Events Calendar Wednesday, March 1st Mars, Venus, and Uranus near the Moon after dark. Saturday, March 4th Moon occults Aldebaran Sunday, March 12 Full Moon (Worm Moon, Crow Moon or Sap Moon. Last full moon of winter.) March 13 and 14 Moon near Jupiter at Sunset Thursday. March 16 SB CHARTER SCHOOL SCIENCE FAIR Sunday, March 19 Free Family Nature Day SB Museum of Natural History Monday, March 20 Spring Equinox Tuesday, March 28 New Moon Around TownSanta Barbara's new interactive science museum MOXI is now open. Maker Mondays and STEAM Sundays (Curiosity Lab) at Central Library. Free Family Nature Day SBMuseum of Natural History Sunday, March 19 Science Fair Santa Barbara Charter School hosts its All School Science Fair on the evening of Thursday March 16. You can find many resources to help your child with their project at our website charterscience.weebly.com under parent resources. If your child is interested in participating in citizen science (where the public can help scientists with a study) for their science fair project many opportunities exist. For example students can track noise pollution through NoiseTube, or light pollution through Cities at Night. They can study clouds through NASA GLOBE , seasonal change through Nature's Notebook or pollinators through Nectar Connectors. Nature WalksOur three tide pool explorations have been very fun. Last month we found a sweet potato sea cucumber, a larval lobster, and brittle sea stars. Each time we have visited the tide pools we have found different organisms. We have had so much fun that people have asked for more nature experiences. In particular parents are requesting nature walks. I am planning one for April. If you have ideas for this or would like to lead a walk please let me know. [email protected] The Night Sky this MonthThis month's night sky begins with the glittering gems of Venus, Mars, and Uranus near the moon as darkness falls on March 1st. (Uranus may require binoculars to see. As a distant planet it never appears bright like Venus). On March 4th the bright star Aldebaran will not only be very close the the moon it will actually pass behind it. If you watch it will begin to disappear behind the moon at 8:10 pm and begin to reappear at 8:31 pm. This is a great opportunity for students to observe the motion of the moon relative to the heavens. Earthsky.org explains this phenomenon and has graphs to help visualize what happens. On the evenings of March 13 and 14 after sunset Jupiter will be visible near the moon. Spring EquinoxMonday March 20th is the SPRING EQUINOX! EarthSky.org explains the cause of the vernal (spring) equinox and includes the video below. The travelchannel.com has beautiful pictures of spring celebrations around the world. Try this at home Sprout seeds in an eggshell. You can use grass, wheat, chia or other seeds. http://www.funinthemaking.net/2008/05/14/egg-heads-with-grass-hair/ With all the rain we have been having finding earthworms is easy. Build an earthworm tower from a soda bottle and observe them work. earthworm tower instructions. In the NewsLED Lights may be used to Save Sea Turtles. In this article by the World Wildlife Fund a researcher is exploring using LED lights in fishing nets to prevent sea turtles from getting stuck in them.
0 Comments
|
Leise Thomason-BA Biology Brown University Categories |