A way to promote student interest and engagement in physics is by capitalizing on students' skills in arts and crafts to design and make physics-based toys. This article illustrates how two students (averaging 14 years of age) in the authors' science class designed and fabricated a variation of a physics-based teaching aid that demonstrates the…

A new trend in the field of teaching nowadays is context-based learning which is embedded with real life of learners; our education system is not an exception. This method will stimulate learners' inspiration towards school subjects, especially natural sciences domains because today's students tend to less interested into these fields. In this…

We have conducted an education project to communicate the wave energy concept to high school students. A virtual reality system that combines both hardware and software is developed in this project to simulate the buoy-wave interaction. This first-of-its-kind wave energy unit is portable and physics-based, allowing students to conduct a number of…

Students love pop culture, which is often full of science and scientific concepts that may or may not be correctly presented. When teachers tie a science project to a movie, TV series, or song, they help guide students toward correct interpretations. And, more important, teachers stimulate their creativity by tapping into their culture. This…

The author was looking for a demonstration that actually used wind shear forces to set up the tornado effect when he saw a video produced by The Tornado Project called "Secrets of the Tornado". This video not only shows dozens of actual tornadoes, but also gives construction techniques for several different styles of tornado boxes that are…

Describes a student project for building a laboratory balance. (PR)

Provides instructions for building a radio telescope for less than $120. (PR)

Science fairs can be used to advance a student's scientific knowledge, sharpen laboratory techniques, practice statistical analysis, and gain a better understanding of the process of science. This article describes an outline for developing a science fair that covers the objectives above and develops library and writing skills as well. (PR)

Describes problems with school science fairs including poor judging and a lack of understanding by the students of their own projects. Suggests improvements to the system. One suggestion is for science fair projects to be displayed only in classrooms and not district or regional fairs. (PR)

Describes a course where students design and construct a sundial, once they understand the apparent movement of the sun. Explains general issues of daily astronomy and describes the design and construction of three sundials. (PR)

Contains articles on digestive enzymes in grasshoppers; bird and badger observation; reactions between hydrochloric acid and sodium carbonate solutions; observing the migration of ions; pupil's heating skills (Bunsen burners); photolysis experimentation; capillary kinetics; experience with trireme; connection circuits; special relativity; a…

Describes a class project of producing a geologic report of a park for a community. (PR)

For several decades, science teachers have used bottles for classroom projects designed to teach students about biology. Bottle projects do not have to just focus on biology, however. These projects can also be used to engage students in Earth science topics. This article describes the Earth System Science Project, which was adapted and developed…

Presents information in brief on changing priorities in science education. Cites three categories of aims for science, traits of underachievers, and the processes of science. Includes reflections on the Salter's GCSE Scheme of Assessment, the integration of science and drama, and a historical perspective of practical work in school science. (RT)

Examines the effect of solar radiation on colored shingles. Describes the experimental procedure, results, and discussion. Presents a picture of the experimental arrangement and three graphs of data measured at different dates. (YP)