August 2012
10 posts
Beauty in the Eye of the Microscope
A rose by any other name … Oh wait, those are stink bug eggs.
Through Friday, the eighth Olympus BioScapes Imaging Competition brings images of beauty captured under light microscopes to our museum. The winning images were selected from more than 2,000 submissions and reflect the latest advances in neuroscience and cell biology. Visitors can marvel at the beauty of stink bug eggs, be awed by the iridescent colors of a damselfly eye, and yes, even admire the peony-like splendor of a fruit fly’s ovaries.
And you thought you’d seen everything.
Photo: Stink Bug Eggs by Haris Antonopoulos
PRESS RELEASE: World Maker Faire Returns
QUEENS, NY—(Marketwire - Aug 20, 2012) - World Maker Faire returns to New York Hall of Science (NYSCI) on Saturday, September 29 from 10am to 7pm, and Sunday, September 30 from 10am to 6pm to showcase the world’s most extraordinary gathering of DIY talents in science, technology, crafting, fashion, food, sustainability, and more.
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July 2012
7 posts
Focusing on Bioscapes →
theatlantic.com
The Atlantic’s In Focus blog just posted a selection of photos from the Olympus Bioscapes competition. These amazing pics — which are even more impressive in person — are on view at NYSCI through August 31.
Build a Better Summer Camp -- Just Add Science
from NYSCI President and CEO, Margaret Honey:
Last week, Peter Orszag wrote an article linking summer learning loss with skyrocketing childhood obesity rates.. For decades, educational researchers have studied summer learning loss — sometimes called the “summer brain drain.” In short, summer vacation negates some of the learning achieved during the academic year. This is particularly so for children on the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum.
We don’t expect kids to do algebra at the beach, but there’s any number of ways to incorporate science and math into their summer schedules. And summer learning is, you know, fun and active.
Science in Your Pocket
Want to learn about molecules? Understand extremophiles? There’s an app for that!
NYSCI Explainers have just had their first apps developed as part of Explainers As Designers. The project is a variation on Iridescent’s Technovation Challenge, with teams of Explainers learning the ins and outs of app development while also getting some baseline knowledge of what it takes to successfully bring an app to market. Two apps — Bio-Hatcher and Molecule Rush — were selected as winners and have just been made available for download in both the iTunes and Google Play stores.
“I wouldn’t have thought of trying to program anything prior to taking part in the Explainers as Designers Program,” said Jacqueline, a member of the winning team.
Each app builds on content found at NYSCI exhibits and adds yet another interactive component to the exhibit experience, in the form of games you can play anywhere anytime. It’s a bit of NYSCI in your pocket.
Making Music with Garbage
Get ready for the Garbage-Men, a group of 10th graders who perform music on instruments made from recycled materials like cereal boxes, PVC pipes, and even a saxophone made from a Fisher-Price corn popper toy. The Garbage-Men are performing live throughout NYC this weekend, including two shows at NYSCI on Saturday at 1 and 3 pm.
June 2012
9 posts
106 Days to Maker Faire New York --- Call for Makers NOW OPEN!
We’re looking for a few hundred makers. Are you one of them? Save the Date and start working on your projects (if you haven’t already…) Maker Faire New York is right around the corner and as of this morning, the Call for Makers is open.
Step one for participating is to submit an entry so we can learn about you and your project. Here’s just a sampling of what makes for a great Maker Faire exhibit:
- Student Projects
- Robotics
- Music Performance and Participation
- 3D Printers and CNC Mills
- Textile Arts and Crafts
- Home Energy Monitoring
- Rockets and RC Toys
- Sustainability
- Green Tech
- Radios, Vintage Computers and Game Systems
- Electronics
- Electric Vehicles
- Biology/Biotech and Chemistry Projects
- Food and Beverage Makers
- Robotics
- Puppets
- Kites
- Bicycles
- Shelter (Tents, Domes, etc.)
- Unusual Tools or Machines
- How to Fix Things or Take them Apart (Vacuums, Clocks, Washing Machines, etc.
Not planning a project but still can’t wait for Maker Faire New York? Standby. Tickets go on sale soon and we’ll be warming up all summer with community gatherings, Maker Weekends at NYSCI and more.
May 2012
15 posts
Puppet Parade Encore
One last chance to feed the giraffes! Puppet Parade held over this weekend. Saturday and Sunday, 11a to 5p. Come play at NYSCI.
Friday photo: Triplets in the Rotunda
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The XX Factor
Top 4 recommendations from the working group on Advancing Women in STEM:
1 Require “STEM” Studies. Set a common K-12 curriculum of science, technology, engineering and math. Expose girls to female role models.
2 Recruit, Retain and Advance Women. Find at least one female candidate for every technical job. Reward the C-suite for retaining and promoting women.
3 Sell Sizzle and Meaning. Develop a national marketing campaign to promote STEM, positioning scientists as game changers who are making a difference.
4 Engage the Community. Work with youth groups to interest young girls in STEM. Promote STEM activities in after-school programs.
Working group co-chair (and NYSCI CEO) Margaret Honey said, “Improving U.S. science and math education is critical to keep U.S. teens from falling further behind their global counterparts in math and science scores. Teacher training should be improved, and instruction should include more hands-on projects that interest girls.”
The group was part of a task force on Women in the Economy convened last week by the Wall Street Journal.
Additional Resources:
The Connectory at Time Warner Cable’s Connect a Million Minds
National Girls Collaborative Project
SciGirls
Girls RISE (Raising Interest in Science and Engineering)Museum Network
Girls Inc.
BrainCake
Girlstart
Kenya, Meet New York
The students will visit as part of a distance-learning program that will use videoconferencing technologies to virtually connect the Sereolipi Primary School in Kenya with our instructors at NYSCI. This pilot program, called The Mizizi Project, is a part of a partnership with the nonprofit organization e2 education & environment, which seeks to unite students and teachers in different parts of the world through a single collaborative virtual learning experience.
Over a series of sessions this summer, the students in Kenya will work on topics such as microbiology, biomimicry and environmental science. The result will be a “global classroom” where New Yorkers and Kenyans work together on a shared science curriculum.
Now if only we could get the other 50 million tourists to stop buying up all the Book of Mormon tickets …
Photo by Liz Titone
Parenting New York style: Mama's are in the house
Making parenting in your local community easier, The Mamas Network in New York whose blogs have served parents in all five boros presents the 2nd annual Mamas Expo at NYSCI this Saturday, May 5! Get the best mama’s tips in town. Bring the whole family for a day of mama’s goodies from tons of vendors, advice and activities including a Puppetmobile puppet marionette performance, cookies by Cookie Fairy Sweets, planting by Queens Botanical Garden, and parenting workshops.
If you buy advance tickets through NYSCI, you also get access to all the NYSCI goodies including Rocket Park Mini Golf, Science Playground and of course full access to our hit exhibition Animation!
April 2012
20 posts
Why Aren't There More Female Scientists, Engineers? →
to.pbs.org
“Frequently, you see women relegated to very traditional roles - I’ll build the robot, and you can be secretary for the group. Unless you’re very assertive, men can take over the group.” - Angela Bielefeldt, professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Colorado Bounder
Join us for a live chat tomorrow at noon as we make sense of some of these numbers:+ In 2008, 41% college freshmen planned to major in science and engineering vs. 30% for women.
+ Only 19% of software developers are women.
+ Only 5.5 percent of commercial patent-holders were women.Curious to know your thoughts on this, Tumblr. Especially those of you in school. How’s the gender ratio in your majors?
The Works at NYSCI: Design Lab Progress →
theworks.nysci.org
When we first started working on Design Lab, we invited a number of exhibition firms to come in to talk to us about how we might collaborate on this project. This process helped us to realize that we were not really creating an exhibition space per se, but rather an armature or environment…
Maker Space: Cool New Attraction at New York Hall of Science - New York Hall of Science Unveils Maker Space | Mommy Poppins - Things to Do in NYC with Kids →
mommypoppins.com
Great article by Mommy Poppins on our new Maker Space area at NYSCI. Don’t forget that this Saturday 1 – 3 pm we’re having a workshop on Drum making in there - and the whole family is encouraged to join in! Free with NYSCI admission.
Explainers at NYSCI: The Most Memorable experience ever had at NYSCI ! →
explainers.nysci.org
I recently interviewed Pre School Place resident and avid drummer, Chantel Chambers, on the most memorable experience she’s had working at the Hall of Science.
Chantel: It’s hard to pick (a most memorable one) because there are so many! (laughs) Oh I know! The time I got to feed the spiders. I…
Collaboration with the New York Hall of Science! →
thesis.jmsaavedra.com
More on this soon!
It is official! Modular//Neuroid and The New York Hall of Science will be collaborating to create a multi-layered experience for middle and high school students in a project titled Collect, Construct, Change(C³). The project will give students the chance to collect data on environmental pollution in the field, and then offer them a platform in which to experience this data. This experience will come in the form of an augmented reality cell phone application. The project will culminate in the form of several workshops over the summer at NySci, and a presentation and workshop at the first ever Maker Faire NYC (which is being held at the New York Hall of Science, September 25 and 26, 2010)! The final step of the project is to promote environmental advocacy through the children participating. This is extremely exciting. It also means that I am employed through October 2010. Thank goodness.
This has been on the books for some time now, and have waited to announce it on this site as there were several details to work out. Everything is a go, and I have already begun prototyping for this iteration of modular//neuroid. I am extremely lucky to have this opportunity and intend on making use of it. My involvement is the result of a collaboration between the New Youth City Learning Network, along with Parsons and NySci. The team also consists of a Columbia post-doc, as well as the Bank Street College andCity Lore.
