They have found that there are a lot of connections between the two!

They have done many activities, including:

• Investigating the affect of acids on various compounds that could be used in art, such as various types of stone and metal
• Changing the appearance of metals with electrolysis
• Calculating the molecular formula of hydrates and using clay as an example of a hydrated compound use in art
• Making paints from various pigment compounds and binder substrates
• Making homemade dyes from various natural and household substances (like red cabbage and tea!)

The final outcome of this project will be to create an original piece of art for display. This piece must incorporate at least one of the skills learned during this project. Along with the artwork, students must make a museum placard or brochure describing their piece and the Chemistry behind it. Finally, they must do a presentation about their art that explains the Chemistry behind it and demonstrate that skill.

Look for an invitation to come out soon to come to our art gallery!

The competition is sponsored by Washington MESA (which stands for Mathematics, Engineering and Science Achievement). The winners on April 28th will advance to the state MESA Day competition in Redmond at the Microsoft Headquarters on May 14th. Wish them luck!

Students have begun this challenge by doing research, assembling a basic kit windmill, and doing various experiments to determine what works best in a windmill. So far, most experimentation has focused on blade design.

Last Friday, we took a field trip to the Wild Horse Wind Farm near Kittitas. They learned a lot about windmill design and got to see those massive machines up close and personal. It was awesome!

I’ve seen many refinements and changes to designs since our wind farm trip. They students definitely learned a lot from it.

The next step is to submit a final windmill design and materials list so that I can get them materials to build their final windmill.

Throughout this process, students are gathering research about windmills and their design and keeping notes about their ideas and experiments. All of this will be used to write their final report and create their poster presentation.

When they attend the windmill competition, they will be scored based upon the performance of their windmill, their scientific paper, their poster board, and their oral presentation. Teams are busying themselves completing all of this in the brief time we have!

They have learned about the Yakima and Columbia River ecosystem and its inhabitants and the effect that dams have on that system.

They have learned about the decline in the salmon population of the Yakima/ Columbia Rivers and the causes of that decline.

The ultimate goal of this project is to carry out a mock court case to debate this issue an whether or not the dams should be removed from these river systems. Students have chosen roles in the case and are now researching this issue through the lens of their specific role.

The basic roles are witness, attorney, and media but there are more specific roles and responsibilities within each of those areas.

The teams are collaborating to plan their case, gather evidence, prepare for depositions and the trial, create exhibits, and more.

We will hold mock trials in our classrooms (Mr. Rice, Mr. Sheppard, and Mr. Olden on April 26. We will send invitations for those family members who may be interested in attending. If you are interested, please contact us. Feel free to contact the school to get our contact information!

via Antibiotic Resistance Is Taking Out “Last-Resort” Drugs Used to Combat Worrisome Category of Germs.

via The Origin of Life.

via People Were Chipping Stone Tools in Texas More Than 15,000 Years Ago.

via Could the Recent Pacific Megaquakes Trigger a West Coast Temblor?.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — It began as a rumor that farmers saw waste from a U.N. peacekeeping base flow into a river. Within days, hundreds downstream had died from cholera.

The mounting circumstantial evidence that U.N. peacekeepers from Nepal brought cholera to Haiti was largely dismissed by U.N. officials. Haitians who asked about it were called political or paranoid. Foreigners were accused of playing “the blame game.” The World Health Organization (WHO) said the question was simply “not a priority.”

But this week, after anti-U.N. riots and inquiries from health experts, the top U.N. representative in Haiti said he is taking the accusations seriously.

This is an article that some of you may want to check out about cholera.

A centuries-old religious ceremony of an indigenous people in southern Mexico has led to small evolutionary changes in a local species of fish, according to researchers from Texas A&M University.

Moved By Religion: Mexican Cavefish Develop Resistance To Toxin Texas A.

via How We Are Evolving (preview).