A swarm of competitors from across the St. Louis region tested their brain power at Washington University’s 9th annual St. Louis Area Brain Bee, held Feb. 16 on the Danforth Campus. This year’s neuroscience competition consisted of 58 students – making it the largest turnout ever. Twenty-nine high schools were represented in the competition. The […]
There was cake, balloons and a rousing singalong of Happy Birthday. The man himself – Charles Darwin – stood off in a corner ready to pose for selfies. A birthday hat sitting atop his head. OK, it wasn’t the real Darwin, but a life-size cutout. However, the celebratory feel was real as 60 educators and […]
Activity: Try this fun activity on a sunny day to explore patterns of how sun reflects light. Take an old CD and use the shiny side to reflect light onto a blank wall or poster board. Questions to Ask: What do you notice? Do you see a pattern? Are the patterns moving? Do you see […]
Activity: Print or find a penguin picture to color. Free ones can be printed at: https://www.momjunction.com/articles/penguin-coloring-pages-for-your-little-ones_0089527/#gref. Color in the penguin feathers with crayons. Fill a spray bottle with water and a few drops food coloring. Put the colored picture on a tray and spray the picture of the penguin while noticing what happens to the water […]
Materials: Crushed or cubed pieces of ice in a bowl Vinegar Food coloring Medicine dropper Baking soda Activity: Mix vinegar and food coloring to make colored vinegar. Put this in little cups. Next, fill up a bowl with crushed or cubed ice and build mounds of ice. Add some baking soda on each mound and […]
Activity: Winter is upon us and some of the most fascinating things in nature to observe this season are icicles. On a cold wintery day, go on a treasure hunt for icicles. Notice all the different places you can find them; on trees, on the edges of rocks, on the gutters.After exploring real icicles outside, […]
Erik Herzog was starting to get concerned. He was deep into the oral portion of the 2018 St. Louis Area Brain Bee and the unthinkable was on the horizon: He was running out of questions. “The contestants had never performed so well in the past,” said Herzog, professor of biology in Arts & Sciences at […]
A collaboration of Washington University’s Institute for School Partnership, The Little Bit Foundation and other community partners is seeking to provide more equitable access to 21st century STEM in underserved schools. The mySci Do program engages students in learning through making, computing and designing, using tangible materials such as legos, robotics and electric circuits. Modeled after mySci – a […]
You don’t need to be a great coder to teach computer science. You only need to be a great teacher. That is the experience of Jaime Gilligan of Washington University in St. Louis’ Institute for School Partnership (ISP). Through the Code.org professional learning program, Gilligan and other ISP instructional specialists are teaching local middle and […]
In 1933, St. Louis attorney Luther Elly Smith conceived of a monument honoring Thomas Jefferson and his vision for westward expansion. In 1947, a national design competition for a monument was launched. Architect Eero Saarinen’s stainless steel Arch was chosen the winner, and construction of the monument was completed in 1965. The stainless steel Gateway Arch […]