Discovery Center staff gave back to the community by volunteering on Monday before Christmas at the Salvation Army. You can see the generosity of the community and we utilized our time by sorting toys and clothes for those in need. Volunteering is worth the time and effort no matter where you are.
t. 20, 2009
Discovery Science Club dates for 2009-2010:
Nov. 14, 2009 (10 a.m.-12 p.m.) Topic-Science of Cooking
Jan. 23, 2010 (10 a.m.-12 p.m.) Topic-Amazing Animals
Feb. 13, 2010 (10 a.m.-12 p.m.) Topic-Science Magic
March 20, 2010 (10 a.m.-12 p.m.) Topic-Builder’s Workshop
Science Cafe for Adults ~ Stimulating conversation. Informal Setting.
Trolley's Bar & Grill 107 Park Central Square Level 2
1 Part Science
1 Part Intriguing Discussion
1 Part Good Food & Drink
What do you get when you mix an evening of intriguing conversation, good food and drink, and ....science? A Science Café, of course! The Science Cafe concept -- an informal discussion surrounding cutting edge science and research -- is coming to Springfield!
In keeping with its mission to inspire lifelong learning, Discovery Center is excited to partner with the new Jordan Valley Innovation Center to host Springfield's first Science Café, From Benchtop to Bedside. This discussion will be led by researchers from St. John's Medical Research Institute.
This adult only event is free to attend and has limited seating; food and beverage are available for purchase.
October Discussion: Polymers, Plastics and Polyaniline
Presenter: Eve Fabrizio, Project Coordinator for Crosslink/JVIC, will discuss the innovative applications of a unique, electricity-carrying plastic called polyaniline.
With locations in Springfield, St Louis and the University of Southern Mississippi, Crosslink is an industry leader working with polyaniline (PANI), an electrically conductive plastic. And if that isn’t intriguing enough, PANI can also release a substance that protects our armed forces from biological and chemical warfare agents. Join us for the October Science Café to learn how PANI’s unique qualities are being shaped into equally innovative materials by Crosslink!
Back to School Drive is coming to an end today. Discovery Center has collected school supplies for Salvation Army for the past 9 years and this year was another successful year due to visitors committed to education and children. We were very excited with two business started collecting. Shown here is St Johns Admitting office. Also like to thank Joe Robles with State Farm for encouraging his clients and staff to also participate in donating school items to Salvation Army.
What do abrupt changes in ocean circulation and Earth's climate, shifts in wildlife populations and ecosystems, the global finance market and its system-wide crashes, and asthma attacks and epileptic seizures have in common?
According to a paper published this week in the journal Nature, all share generic early-warning signals that indicate a critical threshold of change dead ahead.
SkySchool-Hands on Astronomy
September 25-27, 2009
Hands-on astronomy! Three days of a variety of learning experiences designed to help both teachers and students explore astronomy topics, content and resources.
Friday 9/25- 9 a.m-4 p.m.-exploration stations throughout the museum, one hour rocket making classes (11 a.m. and 2 p.m.-$6 per person, plus general admission), Star Party 5 p.m.-8 p.m.
Sunday 9/27-1p.m-4p.m.-exploration stations throughout the museum
Sky School for Educators (Advance registration required)
Friday 9/25-4p.m.-6p.m.-Teachers grades K-4-Topic-Travel through the Solar System-Cost $40 per teacher. Fee includes Toolkit with variety of resources to be able to replicate activities in classroom, hands-on practice with various activities, snack and supplies.
Saturday 9/26-10 a.m.-12 p.m.-Teachers of grades 3-6-Topic-Moon- Cost $40 per teacher. Fee includes Toolkit with variety of resources to be able to replicate activities in classroom, hands-on practice with various activities, snack and supplies.
OR
Saturday 9/26-2p.m.-4p.m.-Teachers of grades 5-8-Topic-Mars- Cost $40 per teacher. Fee includes Toolkit with variety of resources to be able to replicate activities in classroom, hands-on practice with various activities, snack and supplies.
Star Party
September 25, 2009 5-8pm
Continue to celebrate International Year of Astronomy 2009 with Discovery Center and Springfield Astronomical Society. Discovery Center wants 150,000 individuals to look at the world through a telescope. Join us for a chance to look through a telescope. Star Party on Patio Free, admission applies for inside the museum.
Discovery Science Club
September 19, 2009
New for 2009-2010! 10 a.m.-12 p.m. This club is designed for children ages 6-12 and one accompanying parent! Registration available Aug. 1st. Cost-$20 per member parent /child duo, $25 per non/member parent/child duo. Additional child-$5 each.
Discovery Science Club dates for 2009-2010:
Sept. 19, 2009 (10 a.m.-12 p.m.) Topic-Flights of Fancy
Oct. 17, 2009 (10 a.m.-12 p.m.) Topic-Chemistry Concoctions
Nov. 14, 2009 (10 a.m.-12 p.m.) Topic-Science of Cooking
Jan. 23, 2010 (10 a.m.-12 p.m.) Topic-Amazing Animals
Feb. 13, 2010 (10 a.m.-12 p.m.) Topic-Science Magic
March 20, 2010 (10 a.m.-12 p.m.) Topic-Builder’s Workshop
Join us for the 6th Annual Discovery Center Moonlight Bike Ride. Enjoy the pre-party in the Discovery Center parking lot from 8-9pm with music and Astronomy activities and Springfield Astronomical Society. Line up at 9:15pm to ride the streets of Springfield. The route is a 7 mile route or go around twice and do 14 miles. After the ride enjoy pancakes from Village Inn. If you pre-register at Discovery Center or through active.com the first 100 registered will get a headlight from Sunshine Bike Shop. If you are one of the 1st 200 registered you can be guaranteed a t-shirt. Registration is $20 for adults (15+) and $15 children (3-14). Day of the ride registration will increase by $5.00.
Hello Again!Finally we have made it to the end of George’s amazing adventure. They rescued Eric from the black hole and got back to school in time to get to the science competition. What did you think about the way Cosmos saved Eric? Would that have worked? In real life George and Annie would have had to wait billions of years for all those particles to come out and the black hole to explode. Scientifically, there was probably no way for Eric to ever be put back together again after going into the black hole, even if all his particles came flying out – that was definitely fiction. But, the idea that what goes into a black hole comes back out is fairly new science and it is exciting to read about new discoveries in our book.
What did you think of George’s science presentation? He says that if we don’t understand science we will not be able to make good decisions in the future. Do you agree? What are some things you’ve learned in science class that you think help you now or in the future? And what do think of George’s description of how the universe was created? Most scientist agree that his description is true and I personally think it is very exciting to imagine that all the things around us were once inside a giant star, burning and churning and waiting to be exploded out across space. It makes me feel like a special part of a huge cosmic plan!
Well, I hope you enjoyed reading George’s Secret Key to the Universe, and be sure to watch for the sequel called George’s Cosmic Treasure Hunt. It is already in libraries and bookstores for you to read!
Have a great school year and learn lots of SCIENCE!
Jill
Hello All!Eric leaves Annie and George an excellent description of black holes, which is no surprise since one of the authors of our book, Dr. Stephen Hawking, is a world famous astrophysicist. He has studied black holes for many years. We are lucky to have him sharing his knowledge with us in such a fun and interesting way. Another super cool thing about Dr. Hawking is that he is sharing his newest discoveries about black holes –Hawking Radiation. Astronomers have just learned about stuff coming back out of a black hole in the last few years. They used to believe that anything that went into a black hole was lost forever!
Black holes are often the results of supernova explosions, but the charts in Chapter 26 also talk about neutron stars. A neutron star is very different from the yellow-dwarf star we call the sun. Look at the picture of the neutron star – you can see the huge cloud of dust and gasses that is surrounding it. That is what’s left of the huge star that exploded in a supernova. And the cloud is blown out in sphere around the new neutron star – sent in every direction by the powerful supernova explosion!
Almost done – Keep reading!
Jill
WOW! Eric is in big trouble – black holes are amazing and very scary… and now Eric has fallen into one! Most people think that a black hole is a hole, but actually it is an object just like a star or a planet. But, a black hole has so much gravity that even light cannot move away fast enough to escape, which makes black holes invisible to our eyes. You see, in space, the more mass something has, the more gravity it creates. So the sun has more gravity than Earth and Earth has more gravity than the moon because the sun is the biggest and the moon is the smallest. Most black holes come from supernova, the explosion of a super massive star. Then all that mass condenses down into a smaller, but extremely massive object with a HUGE amount of gravity – which we all call a black hole. Before the black hole began to suck up Eric and George, they were talking about Eric’s quest to find a new planet like Earth – one where humans could live. Think for a second about what that would have to be like. It would have to have similar gravity, similar temperatures, and similar chemicals in the air and on the surface. Finding another planet so similar to ours is a very big challenge, but lots of people at NASA are working hard to do so.
I can hardly wait to read what happens next!
Jill
Welcome Back Everyone! George gets a chance to hear a lot about Mars in this week’s chapters. Mars is a very important place for us to study because it is the most likely place we would be able to live other than Earth. In fact, NASA already has plans to build a space station on Mars. Then first manned mission to Mars is scheduled for 2035! How old will you be in 2035? Will you be able to go? Would you want to be the first explorer to another planet? The 2035 mission will take two years to complete – six months to fly there, a year on the surface and six months to fly back. Then future missions will help build the space station. What do think would be good about living on Mars and what do you think would be bad?
Along the same lines, George speaks with Eric about the looking for a new planet. Pollution and overcrowding are certainly affecting Earth in a very negative way, but should we just move to a new planet rather than fix this one? Earth is our home and we are adapted to living here. I think Eric and George’s dad would have a very interesting argument on this topic. George’s dad would definitely say we need to clean up the Earth, while Eric might say we should seek out another planet like Earth to move to. What do you think is the best answer?
Until next time!
Jill
Broccoli muffins, bullies and brainstorms—oh my! I’m not sure George chose a good title for the Science Competition—will anyone really believe him? Ringo certainly deserved to get his hand smashed in George’s lunchbox! I think he should have been punished more! During the meeting of the scientists, I thought George was incredibly brave to raise his hand and ask a question—it’s not always an easy thing to do! If you were going to be in charge of helping to design a structure that would support human life on Mars, what would you recommend? What would the buildings look like? What types of special equipment would be needed? Sketch out and label your ideas and bring them along on your next visit to DCS! And now, Eric is off on another adventure..based on an anonymous letter. I’ve got a bad feeling about this……
Laurie Duncan
Education Director
Salvation Army School Supply Drive
July 1, 2009- September 30, 2009
Discovery Center is partnering with the Salvation Army for the 9th year to collect donations from the community to provide local children with the school supplies needed for the upcoming school year. The drive begins July 1, 2009 and ends September 30, 2009. A barrel has been placed inside the Discovery Center lobby for supplies to be dropped off during regular hours of operation.
Discovery members will receive a free guest pass for items brought in, and non-members will receive a buy-one-get-one-free admission pass for items donated. Donated supplies must be new and in original packaging. Possible donations include:
· Back Packs
· Glue, liquid white, 8oz.
· Scissors
· Rulers
· Bags of blue, black, or red ink pens
· A box of No. 2 pencils
· Rubber eraser toppers
· Paper
· Crayons or colored pencils
· Calculators
· Tennis Shoes
· 2 or more Folders with 3 brads and 2 pockets
· Large boxes of tissue
· Protractors
The Discovery Center and Salvation Army want to help provide equal opportunities for learning. All donations will be placed directly into southwest Missouri elementary and middle schools. The drive will last through Sept. 30, 2009. For more information contact Charlotte McCoy at 471-862-9910 Ext. 713
Chapter 16 starts out talking about the eco-warrior protest. Everyone is yelling “Save our planet!” After reading this part, do you think Eric would want to be an eco-warrior? Do you want to be one? What are some things you could do to help save our planet? At my house, we recycle lots of the things we used to throw in the trash, and we just bought an electric lawn mower so we wouldn’t use as much gas. I don’t know if I would ever go to a protest like George’s Dad, but I want to do everything I can to help our planet be healthy and clean!
Dr. Greeper is super creepy in our reading this week, but he talks about one of my very favorite subjects – exoplanets. Look back at the chapter in chapter 18. Dr. Greeper explains that there are planets around other stars in the galaxy. In fact, astronomers have found more than 200 of them! Most of them are like Jupiter or Saturn. No one has found one like Earth yet, but NASA has a special telescope in space right now looking for a planet like ours. The Kepler mission was launched just a few months ago, and astronomers believe it will find planets similar to Earth. What do you think about that? Would you want to travel to another planet? And see if there were other people or creatures there?
Keep Reading!
Jill
George’s dad would probably have enjoyed this music video called “Take Aim at Climate Change.” http://passporttoknowledge.com/polar-palooza/whatyoucando/taacc/
Does your family do anything to recycle waste, or protect our natural resources? What strange things are happening in Dr. Reeper’s home? I certainly don’t like the sound of things there—and I can’t begin to imagine what it smelled like! No wonder he was wearing a gas mask when he opened the door!
Laurie Duncan
Education Director
Now, back to history…The Tang Dynasty was famous for keeping beautifully colored goldfish in big ponds, and according to legend the Emperor of China banned anyone but the royal family from keeping these newly bred carp called goldfish. Additional varieties of goldfish began to appear in China and in 1502 A.D. goldfish were introduced to the Japanese. The fish became very popular and new versions of goldfish were created including the ryukin.
In 1611 A.D. goldfish reached Europe where additional diverse types of goldfish were bred including the celestial which has no dorsal fin and eyes facing upward.
Therefore we can conclude that all goldfish, no matter what shape or size, are related and are of the same species descended from the Crucian Carp. Just like a bulldog and a poodle are dogs and can mate, so different varieties of goldfish are carp and can also mate. Additionally, Koi are also related to carp but since they are a different genus of fish Koi are not goldfish. Koi and goldfish can be compared to horses and donkeys, in that they can breed but their offspring are sterile and have a very boring appearance.
My favorite part this week was when Annie told George about the Great Red Spot! This is an amazing feature on the planet Jupiter. We all live in Missouri where we have lots of tornados, but the Great red spot is a tornado the size of TWO EARTHS and it NEVER goes away!! Can you believe that? That storm has been on Jupiter for hundreds, and maybe millions of years. What would it be like if we had storms like that on Earth? Can you imagine a storm that would cover the whole planet?! Another part that I thought was interesting was when George talked about the protest marches his Dad made him go to. He called his Dad an eco-warrior because his Dad was trying to save the planet by stopping global warming. George thinks his Dad is weird for being an eco-warrior, but do you think Eric would think George’s Dad was weird? Would Eric want to save the Earth? Sometimes people think other people are weird, even though those people are doing the same thing they want to do, just in a different way. Do you think George’s Dad thinks Eric is weird?
Have a great week!
Jill
I really thought George and Annie were going to end up abandoned in outer space—good thing Eric came home just in time! Do you think the punishment given to Annie and George was fair? Now George is thinking of entering the science fair, and doing a presentation on the solar system—what are some unique things he might want to consider including in his project? And what about Eric’s plan to locate a new planet in case the Earth gets too hot? If you could design the perfect “replacement Earth” planet, what would you put on your planet?
Laurie Duncan
Education Director
George had an amazing adventure this week riding a comet through the solar system! I wish I could do that, although I think it w
ould be very scary too! Would you have jumped out into space with Annie? Comets are mysterious objects that come zooming in past the sun and then zoom back out to travel to the far reaches of our solar system. They are big balls of dirt and snow that melt as they get close to the sun. One comet even crashed into the planet Jupiter in 1994! There are many comets in our solar system – some of them come around quickly and others take hundreds of years. Have you ever heard of Haley’s Comet? It can be seen from Earth every 76 years – the next time will be in 2062. How old will you be that year? If you want to learn more about comets, look at the chart in chapter 11.
One planet that George saw on his amazing ride was the planet Saturn. Most people recognize Saturn because it has rings – thousands of rings. This makes Saturn look very different from the other planets in our solar system. Lots of movies and cartoons show people walking or driving on Saturn’s rings, but that would never work. The rings are made out of dust and gas and ice crystal – they are not solid!
Hope you enjoy the book!
Jill
This week’s chapters introduced the extreme temperatures out in space. The chart in Chapter 8 tells us that the moon gets much hotter and much colder than it ever gets here on Earth. Do you have a guess why that is? I knew that temperatures were extremely dangerous out in space, because our atmosphere here on Earth helps keep us about the same temperature all the time, but I didn’t know that it -454 degrees out in space! Do you think the astronauts are hot or cold when they go on their space walks? One other cool fact I know about temperature is that if you were to walk around on Mars, your feet would be hot, but your head would be freezing! I challenge you to find out which planet is the hottest and which one is the coldest! In chapter 9 Cosmos mentions that Pluto is no longer a planet. You may have heard something about this in the news or at school. When I was a kid, I learned that Pluto was our 9th planet. But over the last few years telescopes have gotten better, and now we can see that Pluto is not like the other planets. Look at the chart in Chapter 9 for more information about dwarf planets. We actually have at least 4 officially dwarf planets in our solar system now, including Pluto!
Keep Reading!
Jill
Wow—George has certainly gotten himself into trouble in these chapters! First he’s chased by the boys in his class, then he loses his house key while trying to escape, he almost gets beaten up, he’s rescued by “Astronaut Annie”….and he’s now jumped through a doorway leading to unknown territory in the Solar System! Was Annie telling the truth? Does she really go exploring the solar system on a regular basis? And what did Cosmos mean when he said “Don’t jump! It isn’t safe! Come ba-a-a-a-a-ck.”?
Laurie Duncan
Education Director
We have success! Within a week of putting the eggs in the nursery tank seven tiny fish have appeared! They are so small that they could easily be missed. They are only a couple millimeters long and mostly gray. Normally the fish develop inside the egg for a couple days then hatch and settle on the bottom where they absorb their yolk sac. A few days later they develop their air bladder and float to the top where they begin to search for food. All seven are swimming around and seem very healthy. I’m such a proud mama!
Currently they all look the same so there is no telling who the parents were. At the rate they are growing I think it will only take a couple months for them to show their phenotype. A phenotype is a term used for any characteristic or trait of the organism that can be observed. Furthermore, the phenotype is the result of the organism’s inherited genes. We have several different kinds of goldfish in our tank with different phenotypes. We have black fish with big eyes, little speckled ones with butterfly tails, and a few with big heads in all kinds of colors. In a few months we should be able to see these different characteristics in the baby fish and then we will be able to figure out which parent fish passed on their genes.
Laramie
Life Science Assistant
“Resident Fish Expert”
Hello Again! I hope everyone is getting into the book because things are starting to get interesting. George was lucky enough to get to see the entire life cycle of a star on Cosmos. Did you know that stars are born, change over millions of years, and then die?! Not like something living of course, but they form out of clouds of gases and dust in space. Then they burn for as long as they have fuel, and then they go out – sometimes as a huge supernova explosion and sometimes just quietly shrinking as they lose energy. Even our sun, which is a small-to-medium sized star, will one day go out. Astronomers believe it was formed about 4.6 million years ago and it will eventually swell up into a red giant, then shrink and cool off until it goes out about 5 million years from now!
One of the things I thought was most interesting in this section of the book was the Oath of the Scientist in chapter 4. Reread it again quickly. Why do you think Cosmos wanted George to take this oath before he showed him the star? Do you agree with the oath? Would you have taken the oath if you were George? Should every scientist have to take this oath? Tell me what you think!
Until next week!
Jill
Laurie’s thoughts: In chapter 4, we’re introduced to Cosmos, the most powerful computer in the world. I wonder about this statement that he makes when first meeting George “I am (the most powerful computer in the world.) In the future, there will be computers more powerful than me. But there are none in the past or present.” How does Cosmos know what computers of the future will be like? How does anyone know? What do YOU think computers 50 years from now will look like? What will they be able to do?
I
n chapter 6, Dr. Reeper, George’s teacher, seems suspicious (not to mention VERY strict!) After confiscating George’s drawings from his universe exploration, Dr. Reeper didn’t seem too interested until George started to explain (hmmm—should he have done that? Didn’t he promise to keep Cosmos a secret?) This statement by Dr. Reeper was curious: “So it does work after all,” he half whispered to George. “And you’ve seen it. That’s amazing.” What does he know? How does he know it? Yikes! Back to the book so I can find out…..
I never knew goldfish could be so interesting; watching their behavior over this past year has sparked my curious mind. A couple months ago I noticed the fish chasing each other around for hours and some of the poor fish suffered for it, losing eyes and fins. Finally we had to separate them according to “bully” and “nonbully.” But I immediately go to the question of why? Why would they chase each other and why do some chase and some run? Well, come to find out it’s goldfish mating season and they all want to make babies like there’s no tomorrow.
After some research I decided I needed to set the mood so the goldfish could make the next generation. First 
things first, I put a divider in the tank and put males on one side and females on the other. The biggest difference between the two genders is the presence of little white bumps called tubercles found on the males’ gills and fins. The females do not have these bumps and additionally will have swollen abdomens. After all that tension had built up I let them chase freely. Typically, the male will chase the female around for several hours, nudging her abdomen until she squirts out her eggs. Normally she will lay her eggs on plants, but in this tank I constructed a “spawning mop” made of yarn to encourage the fish to lay their eggs on it so I could remove the eggs easily. A single female can lie up to a thousand eggs and will release them in batches, the first being the most fertile. Then the happy males will spray their sperm called milt on the eggs to fertilize them. The eggs must be removed soon after or else the fish will make a snack out of their progeny.
As an amateur fish breeder (in other words...first timer) this process has been very much a trial and error experience. I started out with putting 3 males and 2 fertile looking females in a smaller tank, but I think the new environment 
discouraged the fish from mating. After a disappointing week I decided to put all the fish back in the big tank with the spawning mop. The next day (Sunday, May 31) I found itty bitty eggs clinging to the yarn! So I pulled out the spawning mop and placed it in the smaller tank for some incubation time. The eggs look very clear which is a good sign of future survival. The eggs will hatch in approximately three days. So if all goes according to plan I’ll have some fish babies by the end of the week. Stay tuned!
Laramie
Welcome to our summer reading adventure in celebration of International Year of Astronomy! Join educator Jill Hodge and Director of Education, Laurie Duncan as they read George’s Secret Key to the Universe by Lucy and Stephen Hawking. We will read three chapters each week, so be sure to log on every week to share your favorite parts and ask questions. Be sure to visit the links in the text for extra information!
Hello Everyone!
My name is Jill and I am the astronomy educator at the Discovery Center. I am really excited to talk with you about my favorite moments in George’s adventures, and to hear your ideas about the science in the book. In fact, did anyone try the experiment with the ruler and the water that Eric shows George in chapter 2? Did it work? George’s parents believe that science is bad, and that our scientific inventions only hurt us and our planet. But, Eric thinks science is wonderful and helpful. What do you think?
My favorite part so far was when George used Galileo’s telescope to look at the moon. I have a new telescope and my favorite thing to look at is the moon. I hope you noticed the cool scientific facts in the special box in chapter 3! Did you know that we always see the same side of the moon? Because of its synchronous rotation, we never get to see the far side of the moon, so NASA sent astronauts to take the picture you see here. The far side has many more craters than the side we see. Be sure to come to one of our star parties this year to get a chance to look at the moon through a telescope!
Keep Reading!
Jill
I too welcome you to our very first book blog! My name is Laurie, and I’m the Education Director at the Discovery Center. I’ll be asking you questions about the characters, the plot, new vocabulary, and how the story connects to your personal experiences. Here are three questions to think about:
1. “George….always liked to know why.” What are some of your favorite “why” questions to ask?
2. In chapter 1, George chooses to disobey his parents’ rule to never ever go Next Door. Do you agree or disagree with his decision? Have you ever had a time when you disobeyed something your parents told you to never ever do? What happened?
3. “Science is…about gaining knowledge through experience…” Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why or why not?
What: Mutual of Omaha’s aha moment tour
Where: Discovery Center of Springfield parking lot
When: Monday, May 18 and Tuesday May 19 from 12pm-8pm each day.
For more information contact Megan Reed at Skadaddle Media, 417-332-5577 Ext 11
Besides the obvious benefits of
alternative transportation,
like improving your health and saving resources, participating in Bike, Bus, Walk Week, does have extra perks - free stuff!
