Tim's blog

Science Makers revisited

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:45:59 +0000

Some additional photos from the Science Makers event have been added to Flickr. You can check out more of the photos by clicking here. Thanks again to everyone who attended and helped make this event successful!

Science Corner presents: The Great Bean Experiment, round 2!

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:42:24 +0000

After completing Round 1 of the Great Bean Experiment, teens have been asked to design their own experiment. What is the best combination of resources (bags, water, beans, napkins) in order to get your bean to sprout the fastest? Teens worked in groups to design their new experiments. Stop by the Hurston Room and check them out! Don't forget to check out our photos on Flickr!

What food has Diane Miller, Senior Vice President, begging for more? Click below to find out more!

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:58:40 +0000

Science Corner presents: The Great Bean Experiment!

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 20:47:04 +0000

Check out our Flickr.com Photostream for more photos from this and other events!

On Saturday January 23rd, YES teens participating in the Science Corner component were asked to create a simple experiment: starting with a control group of a closed plastic bag filled with 5 beans (of their choosing), a paper towel, and one dropper full of water, design a project to test one of the variables in the experiment.

The following variables were identified by the YES teens: # of beans, type of bean, type of absorbent material (paper towel vs napkin vs cotton ball), status of plastic bag (open vs closed), and amount of water. This week, teens set up their project with the control and experimental groups next to each other.

As part of the explorations, teens also dissected wet and dry lima beans. In case you didn't know, dry lima beans are very difficult to dissect. Soaking the beans overnight not only makes them slightly larger, but softens them enough to cut open carefully with a small plastic knife.

This is my title

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:04:10 +0000

test blog 1

Meet Our New Building Residents!!!

Wed, 27 May 2009 14:44:56 +0000

Say hello to the three newest members of our building: Brandon, Lance, and Cindy! What? You say you've already met them? Let us take a look...

Meet Brandon...

Our new Chameleon guest. He enjoys climbing around his cage, eating wax worms, and licking water droplets off the plants leaves in his tank.

Meet Lance...

Our Albino Corn Snake. He enjoys climbing (our arboreal friend!) as well as coiling up in his tank. He likes to eat small mice and be undisturbed while he is eating. Yum yum yummy!

Meet Cindy...

Our special Box Turtle. Originally thought a female, Cindy decided to mount everything in sight once reaching puberty, so now we think she is a he...not quite sure. Cindy is a rescue from owners who thought keeping a turtle in a dark concrete basement would be fine, leading to her distinctive gait due to her crooked legs and underdeveloped shell because of lack of sunlight. She is full of energy and spunk!

Lance Cutter Is My Hero

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 19:29:02 +0000

When the St. Louis Science Center asked its employees recently to don Monsters! decals on the side of their cars as an aid to promotion of the event, many were reluctant to step up. Few were willing to invite the decorative robotic eyeball and red SLSC logo onto their methods of transport. Staff morale was at an all-time low and times were tough at the Science Center...but that's when everything changed.

People throw the word HERO around loosely these days. You'll often hear it in reference to a sports player, a first responder to an emergency, or a single mother struggling to make it on her own. But when I think of what a HERO is to me, I think of Lance Cutter. As Director of Community Programs, Lance Cutter knew that people need a role model. When Lance saw that people were wary of placing decals on the cars, did he ask why? No. Did he reprimand his staff for non-participation? No. He stepped up to the plate and placed not 1 or 2, but 8 decals on his brand new BMW. Now that's a HERO.

There is no one I strive to be more than Lance Cutter. Lance Cutter is a beacon of hope in a dreary world.

City Science Teens Present On Their Semester Projects

Thu, 01 May 2008 16:29:52 +0000

April 26th was the last weekend of Learning Labs for the spring 2008 semester and City Science teens spent the day finalizing their presentations on semester projects. Teens worked very hard to create poster presentations and interactive activities to demoonstrate what material they have spent the semester learning. Presentations were on topics such as the Caracal Cat, Lipids, Proteins, Sugars, Starches, other Food Nutrients, Food Borne Illnesses, Home Decor and Design, and the Candy Lab.

Click here for more photos from this week's final lab and presentations.

City Science Prepares To Present

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:39:57 +0000

Last week in City Science, teens worked in their groups to prepare presentations regarding their spring semester projects in the YES program. City Science A and B will present to each other during the last period of learning labs on April 26th. Teens will also lead the groups in activities related to their semester projects. Check out photos below of teens preparing to present!

Click READ MORE to uncover information about the MLK Dream Keeper's Fair, which our teens attended after preparing their presentations...and as always, click here to viewmore photos from this week!

College Prep Role-Plays And Relaxes

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 15:32:27 +0000

Juniors and Seniors role-played potential roommate conflicts this weekend during College Prep. The activity was designed to get teens thinking about living on a college campus and the different types of students one may encounter. Teens acted out scenarios with Popular Pat, Homesick Henry, and others!

Freshmen and Sophomores took a break from resume development to relax. Part of being a successful college student is knowing what stresses you out and how to handle that stress. The teens participated in stretching activities, progressive muscle relaxation, and guided meditation. These are just examples of emthods people can use to relax.

If you have any questions about College Prep, please email me at tmulhall@slsc.org and click here to view more photos from this week!

City Science (B) Learns The Science Of Candy

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:02:42 +0000

Teens in the lab developed their own methods of creating candy during Learning Labs this past weekend. Rather than providing teens with directions and procedures, teens were divided into pairs and worked together to create Lollipops and Bubble Gum knowing only the ingredients to be used (and not proportions, amounts, etc). Teens used various creative methods to create their candy concoctions and worked as a group to determine the best way to develop their items. The groups really enjoyed the freedom to create their own flavors in their own manner.

View the rest of the pictures from this lab by clicking here. See you next week!

City Science Creates Glue From Milk

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 17:16:46 +0000

Teens in the wet lab experimented with milk this weekend. Milk contains a protein called "casein" which an ingredient found in common non-food products such as glue, combs, buttons, paints, plastics, and many more. Starting by heating a milk and vinegar solution to separate the casein, teens combined the casein curds with baking soda and water to create various glue solutions. The teens used skim milk and whole milk, but you have to ask them which one worked better and if any work better than regular glue.

Click here for more photos from the Milk Glue activity. As always, if you have any questions about the material, you can email me at tmulhall@slsc.org.

The Herp Society Visits The YES Teens

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 15:41:14 +0000

This past weekend, our YES teens had a visit from the St. Louis Herpetological Society, an organization that educates the community on caring for reptilies and amphbians and other exotic pets. This organization also adopts animals that can no longer be cared for by their owners and seeks to find them homes.

Karen from the Herp Society brought with her two turtles, a Urimastyx, Blue Tongued Skink, Bull Python, Hog-nosed snake, leucistic tree snake, a baby Crocodile, and an 8-ft Albino Python! The new teens showed some courage and passed the Albino Python through the rows!

You can view more photos of the visit from the St. Louis Herpetological Society by clicking here.

Lipid Extraction In The City Science Lab

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 17:06:52 +0000

On March 8th, our teens conducted an additional Lipid (fat) Extraction experiment in the lab. In this experiment, the teens extracted and examined the fat in chocolate, potato chips, and sunflower seeds. In chocolate, sugar and cocoa are dispersed in a crystallized fat matrix. To keep the fat from separating out of the chocolate, an emulsifier called lecithin is used. The fat in the potato chip is mostly on the surface of the chip from the frying process. The fat in the sunflower seed is in the seed itself. The cooking oils that we use come primarily from nuts and seeds, found in corn, soybean, and peanut oil. The teens used concentrated Acetone (found in Nail polish) to extract and view fats that are ordinarily invisible to the naked eye.

Click READ MORE below to read about our safety lesson from this weeks' lab and why the teens know to wear protective clothing when dealing with harsh chemicals...To view more photos from this week, click here. As always, if you want to know more about this week's lab, just drop me an email at tmulhall@slsc.org.

Sugars, proteins, and lipids....OH MY!

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 15:13:59 +0000

On March 1st, City Science teens completed an experiment in the lab on nutrient identification in foods. Nutrients such as sugars, proteins, and lipids can be detected by the use of an indicator. In this lab, the teens used various chemical indicators and compared the results to "control" samples to determine whether a nutrient was found in that sample. Teens tested chocolate chips, peanuts, and cereal.

Check out more photos from this lab by clicking here.