Science

11
Jun

Social media and science education are not two phrases that often intersect. However, here at the Smithsonian Science Education Center we are working on digital initiatives to help provide new types of teacher resources through various social media channels. Since the SSEC's mission is to improve the learning and teaching of science for all students in the United States and throughout the world, going digital is a great way to enhance our print resources and reach more people. Social media platforms can provide teachers a multitude of resources and guides to teach various materials.

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18
Jun

Bees are known to be highly intelligent creatures, but in a way, they are entirely oblivious. Buzzing among plants, a bee searches for pools of nectar to eat, slurping the stuff out of flower centers. But while carrying out this humdrum foraging routine, the bee inadvertently acts as a transport mechanism vital to hundreds of organisms. In making its way into plants' nectar repositories, a bee brushes past the flower parts that produce pollen. Sticky granules lodge among hairs on the insect's hind legs; the bee takes off with these miniscule stowaways attached.

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26
Jun

Anticipation mounted before the birth of Bao Bao the giant panda at the National Zoo. With populations dwindling to dangerously low levels worldwide, the zoo was eager to see another bear added to the family. Consequently, Bao Bao's healthy arrival last August was cause for celebration. Michelle Obama made a video when she was named, and crowds gathered at the zoo to catch a glimpse of her sleepy, furry form.

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30
Jun

Imagine lying on the forest floor at night, staring up into a canopy twinkling with jewels. Some are bright, hard gold. Many are emerald green, or shine like a polished granny smith apple under a spotlight. A very few are ruby red. You reach up to pluck one of them from the dark trees. But as you extend your hand, the gem whirs away to a point out of reach.

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01
Jul

When it comes to bugs, I'm pretty squeamish. So when Bob Matthews, a Professor Emeritus of Entomology at the University of Georgia, handed me two clay tubes fused together and told me to break them open with tweezers to look for paralyzed spiders, fly cocoons, and live wasp larvae, I really didn't want to do it.

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03
Jul

After a day of barbeques and parties, it's finally nightfall on July 4th. Suddenly, a boom and flash of light announce the arrival of an intruder into this monochrome world: RED. The color sprouts up above, like a fountain pen spattering an inky hue that stains the sky.

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07
Jul

On a daily basis, entomologists scoop up tarantulas lovingly and avidly spear dead beetles with pins. But there is one type of bug that no amount of affection for creepy-crawlies can redeem in their eyes: the brown marmorated stink bug.

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11
Jul

From their lookout in the White Mountains of the western United States, the bristlecone pines have seen it all. They watched from afar as the Confederates suffered heavy losses at Union hands; they heard the scratch of Shakespeare's quill; they heard the first fireworks bang at their invention in China; they listened to the grinding of stones as the Egyptians erected the Great Pyramid at Giza. Through practically every point in human history -- for the last 5,000 years -- these trees have remained steadfast witnesses, rooted in the soil.

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31
Jul

The word is difficult to parse. Try this: bio-mimic-ry. Though not so easy on the eyes, the word lucidly explains its own meaning: biomimicry is the imitation of designs and processes found in nature. It asks how we humans can benefit from mimicking the intricate and graceful systems displayed by life forms all over the world.

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04
Sep

A Morpho butterfly looks like this.

Emanuela Carratoni/iStock/Thinkstock

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