Lab Out Loud

This week we talk about LEGO Mindstorms with Caroline Hanson.  As teacher and member of the LEGO Education Advisory Panel, Caroline routinely uses LEGOs to teach her enrichment courses in reading, math, academic competition, and STEM topics to students at Aspen Middle School in Aspen, Colorado.   Catherine talks to us about her experience with LEGO Mindstorms in the classroom and gives us a preview of the new LEGO Mindstorms EV3.

Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2510

This week hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler talk with David Delgado, lead of the Imagine Mars project from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.  The Imagine Mars Project gives students a chance to work with scientists and engineers to build and design a future human community on Mars.  Listen to Lab Out Loud to learn about the project and other educational outreach opportunities from JPL.

Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2486

We catch up this week with Deborah Blum.  Blum first joined us on Periodicity to talk about science journalism.  Since then, Blum has written "The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York."  Blum talks to us about poisons, forensic medicine, and literacy in the science classroom.

Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2427

Prompted by listener feedback, hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler talk week with Sherri Smith Dodgson.  As "Miss Science," founder of Discover Science 4 Kids, and co-founder of SciPreneur, Dodgson has been a science educator both in and out of the classroom.  Dodgson talks to Lab Out Loud about her experiences working with getting kids interested in science.

Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2419

Listen this week as we talk with Doug Paulson - STEM Integration Specialist for the Minnesota Department of Education. Doug gives us insight into Minnesota's statewide initiative to increase STEM content in primary classrooms.

This week we talk with Dr. Yan Wong - evolutionary biologist and co-host of BBC's "Bang Goes the Theory".  Dr. Yan joins us to talk about the show (now available on BBC America), tell us about doing science in public, and gives us some of ideas of science demonstrations you can do in your classroom.

To prepare for this week's episode, Dale and Brian had to do some homework: spit into a tube. Carrying our DNA, this tube was mailed to 23andMe for analysis. Now that we have our results, we were able to talk with Emily Drabant - a research community manager (with a PhD in neuroscience) at 23andMe.

Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2343

With the recent release of the the Next Generation Science Standards second draft, co-hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler caught up with Ted Willard, Program Director for NSTA.  In his role at NSTA, Ted supports teachers in the implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards.  Ted guides Lab Out Loud on the important points of the second draft, where to find more resources and how to review and comment by January 29, 2013.

shownotes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2330

To kick of the new year, we caught up with Dr. Ken Roy to discuss safety in the science classroom (and throughout the school).  Serving as the Safety Compliance Consultant for NSTA, Ken often writes about safety for the Science Teacher and for Science Scope.  Ken talks to us about OSHA's recent adoption of the Globally Harmonized System for the Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS), which includes a change from Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) to Safety Data Sheets (SDS), and the use of standardized pictograms and harmonized hazard statements.

Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2315

Our guest this week may have some insights for you.  We talk with Randy Bell - co-author of "Technology in the Secondary Science Classroom," and Associate Dean and Professor of Science Education in the College of Education at Oregon State University.  

Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2296