Tag: summer

From the Field

“From the Field”

Summer Science

Hemlock Hayden, High Touch High Tech of WNC

As a new Scientist to High Touch High Tech, having the opportunity of engaging and inspiring young minds to think about and get excited about science has been a very new, yet extremely rewarding experience. Not just doing fun experiments themselves but seeing the faces of the students light up just when seeing us enter the building gets me excited to teach even more!

In one particular case this summer, I had the opportunity to go to Emmanuel Lutheran’s Summer Rocks! Camp every day for a full week. Starting off, the kids seemed disheartened that they were going to have to learn more outside of school and during a summer camp, but once we started off with explaining all the cool things scientists do and performing a WOW! experiment, they instantly became engaged and wanted to learn more. After that first visit, the students lit up with excitement, yelling “Yay! Science time!” when I would walk through the door.

 From doing actual chemical reactions to make chalk and slime in programs like “Mystery Science”, to physics and engineering programs dealing with robots and rocket flight in programs like “Flight Command”, each experiment engaged the students more and more and pushed them to think harder about how each experiment worked on a scientific level. After each day, a new student would walk up to me, explaining how the experiments of that day were so fun and interesting to them, and that it made them want to pursue that respective branch of science when they were older.

Moments like these are truly the moments that make me love working as a Scientist for High Touch High Tech. Inspiring the next generation to even be just A LITTLE more interested in general science than they would have been, to me, is extremely important in an ever-changing world. Science doesn’t have to be hard, or scary. As long as you have an interest in it, then science is FUN!

High Touch High Tech is…..Science Made FUN!

800.444.4968

Click Here to Contact Us.

Summer Solstice 2016 and the Strawberry Moon!

Image Source: Pixabay.com

 

The summer solstice is the longest day of the year, a day falling around late June when there are approximately 17 hours of day light. But 2016 is a special year, because the solstice coincides with the Strawberry Moon, a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.

What is the Strawberry Moon?

The Strawberry Moon is a full moon. Despite the name, the moon will not appear pink or red. The label was coined by the Algonquin tribes of North America who believed June’s full moon signaled the beginning of the strawberry picking season. The two events coincide once every 70 years.

The last strawberry moon occurred on the summer solstice on June 22, 1967. If you miss tonight’s moon you’ll have to wait another 46 years before you can see the full moon on the summer solstice with the rare event not happening again until June 21, 2062.

The Summer Solstice 2016

Today, Monday June 20th, the sun will rise at 4:45am and sunset will happen at 10:34pm. Marking it as the longest day of the year. After tonight the days begin to shorten in the northern hemisphere.

Make sure to check out the live stream of tonight’s Strawberry Moon with Slooh here: http://main.slooh.com/event/june-solstice-full-moon/

Think About It Thursday: How Do Firefly’s Light Up?

Image Source: Pixabay.com

The firefly also commonly known as “Lightning Bugs” produce a light within their bodies! How do they do this, you ask? Well it is through a process called bioluminescence . Bioluminescence occurs widely in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some fungi, microorganisms including some bioluminescent bacteria. Each blip of light is produced by a chemical reaction between a special protein found in the fireflies abdomen called luciferase, a pigment called luciferin, and oxygen. Once the chemical reaction begins, the result is a bright little light.

So why do fireflies light up their little abdomens? Male fireflies cruising for mates flash a species-specific pattern to announce their availability to receptive females. An interested female will reply, helping the male locate her where she’s perched, often on low vegetation.

Sources:

[1] http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/how-do-fireflies-glow/

[2] http://animals.howstuffworks.com/insects/question554.htm

[3] http://insects.about.com/od/beetles/a/10-Cool-Facts-About-Fireflies.htm

Think About It Thursday: How Much Water Is In A Watermelon?

Image Source: Pixabay.com

Tomorrow is the first day of May 2015! I cant believe how fast this year is going! So with summer just around the corner…let’s dedicate this Thursday’s post to a very popular summer food…the watermelon! The watermelon is no doubt named after one of it’s main ingredients. But do you know how much water is actually in a watermelon?!

Each bite of watermelon contains about 92 percent water and 6 percent sugar. Despite being mostly water with a bit of sugar, watermelon is considered a very healthy snack. Its high water content helps keep you hydrated. Watermelon is also a good source of vitamin C, beta carotene and lycopene. Although many people don’t like their flavor, watermelon rinds are often cooked as a vegetable in China, which produces more watermelons than any other country in the world. The Chinese stir-fry, stew and even pickle watermelon rinds.

 

Source:

http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/how-much-water-is-in-a-watermelon/#sthash.rNnvEIQv.dpuf

Summer Camp Sign-Ups!

Summer is just around the corner and it will be here before you know it! It’s that time to start signing up your children for summer camps! Try a High Touch High Tech summer camp this year!  Our Sizzlin’ Science Summer Camp field trips bring a FUN, hands-on & educational experience direct to your campers!

Children in grades pre-k through sixth grade will be engaged in 30-minutes of non-stop, hands-on scientific exploration! We use materials that are concrete, safe and relevant to the everyday lives for children of all ages. Upon completion of the field trip, students will receive a cool science certificate and ALL programs include “make-and-take” experiments!

For more information about our Sizzlin’ Science Summer Camp opportunities please visit us online at http://sciencemadefunwnc.net/camp.cfm