Engineering is the application of math, science, and other practical knowledge in order to invent, design, and build. It is also the “E” in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) that has become a hot educational focus in the last …[Continue]
Clouds
A cloud is a visible mass of condensed water vapor floating above the earth. In 1802, amateur meteorologist Luke Howard named three principal categories of clouds: cumulus, stratus, and cirrus. These categories became the basis of today’s cloud classification system, …[Continue]
El Niño
Usually the Earth’s warmest water can be found in the western Pacific, with the east-to-west trade winds pushing the warm water toward Indonesia. Every so often, however, the trade winds weaken and the warm water ends up sloshing eastward against …[Continue]
Tigers
As Dorothy, the Tin Man and the Scarecrow followed the Yellow Brick Road, they feared the animals they might encounter. “Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!” Today, a more realistic fear is the animals we might never encounter. Sadly, …[Continue]
Honey Bees
Honey bees are hardworking, useful insects that pollinate nearly one-third of all the food we eat and make our life sweeter with the honey they produce. In a single day, a single hive can pollinate four million flowers and make …[Continue]
Scientific Classification
Scientific classification is a system of organizing living things into categories, from most inclusive (the biggest one) to least inclusive (the smallest one.) This kind of hierarchical classification is also known as a taxonomy. There are seven main divisions in …[Continue]
Lions
The lion (Panthera leo), often called the king of the jungle, is one of five big cats (others being tigers, jaguars, leopards, and snow leopards). And big they are; some male lions exceed 550 pounds! Wild lions currently live in …[Continue]
Physical Fitness
Attention! Because most kids aren’t getting the recommended daily amount of exercise, I’ve arranged to shut down the Internet in twenty minutes. Now you’ll have no more excuses. Just push yourself away from the computer, and go outside to play. …[Continue]
Penguins
What is it about penguins that makes them so adorable and so popular? Is it their dapper tuxedo coloring, their upright stance, or their amusing waddle? Whatever the reason, here’s the best of what the Web has to offer penguin …[Continue]
Nutrition
As my kids were growing up, I went through various cycles of nutrition nagging (“Drink your milk!”) and nutrition bribing (“I’ll trade you one cookie for four green beans.”) To those of you on the front line today, fighting the …[Continue]
