Orion & Space Stuff 3

1960s film, “Universe” shows pics of David Dunlop Observatory, Toronto https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hu64xbgprWY

Check out the largest star party at http://astronomerswithoutborders.org/gam2015-programs/observing/1558-global-star-party-for-gam-2015.html

Watch the moon pass by Jupiter over the next few nights at http://earthsky.org/tonight/moon-and-gemini-stars-high-in-south-at-nightfall-march-28?utm_content=bufferabda6&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

This past week’s solar eclipse http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/fieldnotes/2015/03/20/total-solar-eclipse/#.VRbBkvnF-wR

Dark Matter http://www.spacetelescope.org/news/heic1506/?utm_content=buffer1e9bb&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

The Orion Spacecraft http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/files/Orion_Monthly_Newsletter_2-2015.pdf

Meet Molly White, an engineer who is working on Orion’s heat shield. http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/journey-to-mars-meet-molly-white-an-engineer-helping-to-build-the-spacecraft-orion/2015/03/02/3beb33e8-b11b-11e4-886b-c22184f27c35_story.html

Reinstate Pluto and other Space Stuff

Andromeda Galaxy

http://www.thedailyepic.com/nasa-just-released-the-largest-picture-ever-taken-and-its-mind-blowing/

Search for extra-errestrials using infrared

http://astrobiology.com/2015/03/instrument-extends-search-for-extraterrestrial-intelligence-to-new-realms.html

Do gamma ray photons would travel faster than normal light? See books by Lee Smolin,  a physicist at

the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, who predicted this concept a decade ago.

Data on the ISS

http://www.space.com/16748-international-space-station.html?cmpid=514630_20150321_42452446&adbid=10152708235881466&adbpl=fb&adbpr=17610706465

NASA confirms water on Jovian moon

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/nasa-confirms-ocean-jupiter-moon-raising-prospects-life-040217638.html#QGs7tIC

“Imagine teachers starting the lesson on solar systems by saying, ‘Our star has literally hundreds of planets, including the eight major ones, and many we still haven’t discovered.’ Wouldn’t that be cool?” Reinstate Pluto. See

http://www.philipmetzger.com/blog/planet-pluto/

Space Stuff

Puzzling Bright spots on dwarf planet Ceres. http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2015/27feb_cerespuzzle/

Monster Black Hole Discovered in Distant Universe http://uanews.org/story/monster-black-hole-discovered-at-cosmic-dawn

Deep Space Exploration with Orion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx_dj8u3Pvg&feature=youtu.be

Dawn spacecraft arrives at dwarf planet Ceres this week.

http://www.space.com/28689-nasa-spacecraft-dwarf-planet-ceres-arrival.html?cmpid=514630_20150302_41315796&adbid=10152669488216466&adbpl=fb&adbpr=17610706465

Teleportation http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Science-Fiction-News.asp?NewsNum=249#transporter

Supernova http://www.space.com/28744-cosmic-lens-4-supernova-views-photo.html?cmpid=514648_20150306_41597316&adbid=573641676868055041&adbpl=tw&adbpr=15431856

Amazing rocket launches in pictures http://www.space.com/13875-amazing-rocket-launch-photos-2011.html

What Star Trek has given us that through our Scientists/Engineers that has become reality:

http://www.space.com/9705-top-10-star-trek-technologies.html?cmpid=514630_20150302_41315826&adbid=10152669003786466&adbpl=fb&adbpr=17610706465 PLUS

Cell phones

The "iPad" Picard used before it was invented.

The voice recognition and voice command.

The Holodeck that Microsoft has a functional test system of.

The Bluetooth technology like Uhura's ear piece.

A warp drive formula that was also calculated by Spock (NASA is still working on this one)

I taught secondary teachers and university professors how to make my pneumatically controlled Canadarm at the Ontario Association of Physics Teachers Annual Conference held at UOIT in Oshawa, ON, Canada in May, 2013.

In Feb 2015, I'll be teaching educators at the Space Exploration Educators Conference (SEEC) at Johnson Space Center in Houston how to build my Canadarm so they can teach their students how to make one and use mine as a basic model to build their own robotic arms with their students.

The following is the Title Page of the booklet that I am giving to those who have signed up for my workshop at SEEC 2015, Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, February 7th.

Pneumatically Controlled Canadarm

Stan Taylor

SRTENT@rualwave.ca

Stan Taylor (www.stanleyrtaylorcommunicationsblogspot.com), 

Scientists in School (www.scientistsinschool.ca) & SEEC 2015

Cousins' Christmas Party

What a wonderful way to spend a Monday.

I left my home for the 450 km drive to Windsor, ON to attend the Cousins' (Cuz) Christmas Party at my Cuz Jan's house in LaSalle (next to Windsor). I was greeted at the door by Susan, Jan's sister who gave me a big hug as I walked in. We hadn't seen each other in years. I chatted with Alice, John's wife. John is Jan's older brother who was attending a funeral with Jan and they would drop by the party later.

Cousins came in, one after another bringing gifts and food. Of the 19 of us in the room, three of us were men. Even Jan's ferocious attack dog ISIS, a Chihuahua was a girl. My uncle Chess and Aunt Bess had three girls, Marg, Shirley and Betty Faye. They each had more girls. It was uncanny. So many girls.

I performed the marriage of my cuz John and his wife Alice in a United Church in Windsor according to the Anglican rite several years ago. It was the last marriage that I performed as an Anglican minister. As John pointed out, "It was a great ceremony. We're still married."

John and I were reminiscing about the marriage ceremony. John told me I had my surplice (white vestment worn over the black cassock) on inside out. "I forgot about that," I said. "Performing the service before one's family and the relatives was nerve-wracking enough," I said. We laughed some more..

Many fond memories were shared among the cousins and we laughed heartily throughout the evening.

John, Jan and Susan

John, Jan and Susan are the children of Ernie and Janet Kain. Ernie was my mother's brother. In order of birth there was Sam, Bess, Margaret (my mother whom everybody called Gret), Helen and Gord. Jan has all the info in her Kain ancestry binder that she continues to research. Jan pointed out that a few generations ago, like great, great, great grandfather was a smuggler. How cool is that? She also discovered that the smuggler was an Irishman by the name of Robertson. He was caught by the local constabulary but he escaped Ireland, changed his name to Kain and fled to Scotland. My mother's father was born in Scotland and while I've been boasting of my Scottish background, it may be possible that our background is really Irish.

I look forward to next year's Cuz Christmas Party. It was wonderful meeting so many of my cousins, but I would need more than a few hours to chat with each one. Perhaps next year, all the cousins will be in attendance and perhaps Jan will have uncovered more secrets of our ancestry.

Stan looking at Jan's ancestry album

A few of my wonderful cousins chatting and munching

John, Alice and Stan

Taylor's Pneumatic Toys: How to Build Toys Out of Wood with Your Children

A book review by Sylvia Welke.



Stan Taylor, a long-time science teacher, STAO member, and contributor, has written a great little manual for building cool toys that demonstrate the principle of the multiplication of force. Not only can this instructive manual assist teachers with the grade 8 science curriculum through its hands-on activities but it can also be useful for secondary physics units on force. You can tell that Stan had a great time creating these toys with his grandchildren (his interspersed anecdotes attest to this) and we are lucky that he decided to share his building skills and physics knowledge. It is a great resource for anyone with an interest in building fun toys.

The book details nine different experimental setups including a pneumatically-controlled miniature Canadarm, the construction of a front-end loader, and a McDigger. What is great is that these experiments in pneumatics result in toys to be enjoyed for a long time after they are built. Each pneumatic toy is described in detail and comes with a well-labelled diagram and step-by-step photos. In order to construct these toys, some basic materials are needed, such as pieces of wood of different sizes and shapes, some syringes, tubing for the syringes, and wooden wheels. With each toy, all required materials are listed and step-by-step instructions help the novice through the building of each toy, which is best tried at home first, if possible.

A lab bench or some other work space is also useful. Teachers should dedicate several periods to construct each toy, and some assembly beforehand might facilitate classroom work. Teachers can approach the construction of any one of the pneumatic toys as a teacher-guided activity, a student-led inquiry or some mix of the latter.

Stan has included a short section on useful websites as well as suggestions for evaluation and rubrics
(for toy design and construction) for teachers. In all, it is a useful resource for teachers, parents, and
budding engineers.

To order this book, go to http://stao.ca/store2/index.php?cPath=32_44 (http://stao.ca/store2/index.php?
cPath=32_44)

“I’ve designed pneumatic toys elementary and secondary students can build using wood. I have drawings and pictures of each toy with instructions on how to build them. Children have the opportunity to learn the joy of working with wood to the construction of an end product. Children and adults alike have learned through my workshops how to make many of the toys in this book. The sparkle in the eye of a child and the broad smile of an educator when they have made the toy and when they see it working is most gratifying. I am not a carpenter. My ‘toys’ are available for everyone to build and with care, should last a lifetime. Let the fun begin!” – Stanley R. Taylor

Sylvia Welke is a member of the STAO Promotions C
ommittee.
This entry was posted in Gr 7-8 Science & Tech, Gr. 11-12 Physics and tagged activity, design, inquiry,
pneumatics, tools.