The Periodic Table of Haiku

I found something so strange and wonderful online today that I had to share it with you. The University of Minnesota at Rochester has put together a Periodic Table of Haiku. Most elements have a poem written about them and their properties. According to the website, this project was a 2009 venture of UMR's Center for Learning Innovation and seeks to "integrate chemistry and creative writing." The poems were written by students and faculty, and some of the haiku are quite good. Most poems reflect on the physical properties of the elements and describe how they react chemically.

I'm always interested in the many ways that people manage to combine science and the arts, and this project is a great example. Unfortunately, not all of the elements have been selected for poetry. So, I thought I'd take a stab at silicon & aluminum, two of the neglected elements. The project requires the haiku to have a 5-7-5 syllabic structure - so I did too - but modern haiku doesn't have to follow that format.

Silicon (Si)
master conductor:
your pure electronic grades
drive the world wide web


Aluminum (Al) in your reflection
I see pots and pans, cars, trucks ...
where are the people?


Photo credit: (top) Jannes Pockele, (bottom) Chris Harrison, via Flickr // CC BY 2.0

Why Toddlers Are Fun

Morning fog.

I tell the toddler
the cloud fell down.

We need, she says,
to tape it up.

Photo credit: comedy_nose, via flickr // CC BY 2.0

Halloween Candy Overload

Two of my three kids went trick-or-treating for Halloween this year (the little one was sick). Now we are facing a mountain of candy, despite my best efforts.

I took the leftover candy that we had been passing out and put it out on the step after our neighborhood had settled down for the night. What do you know? Magically, some little gremlins spirited away our candy!

As for the kids' stash, my husband and I graciously ate every little bar that may have ever come into contact with a peanut. With a child with a severe peanut allergy, it's the least that we could do. (Actual peanut-containing foods are banned from our house. Our neighbor happily traded our kids' peanut-laden treats for fruity candy.)

Yet, despite this, and even after a family-wide pig-out, we still have a mound of candy left. What should we do with the leftovers? If you're facing a similar dilemma, here are some suggestions:

• Donate your candy to the troops.

MoverMoms is organizing a candy collection in the greater Washington D.C. area. You can also mail your candy directly to Treats for Troops, based in Florida. The Treats for Troops website states that they collect left-over individually wrapped Halloween candy to use as filler in care packages for our military men and women overseas. On their website, they write, "Candy tastes better than packing 'peanuts' and is environmentally friendlier." I couldn't agree more!

• Use candy on cookies and gingerbread houses.

The holidays are just around the corner and you know what that means - holiday baking! This year, try baking some Halloween candy cookies. Small candies work great for decorations on a gingerbread house; blocks of chocolate make good beams, logs and posts. You can even use gingerbread houses to teach kids about science!

• Reuse your wrappers.

Terracycle® collects and reuses individual candy wrappers, large candy bags, and multi-pack candy bags from Mars®, Wrigley®, and Cadbury® through their Candy Wrapper Brigade® program. Look for this program at schools and businesses in your area or start a group of your own!

• Conduct Candy Experiments™.

I first encountered this fun group at last year's USA Science & Engineering Festival Expo. Did you know that you can create a density rainbow using Skittles? Float the letter "m" off of your M&Ms? Make Life Savers flash in the dark? Neither did I! (And be sure to mark your calendar - the 2nd USA Science & Engineering Festival is planned for April 28-29, 2012.)

• Spread the joy - share your candy!
  

My friends at Celebrate Green!® have even more ideas for re-purposing your candy, including taking your candy to work, nursing homes, and fire stations.


Do you have a creative use for leftover Halloween candy? Share your idea in the comments!

Photo credit: normanack, via flickr (cropped from the original) // CC BY 2.0

Outdoors & Oceans in October Contest

Dhana, an environmentally-friendly clothing line, is hosting a fall contest for kids ages 5 to 12. To enter, kids create artwork celebrating the theme of "Outdoors and Oceans in October"; parents post a photo of their child's art to Dhana's Facebook page. Contest entries should be created using pastels, oil, water color, crayons or mixed media (which includes just about everything other art supply that you can think of!).

The deadline for entries was just extended to Monday, October 17th, so you know what that means -- your odds are good for winning a prize! You could win a T-shirt from Dhana, a bag of treats & toys from my friends at Green Halloween®, or a mystery prize.

Good luck!

Where we live, October always includes a visit to a local farm.

Freebies for Science Teachers

The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) has put together Freebies for Science Teachers, a list of links to online reference material and other goodies like these:

• Surf your way over to Evolution Rocks, a musical ode to Darwin from the band Overman.

• Explore the Antarctic with Tawani International Antarctic Expeditions.

• Meet The Perfect Corpse, courtesy of NOVA.

According to the NSTA website, the National Science Teachers Association "is the largest organization in the world committed to promoting excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all."

If you are a second or third year secondary science teacher in the United States, now is the time to apply for NSTA's New Science Teacher Academy, a program providing free professional development and mentoring. Two hundred teachers will be accepted as new Fellows for the 2011 Academy. The application deadline is August 1, 2011. Good luck!


Photo credit: Wm Chamberlain, via flickr // CC BY 2.0

Get Ready for National Trails Day®!

June 4 is American Hiking Society's National Trails Day® here in the United States. Search for an event near you and make plans to take a hike or explore a trail! This year's theme is "Made With All Natural Ingredients." This year marks the 19th annual celebration of the event.

Kids 12 and under are invited to participate in a coloring contest sponsored by the American Hiking Society. Winners will receive a prize pack. The deadline for entry is August 1, 2011. Good luck!

Learning from the fire ant

I saw this great article yesterday with wonderful visuals about fire ants working together cooperatively to avoid drowning - they link together and form living rafts that are remarkably hydrophobic. Engineers are looking to the ants for new ideas in waterproof materials. It was too fascinating not to share with you!