Castles in the Sky

In Kindergarten we are taking something familiar, fairy tales like Jack & The Beanstalk, and using them to introduce something unfamiliar, like principles of engineering. In this case we wanted to see how tall and strong we could build a beanstalk out of pipe cleaners! Below Mrs. Tommasello's and Mrs. Garrett's classes show off their work. 

A total eclipse of the heart...

On August 21st at 2:30PM we'll experience a solar eclipse at 98% of totality. CCSD, along with every other county in metro Atlanta, is altering their school day, and we'll be able to watch the eclipse on our active boards in the classrooms here at Tritt. To get an ideal of what the eclipse will look like from anywhere in the US, check out timeanddate.com. 

I shared the following video, from one of my favorite channels, SciShow Kids, with grades 1st-3rd. It takes a closer look at the Solar Eclipse that crossed Europe in 2015, and provides an animated version of what we can expect here.  

The next video, from Vox, was shared with 4th and 5th grade: 

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WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL!!!

I have been chomping at the bit to get back to school for a few weeks now, so Meet & Greet is a super exciting day for me! 

What did you do this summer? I went and saw family in Florida, did the week-long Tritt Summer Camp, led some Project Lead The Way workshops throughout the southeast, spent some time in Texas visiting friends, dropped by the school to tend to the gardens, took the dogs for hikes, and read some books! 

Real Talk: I appreciate all of the parents who donate to the Tritt Tiger Foundation allowing me to work with your students. I spent over a decade traveling throughout GA teaching environmental science, and I can truly say there is no place like Tritt. Every hands-on STEM opportunity we can provide is further setting them up for a bright future (and also it is really really fun, right?)! 

Summertime, and the picking is easy.

So thankful to the Green Paws kiddos that have been able to meet me at Tritt this summer in order to harvest our gardens! I'll send out an email next time I'm headed that way! 

Wow in the World - science podcast for kids!

Is two months too long to go in your life without learning about science? NPR has a new podcast for kids and their families - "Wow in the World". The shows are only 20 minutes-ish, perfect for quick errands or long road trips, and they are super fun. For example, the latest episode is about cow farts and eating crickets - and what they have in common!

Start listening here: http://tinkercast.com/shows/wow-in-the-world/

Green Paws Summer Camp!

Green Paws Summer Camp was a blast! We went on hikes, found salamanders in the creek, planted wildflower seeds in the vertical gardens, picked carrots, played games, ate popsicles, planted fruits and veggies, created artwork using rubber worms, and had a great time overall! 

Looking snappy!

Last week Mrs. Blick's class helped release "Yoshi" a Common Snapping Turtle baby. Yoshi spent the school year in Mrs. Blick's room having moved their from the Science Lab the year prior. He enjoyed his time at Tritt, but after consulting with the Chattahoochee Nature Center it was decided that it was time for him to move on. He wish you luck buddy! 

He settled in just fine as you can see in the picture below: 

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Fine Dam Work.

Wrapping up our study on plants and animals, 1st grade looked at how animals use plants as shelter. There is no better animal engineer than the beaver, and we thought we'd try and copy some of their work. Students designed their dams and collected the materials. Here Mrs. Hughes' and Mrs. Friend's classes show off their work.

Can you dig it? (Hughes)

We have been studying plants and animals in 1st grade. When scientists and engineers are inspired by something from nature we call that "biomimicry". We just finished planting sunflower seeds using homemade garden tools that were inspired by a story we read in class. 

Thank you to the parent volunteers who came in to operate the hot glue guns!

Can you dig it? (Fernandes)

We have been studying plants and animals in 1st grade. When scientists and engineers are inspired by something from nature we call that "biomimicry". We just finished planting sunflower seeds using homemade garden tools that were inspired by a story we read in class. 

Thank you to the parent volunteers who came in to operate the hot glue guns!

Can you dig it? (Friend)

We have been studying plants and animals in 1st grade. When scientists and engineers are inspired by something from nature we call that "biomimicry". We just finished planting sunflower seeds using homemade garden tools that were inspired by a story we read in class. 

Thank you to the parent volunteers who came in to operate the hot glue guns!

 

Can you dig it? (Adams)

We have been studying plants and animals in 1st grade. When scientists and engineers are inspired by something from nature we call that "biomimicry". We just finished planting sunflower seeds using homemade garden tools that were inspired by a story we read in class. 

Thank you to the parent volunteers who came in to operate the hot glue guns! We were dealing with a little bit of rain during the planting, so I apologize for so few action shots! 

 

Can you dig it? (Moffett)

We have been studying plants and animals in 1st grade. When scientists and engineers are inspired by something from nature we call that "biomimicry". We just finished planting sunflower seeds using homemade garden tools that were inspired by a story we read in class. 

Thank you to the parent volunteers who came in to operate the hot glue guns!

Can you dig it? (Coyne)

We have been studying plants and animals in 1st grade. When scientists and engineers are inspired by something from nature we call that "biomimicry". We just finished planting sunflower seeds using homemade garden tools that were inspired by a story we read in class. 

Thank you to the parent volunteers who came in to operate the hot glue guns!

Throwing Shade in 2nd Grade!

When visiting the Science Lab, Second Grade spent a lot of time this semester studying astronomy. We examined the rotation of the Earth and the affect on seasons; the sun's movement across by tracking shadows; the phases of the moon; the movement of the Big Dipper and other stars; and even learned about exoplanets and Trappist-1. 

Our engineering challenge came when we decided to add shade to a model of our playgrounds. Students had to track the sun during their recess time and determine where to add walls/trees/roofs/screens. You can take a look at their creative ideas below!

Artists and Scientists: More Alike Than Different

I've been thinking about the "A" in STEAM a lot lately, and stumbled upon this article. I think that some of scientists' ideas could be communicated better to non-scientists, and that is where ART can play an important role. 

From the Scientific American: "Art and science. To those who practice neither, they seem like polar opposites, one data-driven, the other driven by emotion. One dominated by technical introverts, the other by expressive eccentrics. For those of us involved in either field today (and many of us have a hand in both), we know that the similarities between how artists and scientists work far outweigh their stereotypical differences. Both are dedicated to asking the big questions placed before us: “What is true? Why does it matter? How can we move society forward?” Both search deeply, and often wanderingly, for these answers. We know that the scientist’s laboratory and the artist’s studio are two of the last places reserved for open-ended inquiry, for failure to be a welcome part of the process, for learning to occur by a continuous feedback loop between thinking and doing." - John Maeda

Read the rest here: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/artists-and-scientists-more-alike-than-different/