YDo

Google’s Latest Technology - Autodraw

Published on Apr 11, 2017
Draw faster with a little help from artists and machine learning, with this cool new drawing tool. Go to https://www.autodraw.com to start creating. Junior primary teachers and students could get really creative with this tool and enhance learning in many ways.

Video of the Week - Readying the Webb Telescope for Launch

Published on Apr 17, 2017
Stringent testing is underway to prove the James Webb Space Telescope can handle an Earth-shaking take-off and still capture the universe’s first light while deeply ensconced in the hyper-cold of space.

Visit http://science.nasa.gov/ for more.

Biology Video of the Week
From Smithsonian Published on Mar 10, 2017
Why 10 Daily Tons of Ant Poop Keep This Rainforest Thriving
The soil in the rainforests of Barro Colorado is packed with nutrients, but where does it come from? The answer lies high up in the canopy, where a remarkable, prolific species of nest-building ants drops its waste.

STEM Video of the Week A Fold Apart: Origamist Robert Lang's Incredible Paper Creations
Published on Mar 16, 2017
Twenty five years ago, physicist Robert Lang worked at NASA, where he researched lasers. In 2001, Lang left his job in order to pursue a passion he's had since childhood: origami. In the origami world, Lang is now a legend, and it's not just his eye-catching, intricate designs that have taken the craft by storm. Some of his work has helped pioneer new ways of applying origami principles to complex real-world engineering problems.

Try your hand at origami, go to the bottom of this page http://www.johnnosscience.com/physical-sciences.html

Visit http://www.greatbigstory.com

Website of the Week
Discover E - Engineering Activities
Choose a challenging activity for your students from a very large selection

Earth, Sun and Moon activity? Play it at BBC Science Clip

For the Juniors - Day Sky Night Sky
Identify objects in the sky such as clouds, planets and stars. Look closely at movements in the sky during the day and at night. Explore facts about celestial objects such as meteors and Moon phases. Build your own sky scene.

Explore Weather
Choose clothing suited to the weather conditions: sunny, windy, rainy and snowing. Describe today's weather.

Thanks to Education Services Australia Limited- click on picture to link

Water Cycle interactive From Water Use it Wisely - Kids Games

Young ICT Explorers - competition
2017 Registrations open

Young ICT Explorers is a non-profit competition, which has been created by SAP to encourage school students to create their best Information and Communication Technology (ICT) related projects.
click on picture

Your Own Cloud Storage
Daplie: The Cloud System to Take Back the Internet
Take back your freedom to privacy, ownership, and security with your own "plug & play" home or classroom server
On Indiegogo now

Dome Dash game

Scitech has launched its first game! Dinosaurs are rampaging through the streets of Perth and the race is on to get back to Scitech and safety. Use cool technology supplied by Scitech scientists to get speed boosts and win great prizes!

Click on the red button for more STEM problem solving games

Video of the Week
Earth's History Plays Out On A Football Field - Adam Cole helps us visualize the Earth's History and he's done it well. Lucy even rates a mention.
Published on Nov 22, 2016

App of the Month
Doodle3d
Doodle3D Transform is a new 3D app.
It makes designing in 3D really easy and fun!
Transform your 2D drawings easily into 3D designs.
You can draw by hand, scan photos or import existing images.
Send your design to a 3D-printer or upload it to an online service.

click picture

Activity of the Week- from our chemical science page.
Home Made Kinetic Sand
Materials to Make approximately 22 kg of Kinetic Sand:

20 kg bag of washed white river sand - from Bunnings
6 cups corn flour
dish-washing liquid – you only needed a few tablespoons, and you could add a couple of spoonfuls of tea tree oil to help prevent bacteria or mold from growing.
6 cups of water
a few drops of food colour
large plastic tub

First make the Oobleck by mixing the corn flour and water and food colour..
Stir in the sand and adjust the ingredients to get the consistency you want. The sand will dry out, you can add more water as required.
Small Batch Recipe

5 cups of white river sand - Bunnings
1.2 cups corn flour (.2 = 3 tablespoons of corn flour)
1/2 teaspoon dish washing liquid
water (about 1 cup)
small plastic tub
optional: 1 teaspoon Tea Tree Oil (for antibacterial properties)

Make and colour your Oobleck first, then mix sand.

Watch how Karina takes on the inquiry approach and changes one of the variables then proceeds to test and assess. She is using another way to make Kinetic Sand. Can you create a new formula for Kinetic Sand?
from Karina Garcia

Learn to Type!
From EdAlive: A fantastic typing adventure awaits you! Complete the quest and prove yourself worthy of challenging the Dark Typist!

Water Corporation education team - Interactives

The Water Corporation education team have developed some new e-learning games at https://www.watercorporation.com.au/home/education/teaching-resources/elearning You can experience independent, self-paced learning.
They've developed a page especially for students to explore key focus themes such as the water cycle, water conservation, water supply, the Golden pipeline, wastewater, water recycling and storm-water. Now that’s a selection that will make them a full bottle on water!

Try the Junior Waste Challenge Below

TEDx Perth 2016
Ideas worth spreading were showcased at Perth's Concert Hall on Saturday. One of the inspirational, stimulating ideas from the Rostrata Primary STEM Lab intrigued hundreds of visitors. The Augmented Reality Sand Box built at the school was a huge hit. Those wanting to build their own can source of all code and documentation for the AR Sandbox at http://idav.ucdavis.edu/~okreylos/ResDev/SARndbox/

Youtube channels with full instructions and demonstrations for setup of the AR Sandbox:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EETkn5_qrhM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0UyMeJ2pYc
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj_UmpoD8Ph_EcyN_xEXrUQ
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy-htpQJxUJ0pkJ9C9Y5MqA

The Latest - AR/VR Sandbox
Published on Apr 12, 2016
First experiment with dual-mode AR Sandbox, combining an AR projection-mapped display inside the physical sandbox, and a virtual 3D / VR view of the same terrain and water flow on a secondary display (in this case a small desktop monitor).

Video of the Week
A Sketchy History Of Pencil Lead
A question from the 5th graders at Green Acres School in Lebanon was sent to the Skunk Bear Channel as part of a quest to find the origin of pencil lead.
Published on Oct 11, 2016

Educator Website of the Week

ASCD.org
ASCD is a global community dedicated to excellence in learning, teaching, and leading. Comprising 125,000 members—superintendents, principals, teachers, and advocates from more than 128 countries—the ASCD community also includes 52 affiliate organizations.Their diverse, nonpartisan membership is our greatest strength, projecting a powerful, unified voice to decision makers around the world.

The association provides its members with professional development, educational leadership, and capacity building. ASCD is a global community advancing student achievement by supporting the whole child, and seeks to develop programs, products, and services essential to the way educators learn, teach, and lead.
_________________________________________________________________
ASCD contends that "current educational practice and policy focus overwhelmingly on academic achievement. This achievement, however, is but one element of student learning and development and only a part of any complete system of educational accountability. Wikipedia

Apps of the Week - Creating your own quiz on any topic is a powerful way to learn.
QUIZLING app
The team at Quizling is creating a learning platform for everyone.
We’ve got kids in Year 3 creating quizzes, as well as their teachers and parents… and of course, some of our finest museums and institutions!
Playing, sharing, creating and learning is at the centre of our mission.

Click on picture to learn more

Get the - Google Arts & Culture app on your phone and take out your VR Gear

Google's new offering is brilliant, one of the 360 degree videos brings a Giraffatitan (Brachiosaurus) to life in front of you with a narrator explaining clearly. Explore this app which brings together an amazing set of virtual tours giving you an experience of creatures past and present.

On iOS and Android, the 360 experience can be viewed through Google Cardboard or Gear VR.

Interactives of the week from http://www.abpischools.org.uk/

This database lets you find out about the properties of various common materials. It can be explored in several ways to allow you to group materials by a single property - such as those that conduct electricity - or by several different properties.

Once you think you have learned about all the different properties, try this game. It tests your knowledge in a fun, and challenging, way. If you need to, you can go back to the database to check properties.

Use your skills to pick materials which have the correct property off the moving conveyor belt!

NASA's Latest Launch
OSIRIS-REx will travel to a near-Earth asteroid called Bennu and bring a small sample back to Earth for study. The mission launched Sept. 8, 2016, from Cape Canaveral. The 2,087-kilogram four-wheel drive-sized spaceship is set to embark on a seven-year mission, returning its sample of space dirt in 2023.

Go to the OSIRIS-REx website http://www.asteroidmission.org/objectives/ and launch the mission to find out more.
3D Print OSIRIS- REx at http://nasa3d.arc.nasa.gov/models
Why not 3D Print Bennu at http://nasa3d.arc.nasa.gov/detail/bennu

Amazing 3D Print Opportunity
Inspire the future Paleoanthropologists
Print your own 3D Lucy parts to work out how the famous hominid died
Now you can have your very own 3D printout of some of the bones of Lucy the 3.2 million year old Australopithecus afarensis, who is, let's face it, the Beyoncé of the fossil world.

Professor John W. Kappelman Jr and his team at The University of Texas at Austin received approval from the government of Ethiopia and National Museum of Ethiopia to make the models of Lucy public.

Lucy likely died after suffering injuries from an unimpeded free fall from a tall tree, suggesting the terrestrial species likely foraged or nested in trees. Professor Kappelman’s findings have been published in Nature (2016) and can be purchased at http://goo.gl/oEzGcW including some additional videos, like http://goo.gl/jNVNSz

Perhaps you can print Lucy’s and suggest your own theories of how she died.

Complete the online form for access to digital models of portions of Lucy's left knee and right shoulder and arm; available at eLucy.org

Information on Lucy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_(Australopithecus)

Go to eLucy.org for lots of student activities ideal for year 5 / 6 extension.

Click picture to go to eLucy

3.1 million-year-old Lucy's bones tell story of how she died

Thanks go out to Professor John W. Kappelman Jr and his team at The University of Texas at Austin and the government of Ethiopia and National Museum of Ethiopia. (Source; New Atlas)

Mars Rover Game
NASA's latest game. download for Desktop, Android devices, iPhone or iPad
Mars Rover drivers wanted! Search for water as your game rover climbs up and down hills to explore Mars. Drive carefully! One crater crash, and it's "game over" for your rover! Get the free app to play Mars Rover, and find out below how the game rover compares to real Mars rovers.

Click picture

What is STEM?
Two years ago we launched this US video on our, "For Student Teachers" page. It attempts to explain what STEM in schools looks like.

STEM Integration in K-12 Education
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Published on Mar 6, 2014

STEM Video of the Week - Spintop Snipers | Amazing Top Trick Shots! Play this video large and loud!

Published on Apr 5, 2016
This is next level trick shots using a top! Probably didn’t think you could do this with a spintop.
Music: LVTHER - Some Kind Of Magic (feat. MYZICA)iTunes Download Link: http://apple.co/2059cAM

Makes you just want to 3D print a spinning top - https://www.thingiverse.com/tag:spinning_top/page:2

Video of the Week - Special Feature
Theo Jansen, the King of STEM has taken his famous Strandbeest to the US.

Ten years ago we saw Theo's fascinating creations for the very first time. Since then the world has been amazed by the artistic engineer who's been making these since 1990.

How do they work?
See the Theo Jansen Mechanism page
See the Insrtuctables Build page
See the 3D Printable Strandbeest - Thingiverse

Global Teacher Prize
It's official — the nomination and application period for the Global Teacher Prize is now open! Show the world that #TeachersMatter by nominating your favourite teacher or by applying yourself! The application and nomination period opens today and closes on 14th October 2016.

Qualities of a Great Teacher
Sep 17, 2015 Teachers and students describe the qualities they believe make a great teacher.

STEM Challenge of the week - John Goodwin's clever 3D Printed Rubber Band Car

WEBSITE OF THE WEEK - CoderDojo WA
http://coderdojowa.org.au/about/ has it all and more to come, especially for helping regional schools get started (new technology - https://www.communitynews.com.au/news/WA-tech-awards:-finalists-announced/7 686417)

Dojos are fun, free and social coding clubs for young people aged 7-17. Dojos are not classes or workshops. There is no curriculum. Instead, a Dojo offers an unstructured open free learning environment where young people can meet others with similar interests and advance their 21st century skills by working on creative digital projects of their own choice.

VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Stunning Aurora Borealis from Space in Ultra-High Definition (4K)
Published on Apr 17, 2016NASA Television’s newest offering, NASA TV UHD, brings ultra-high definition video to a new level with the kind of imagery only the world’s leader in space exploration could provide.

Harmonic produced this show exclusively for NASA TV UHD, using time-lapses shot from the International Space Station, showing both the Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis phenomena that occur when electrically charged electrons and protons in the Earth's magnetic field collide with neutral atoms in the upper atmosphere.

STEM - activities of the week using rubber band power

STEM Video of the Week - we love how Franky Zapata pushes the boundaries of everything STEM.

Published on Apr 9, 2016 Zapata Racing has achieved the dream of mankind and offers you the first video of Franky Zapata flying on the innovation Flyboard® Air.

The Independent Propulsion Unit represents 4 years of hard work for a result exceeding all records:
- Autonomous flight up to 10,000 feet
- Top speed of 150km/h (93,2 mph)
- 10 min autonomy

Science as a Human Endeavour - carbon negative
Wow, check out this Western Australian company sent to make it's mark on combating global warming
HAZER
Last week I was privileged to meet Geoff Pocock, Managing Director Hazer Group. Hazer Group Ltd is a Western Australian based company focused on bringing innovative clean technology to the global market. Working to commercialise the Hazer Process; a novel low cost hydrogen and graphite production technology, Hazer Group strives to lead the way in clean hydrogen and graphite production

http://www.hazergroup.com.au/investors/

This Week's Inspiration
Time Warner Cable are out to help raise young people’s interest, especially among underrepresented youth, in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Investigate their, 'Connect a Million Minds' initiative.

STEM video must watch this week
holoportation: virtual 3D teleportation in real-time (Microsoft Research)
Published on Mar 25, 2016holoportation is a new type of 3D capture technology that allows high quality 3D models of people to be reconstructed, compressed, and transmitted anywhere in the world in real-time. When combined with mixed reality displays such as HoloLens, this technology allows users to see and interact with remote participants in 3D as if they are actually present in their physical space. Communicating and interacting with remote users becomes as natural as face to face communication.

Project webpage: http://research.microsoft.com/holopor...
Team webpage: http://research.microsoft.com/groups/i3d

STEM build of the Week
Slater Harrison, the Science Toy Maker has a new project for you to make; the Dragonfly Helicopter

Published on Dec 28, 2015 Some rough instructions for making are finally up! http://www.sciencetoymaker.org/dragnf...
Great music by Al Petteway and Amy White

STEM Activity of the Week
Bring out your old telephone books and get making walkalong gliders. If you're really taken by these mysterious flying marvels then take your curiosity to a new level and go to Johnno's Walkalong Gliders page to link up with the amazing Science Toy Maker and master of the gliders.

click on picture

All Kids Can Do Project Based Learning (PBL)
Students build success skills valuable for today’s world

Young ICT Explorers is a competition for school students to produce their best Digital Technologies/ Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) related project.

Video of the Week
360° meet the largest dinosaur ever discovered - Attenborough and the Giant Dinosaur - BBC One
Published on Feb 22, 2016Programme website: http://bbc.in/1OpMiMh David Attenborough meets the biggest animal ever to walk on Earth, in 360 - a Titanosaur. Use your cursor to take in the 3D effect.

STEM Website of the Year

What Happens When You Create a Dynamic Digitized Lightfield Signal?

ANSWER - MAGIC LEAP

When you think STEM technologies like Oculus Rift, Vive and Project Aura just can't be more amazing, something more amazing arrives.The result of a combination of hardware, software, sensors, core processors and more, enabled this secretive technology to deliver experiences that are so unique, so unexpected, so never-been-seen-before, they can only be described as magical.

Don't forget to look at the Magic Leap Blog

The Making of ArcaBoard
from ARCA PRO
ARCA Space Corporation announced that it has created ArcaBoard. For the first time in history, every person will be able to fly whenever they want, wherever they want. ArcaBoard represents the first revolutionary breakthrough in motion since the bicycle, automobile and airplane.
ArcaBoard, an electric powered flying machine with 272 horsepower and 203,000 watts of installed power is the most powerful and lightest personal vehicle ever created. ArcaBoard represents total freedom of movement, total freedom of travel. ArcaBoard is a personal vehicle that can move in every possible direction including upwards. The retail price is $19,900 and is available for order now. Shipments will start April 15, 2016.

The Making of ArcaBoard from ARCA on Vimeo.

Teacher Bulletin
Step into Coding - Try something different in 2016 and take an online course presented by the University of Adelaide

The CSER Digital Technologies MOOCs (Massively Open Online Courses) are free online courses, designed to support Australian teachers with implementing the Australian Curriculum: Digital Technologies.

F-6 Fundamentals: This course is designed to introduce the fundamental concepts of the Australian curriculum – starting with Algorithms and Data Representation and moving toward an introduction to Visual Programming. No prior knowledge necessary. Perfect for all teachers of all year levels – to understand where students are starting from. We introduce activities and examples that relate to familiar classroom activities. (Available)

click picture for details

Edsurge Columnist, Patricia Brown gives us a look into AR

Join a Worldwide Movement
Trending in International Education - a STEM initiative from DiscoverE
Don't forget to look at DiscoverE's STEM resources

Global Day of the Engineer - 2016
Take the pledge to celebrate and share how engineers make a world of difference!
Global Day of the Engineer brings together the international community to: * Celebrate the accomplishments of engineers
* Give students around the world a chance to experience engineering
* Share the amazing innovations engineers create every day
LEARN MORE TAKE THE PLEDGE

New Sustainability Website
World's Largest Lesson
Register your interest on this impressive website and try a lesson.TELL EVERYONE.
On September 25th 2015, 193 world leaders committed to the Global Goals for Sustainable Development. 17 goals to achieve 3 extraordinary things in the next 15 years. End extreme poverty. Fight inequality and injustice. Fix climate change. If every school in the world teaches children about these goals, we will help them become the generation that changed the world.

YouTube Channel of the Week
The amazing girls in science keep coming. We've met Jessi on SciShow Kids, Sabrina from Crash Course Kids and now meet Dianna the Physics Girl

click on picture to go to Physics Girl

PRIMARY SCHOOL
STEM EDUCATION BOOST
STEM Education in Primary Schools in Australia received a boost today with the commitment from Jaguar Cars as the major sponsor of the Jaguar Primary School Challenge™. This is part of Jaguar Land Rover's world-wide commitment to developing future skills in young people.
The Jaguar Primary School Challenge™ is based on the same underlying concepts and pedagogy which have made the F1 in Schools™ program so successful in High Schools. Jaguar Cars have been a supporter of F1 in Schools™ since its launch in 2000.
The Jaguar Primary School Challenge™ is open to students aged 5-11 years old (years K-6) and involves designing and manufacturing the fastest car possible from cardboard, emulating the design and engineering processes employed by real engineering companies, such as Jaguar Cars.

For more information about the Jaguar Primary Schools Challenge CLICK HERE

STEM Game of the Week
Warning! Space boulders! Which Way can you Direct a Robot?
In this primary maths game you direct a robot on the best direction to travel as it collects soil and rock samples on the moon.
Select arrows to plan the most direct route to save fuel. Enter the best direction of travel for each step, and try not to make the robot hit anything on the way.
Use a grid to help you, and keep checking the fuel tank. Years: 4, 5 "Direct a Robot provided by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation."

Visit SPLASH resources

Resource of the Week - New Creative Education
Chromville.com
Chromville introduces schools to a new world of creative education. This is the answer for teachers and parents interested in turning creativity through technology into an engaging educational source for their junior children. Try it!

Resources include:
·Chromville Science App, Learning about Water and Chromville Visual Arts
Augmented Reality app based on Science coloring pages related with living beings, laboratory, the Earth and human body.
The site even has its own 3D printing models to match its Chromville characters.

[NEW] The new creative education: Chromville World from Chromville on Vimeo.

SciShow Kids
SciShow Kids, hosted by Jessi Knudsen Castañeda, premiered on YouTube in March this year. Jessie is a brilliant science communicator, so take a look at her team's amazing collection of science videos designed to explain how the world works.

Crash Course Kids
This bi-weekly show from the producers of Crash Course is all about primary school science. They look at Earth, Habitats, Space, Chemical Reactions, Engineering, and much much more with host Sabrina Cruz. Watch for new weekly uploads.

Website of the Week
zSpace are transforming and accelerating STEM education in the US using a very powerful Virtual reality tool. Take a look at their site!

Saurabh Sharma presents the riunner up award to Lab teacher, Ric Johnson

Rostrata Primary School STEM Lab Award

Rostrata's amazing STEM Lab is a runner up in the 2015 US based DiscoverE Educator Awards
Woodside engineer Saurabh Sharma's nomination of the Rostrata's STEM Education Program has netted the school international recognition. Saurabh said, 'It’s imperative to raise the profile of STEM education in primary schools. Rostrata does this with an open door policy to its amazing laboratory as a Teacher Development School (TDS); this inspirational experience empowers many teachers who visit. The progressive development of STEM education skills throughout formative years will be remembered by Rostrata's students for a lifetime and provides a foundation for specific learning pathways into high school, University courses and new careers".
http://www.discovere.org/
http://www.discovere.org/our-programs/awards-and-recognition
http://www.discovere.org/our-activities

Pictures of the Week
Emily our junior Biologist and 3D printed Curiosity and New Horizons,

Science Week - Build Kaleidoscopes!

Make a low-tech kaleidoscope from foil board for less than forty cents and create a never-ending array of beautiful art using three mirrors to create a series of complex triangular reflections. (ACSSU080)

click picture to access the build plans

Science Week - Make a Holo-Projector

click on picture

NASA launches - Experience Curiosity; and learn about Mars
NASA's Rover, "Curiosity" has been on Mars for three years, and to mark the occasion, NASA has released a second new web based tool.
Experience Curiosity allows users to go on a 3D drive with Curiosity over the Martian landscape.It provides zoomable and rotatable views and uses a virtual landscape based on images from Curiosity and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The app allows you to manipulate a virtual Curiosity rover, learn about its components, steer it between a selection of mission waypoints, and select views from Curiosity's cameras.

NASA Launches Mars Trek July 9th — Explore & 3D Print Any Part of the Red Planet You’d Like
Mars Trek allows anyone, anywhere, whether on a smartphone, tablet or PC, to view high-resolution 3D images and explore the red planet in its entirety. The ‘Box” tool, allows the user to highlight any area at all on the map and generate an STL file of that area. Basically we can now 3D print the topography of Mars.......Olympus Mons here we come!

click picture to go to Mars Trek

New Maths and Money page on Johnno's Science
Good consumer and financial habits are some of the most valuable skills needed in our Global environment.
MoneySmart Teaching helps primary students to achieve financial literacy. Go to Maths and Money to see ASICS's Teaching Resources for Primary Schools in my Science Inquiry Skills drop-down menu or click on the picture.

Tip for Teachers
Our brilliant ICT Specialist Terry Keesing has created links for Typing games to improve students keyboarding skills.

Keyboarding Practice Games
BBC Dancemat
Computer Skills - Elearning
Fun to Type
Sens-Lang
Typing Master
Free Typing Games
Typing Chef
Typing Club
Keyboarding Games
Free Online Typing Test

This will be essential because by 2019 NAPLAN testing will be done online. Students will complete all tests including writing online. Students could be encouraged to practise typing skills every day for 10 min in the early years.

Year one e-lesson this week - Day Sky Night Sky (ACSSU019)

Day Sky Night Sky (interactive learning)

revision activity (interactive learning)

Year two e-lesson this week - Where Does Water Come From? (ACSSU032)
Part 1 2 3 4

click picture to download

Water use in the country and city

50 sec video (revision)

Year three e-lesson this week - Earth Sun and Moon

Learn about the shapes you may see on the Sun

Learn about the features of the sun then go outside and use the solar telescope to find some of them.

Use your 3D glasses to bring the images on this page to life

Teacher bulletin

Interactive game of the week
Feed the Dingo - an Australian theme from pbskids.org
Now that your kids are experts on life in the desert, they can try keeping a whole desert ecosystem alive! This game allows players to see how the different species of plants and animals in a desert depend on one another, and to experiment with how changing the amount of one resource affects the whole ecosystem. Their goal is to put together a balanced ecosystem, in which each animal has enough food to survive over a period of 12 days. The longer their ecosystem lasts, the more points they will earn for their sticker collections. Check out more resources from pbskids at http://pbskids.org/plumlanding/educators/allresources.html

Teacher Video of the Week
Ian Jukes is the author of the best-selling books "Understanding the Digital Generation" and "Teaching the Digital Natives".
Listen to this fascinating speaker talking about Teaching the Digital Generation: Powerful Teaching Strategies for 21st Century Learners. We hope this helps teachers and parents understand better the children of today, and know how to more effectively teach them inside the classroom.

Puzzle Challenge of the Week
"Entanglement" is a puzzle game published by Gopherwood Studios. To play, you place hexagonal tiles onto a board. Each tile has six pathways on it, one of which you must choose. By connecting the pathways on these tiles you build a twisty, visually unique line, earning points along the way. See the Youtube Walkthrough to learn the basic moves.

Click to set custom HTML

Amazing physics, teachers can try
Published on Jan 20, 2015
Quick and easy way to build your own particle detector.There’s an easy way to build a particle detector for around $40. Yes, you can make your own particle detector to see invisible cosmic rays from space. Full instructions at http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/artic...

From the Western Australian Water Corporation
Three sustainability interactives. Can you score more than 90% on the Waterwise House?
The Water Corporation have four more titles coming soon and we"re excited about these resources!

Learn about temperature year 3 - 5

Shadows Year 5 Try BBC Bitesize Science

Microsoft HoloLense
This is Jaw-dropping technology that's not far away. Let's hope the developers hit up education.

Published on Jan 21, 2015
For the first time ever, Microsoft HoloLens seamlessly blends high-definition holograms with your real world. Holograms will improve the way you do things every day, and enable you to do things you've never done before. Source Microsoft, viewing this website is a must.
HoloLense will run on Windows 10 to be launched later this year, the new platform for phones, tablets and PCs will be available for free for its first year for those upgrading from Windows 8.1 and for those still using Windows 7 a year later.

Rostrata students create world's first Harmonograph built using 3D printed components in the RPS Lab
A three-pendulum harmonograph designed and constructed by three talented RPS students with inspiration and help from visual artist Anita Chowdry.See the article at 3D Print .com, the world's largest 3D printing media site http://3dprint.com/33329/3d-printed-harmonograph/

Photo of the Week
Our first experience with Oculus Rift
This week some of our students were treated to an experience with Oculus Rift, the amazing augmented reality glasses. One of our great friends and amazing special needs teacher Mathieu Marunczyn, IT coordinator from Jackson School in Victoria visited the RPS STEM Lab and introduced us to Oculus. We were literally taken out of this world and into 3D space using a demo called Titans of Space. With upsides and downsides to all technologies, this one has the potential to revolutionize how we teach and learn once the amazing developers get going. See Mat's article on the future of augmented reality in education.

Website of the Week
3M Science of Everyday Life
Aligned to the US national standards, these exciting inquiry-based lessons address key areas of life science, physical science, earth science, and technology/innovation using common materials you can find in your classroom. Help students make real world connections to science and ignite the spark that may eventually lead students to a scientific career!
http://www.scienceofeverydaylife.com/innovation/

Click picture to go to 3M

Beagle Journey

Virtual book - Herbarium sheets from history

Website of the Week - PowToon
Create animated videos and presentations It's free and it's awesome.
Click on the picture below to go to PowToon and see the video examples of how you and your students can use the amazing program. http://www.powtoon.com/

If you know about the formative assessment tool called Improve, watch this video made by using PowToon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Tihrg7nBos

Latest Technology
JIBO: The World's First Family Robot........ and the new lab assistant coming to Rostrata next year.
Published on Jul 16, 2014
See what JIBO can do and how he can fit in and is helpful in all sorts of families and in many different situations. See how JIBO relates to you and becomes part of the family or school - $549 US includes freight.
To order your own JIBO robot click here

Interactive of the Week
How is electricity made?
If you can spin something, you can make electricity. The Children's University of Manchester have made a brilliant interactive describing how electricity is made.

click picture to start

World Cup Soccer Science Activity
If you've always wanted to bend it like Beckham Wendy Sadler describes the effect of lift using a set of polystyrene cups and an elastic band. Demonstrating the Magnus effect as seen on spinning balls in sport. You'll need two polystyrene or plastic cups, some sticky tape to join them and some long thin elastic bands to supply the energy.

Learn About Light

BBC Science - Learn about reflection and how we see things

PP - yr 1 Sound

Find out more about sound.

Can we measure sound?

Year 3 - More about heat

How does matter change?

Learn about - Keeping Warm

NASA's fun physics - learn about temperature

Numeracy and Literacy website of the month
Skoolbo
From the designer of Mathletics
Designed to help 4 – 10 year olds strengthen their Core Skills in literacy and numeracy.The multi-player games incorporate beautifully designed 3D worlds, individualized avatars and a highly effective rewards system. Teachers and parents receive comprehensive reports detailing not only strengths and weaknesses, but also suggested individually customized activities for student improvement. FREE
Skoolbo Blog
Download Skoolbo Letter to Parents

Click on picture to go to Skoolbo

Activity of the Week- Make a hexaflexagon snowflake
Christmas Science and Maths suitable for year 4 - 7 see the lesson plan page at http://www.johnnosscience.com/christmas-science---year-5-chemical-science--make-a-snowflake.html where you can download the templates or make your own.

News of the Week
Western Australian Schools are Punching Above Their Weight – Teaching Primary Science
New data released Friday 29th Nov reveals WA's primary students are the only ones in the nation to show a consistent improvement in science performance since 2006 .... read more at http://det.wa.edu.au/edenews/detcms/portal/

Year Two Revision

(ACSSU030) Year 2 Biology - Match the Adult with the Baby - interactives

Photos of the Week
Scientific Minds Meet
Nobel Laureate, Professor Robin Warren visited the Lab last week. He came to meet the children who wrote the book, "There Once was a Man Who Swallowed a Germ". What an experience it was for thirty children to spend an interactive afternoon with the Nobel prize winner. We met, had all our questions answered, were allowed to hold the Nobel Medal and of course our children asked politely for autographs.
Thank you Professor Warren and Susie Maluish (Personal Assistant, The Office of the Nobel Laureates). It was an experience we'll never forget.
Download the book, 'There Once Was a Man Wo Swallowed a Germ' from our Science as a Human Endeavour page.

For Teachers - Website of the Week
We know that K-12 education can be better, but many people don't know what better looks like. Principals and teachers, take a look at a site that doesn't just talk about changing the way we teach, it describes how you can do it.

Click on Edutopia to visit

Junior Biological Science Yr 5 Chemistry

Interactive of the Week
You get to run the Apollo 11 Mission in an interactive experience recreating the historic mission to the Moon in real time. View Full screen

Visit the Animoto Video Display page and see some of our science projects - click on picture

Website of the Week
Slater Harrison also Known as the Science Toy Maker and arguably the greatest design and technology teacher in the world, has recognised Johnno on his website. To see the official pictures from the Prime Minister's Prize for excellence in Science click here

Create your own e-book
E-books or flip books have potential to engage students and raise literacy standards. They are an ideal tool for teachers and students to collaborate and share their work. We have used an award winning program called Flipsnack.
http://www.flipsnack.com/ Flipsnack have recently released a special education package.

Click on the picture to go to Flipsnack and make a free book

Interactive of the Week
The Gould League have created an investigation for Arctic, Australian, African and Marine food webs

Classification Year 7 (ACSSU111)
The identification of biological organisms can be greatly simplified using tools such as dichotomous keys. From EEK!-Environmental Education for Kids, WI Dept. of Natural Resources (.http://dnr.wi.gov/eek/) try this Aquatic Critter Key Game. You'll need to print the Aquatic Critter Picture (word document). Thanks to UW-Extension for the aquatic critter information and sketches.

Click the screen to start the game

Mission Material
From Active Science. What do you know about the properties of materials? Which ones burn and which ones sink. Which are flammable and soft? Can you make quick decisions? If so, test your knowledge by accepting the Materials Mission.

click picture to go to Mission Material

How can you change a liquid into a solid or a solid into a liquid? (ACSSU018)

Grouping and Changing Materials

Sorting and Using Materials

Have a look at our local hero, Rosco McGlashan's new website. He is aiming to reach 1000 mph with Aussie Invader 5R team and their Land Speed Record Racing Quest.
Read the latest December 2013 newsletter. See the latest pictures of the car and the latest in a series of videos.

NEW WEB SITE FOR TEACHERS
Improve is a formative assessment tool that supports teaching and learning.
Teachers and students in Australian schools, and education authorities, can access the tests, quizzes and questions, and the supporting student learning resources.
Improve at http://improve.edu.au/
Access Improve by visiting the DoE Portal > Resources > type R12306 into search box and click search. Once you're registered, look in the support menu and view the video guides for teachers.

click to go to improve

Earth and Space

Foundation Year / Year one
Dress the Bear to suit the weather conditions
DoE resource Day and Night Sky
http://ecm.det.wa.edu.au/connect/resolver/view/L20/latest/index.html

Year 1
We often see pictures in the clouds. Now it's time for you to make your own cloud shapes and send them into the sky. Can you make a "c " shaped cloud or the smallest/ largest cloud?

Year Two - Trash cans around our community are being filled with all sorts of rubbish! We need your help to separate the recyclable items from the waste and to teach everyone else the proper way of recycling.

Year Two
Learn about Earth's resources and how to conserve them.

Tips for saving water for all grades Year 2 and beyond

Year Three
Learn how the Earth and Moon move around the Sun

Year Three
It's Clyde's birthday tomorrow, but the planets' orbits are in a mess. Hurry - help the Sarah Jane Adventures team put them back in order!

Year Four
Play BBC's Walking with Beasts - Kids Corner, making fossils game to find out more about fossils.

Year Five
Try the Kids E-Learning Course and find out about the Solar System in a fun way.

Planet Science has some interesting facts you may not know about the moon.

Come aboard the International Space Station with NASA's Virtual Tour
Learn how it works, how the crew lives and take a tour inside and outside the station. Look for the Music Video, it's fantastic.

click picture to start

Lunar Cycle Challenge
The goal of the Lunar Cycle Challenge is to drag moons to their places in lunar cycles. There are three levels of difficulty. Year 5