This week in Johnson Canyon. An update on our new home in Utah.

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Feeding Bread to Birds. The Science Photo that turned into a blog post.

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This is a repost of an experiment I wrote in 2005, for the last Papal selection. I was quoted on CBS news about the science, so I thought I should repost the experiment.

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While we have our skeletons on the inside, other creatures, such as spiders, insects, and crabs wear their skeletons on the outside of their bodies. What would it be like to have your skeleton on the outside instead of the inside?

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Nancy and I are having a delightful time with our first Utah winter. After many years in Florida, even the sub-zero temperatures are fun and exciting. As we have adapted, we have also learned quite a few things about Utah winters.

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While I really like this camera, it is not quite to the point where it will be useful for me.

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Testing a New Camera

I just got a lightfield camera, and I need your help to test the photos for compatibility.

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Try a Classroom Science Project

Many of the things that students struggle with in the process of doing a science fair project are the result of not fully understanding unfamiliar tasks. If they have never written an abstract, or even read one, the challenge of composing one for their project can be truly daunting.

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Is Your Project Scientifically Testable?

What does it mean for something to be scientifically testable?  It means exactly what it says.  If a statement or idea is scientifically testable then we can use observations and/or experiments to see whether it is correct or not.  Although it is a fairly simple concept, it often causes confusion.  To help identify some of the confusion, lets start with a few examples using the minerals quartz and calcite.

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“Dear Happy Scientist. My teacher says I have to do a science project, but it has to be one that no one else has ever done. Please help!”

With over ten million students per year doing science projects, year after year, how can you come up with an original topic?
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“Science Fair Project!”

Ahh, those three special words that can strike terror into the hearts of students, parents, and teachers. I have already begun to get emails requesting fun, quick, easy projects that no one has ever done before, and that will win the science fair. I wish I had a few hundred thousand projects that fit those requirements, but even that would not take the frustration out of this annual ordeal.
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The wonderful folks at South Central Communications have braved storms, wild fires, and swarms of wasps to bring internet to our new home. Now, the fun begins!
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Well, we are finally digging our way out from under all of the moving boxes, and are starting to feel like we live in a house instead of a warehouse.

We are also getting used to living in a rural area. It is interesting moving from a city where the grocery, Walmart, the pharmacy, etc. were minutes away. From our little house in the canyon it is a 40 minute drive to Kanab for the grocery, and quite a bit further for a Walmart or Walgreens. Suddenly, grocery lists are very important.
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First, let me apologize for the pause in videos, science photos, etc. We have been in the process of moving from our old home in Jacksonville, Florida to our new home in Johnson Canyon, just outside Kanab, Utah.

Why Utah? Since my first visit, way back in the days when I was traveling the country with my Watt is Electricity show, Utah has been a favorite place. So much geology, so many new plants and animals to learn, and so different from Memphis, Tennessee where I grew up.
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Over the past few weeks, I have discovered some major scientific errors in the guidelines that are used to develop questions for the fifth and eighth grade Science FCAT tests.

The Science FCAT is Florida's high stakes test that assesses all the science concepts and information that students should have learned by the end of fifth grade. Schools and districts are subject to financial incentives or penalties, depending on their students' FCAT scores, so this.....Read more....