"The Amazing Randi" Commends Shawn Carlson's Move to the SciTech Hands-On Science Museum

Shawn!

Congratulations! What a great development! I think the JREF [James Randi Educational Foundation] will have to join in a celebration – and some financial support – of this huge bonanza!!!

PLEASE keep us all informed!

I’m “all a-twitter,” as my grandmother used to say…

James Randi
James Randi Educational Foundation


Harry Keller Also Commends Shawn Carlson

Shawn,

Congratulations on the directorship. You'll have a stronger base from which to promote citizen science plus more financial stability.

Right now, I'm deep into creating chemistry labs for the College Board AP Chemistry review committee (plus biology and physics). I'm partnering with the CTY at Johns Hopkins and the Georgia Department of Education. Virtual Virginia may join as well. Our goal is to get College Board approval of our labs for online AP certification.

I'm still seeking a large school system client -- not just a few schools in the system as in New York City. I'm pitching to LAUSD next week and will provide them with a price of just over $1 per student per year for unlimited access to all grade 6-12 students over a five-year period.

I haven't had the time to move forward with magnetic fields due to the critical focus on chemistry. Maybe in a few months.

If the SciTech Hands-On Science Museum can use a few virtual labs with real experiments, we may be able to help out. After all, our system is the Smart Science® hands-on learning system.

Regards,
Harry Keller
www.smartscience.net

Lance Osadchey Commends Shawn's New Position

SAS,

Congratulations. I am delighted to hear of the evolutionary advance SAS is making. Best of luck to all the people at SAS. Fortunately the telephone and computer can reach Aurora from Bradford as well as they do to Providence.

I'm somewhat disappointed - well, really disappointed--about no SAS meeting this year. If I could help in any way to aid in the meeting please let me know. The get together last year was tremendous. It was my rookie year, and I want more. SAS is simply a great group. It's into science not for the green bucks but for the love of knowledge and sharing.

Lance Osadchey

Gary Oliver Also Commends Shawn's Move

Shawn,

I think this is great news. You deserve to be in a conspicuous place doing your evangelical science, and the SciTech Hands-On Science Museum looks like an ideal spot for you, probably second-only to our own Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, but, then, I'm partial. :-)

This should be a real boost to the Labrats program.

I'm a little saddened by the loss of this years SAS conference, since I thought finally I would be able to get my act together and attend this year, but overall, the news is great. Looking forward to renewed
vigor next year!

I support several of the local science and natural history museums when I can but am not in a position to officially recommend things (other than a happy member). OMSI has been around here since the 1950s and has always been a great hands-on place and one of my favorite (as a youngster way back when) and even more so today.

I'm really delighted you are finding a similar venue for your work. As I wrote above, you deserve to be in a conspicuous place and SciTech is a great choice.

I'll remain a member of SAS as long as it exists--and hope to eventually help form a chapter locally.  I'm reaching an age where I should start to have more time to mentor and look forward to doing so in the SAS/Labrats environment.

Good luck with the move and the new job.

Gary Oliver


New SAS Member Checks In

Dr. Shawn,

I had to tell you what a complete joy it is to have discovered your web site. I have read Scientific American since I was a kid. My favorite portion of the magazine for so many years was "The Amateur Scientist." I actually own a copy of "The Scientific American Book of Projects," edited by C. L. Strong and published in 1960. I found it in a second hand book shop many years ago.

Before I order the CD-ROM, which I will be doing shortly, I was wondering how it is going to be possible to build some of the ancient circuits that are so beautifully detailed in the column/book? Are these materials still available from suppliers? It seems as though the components needed would have long since faded from both the stores and memory.

No matter, I will be ordering the CD-ROM and look forward, in my dotage, to returning to the love of my life: setting up a working lab at home and becoming an amateur scientist once again. As a Baby Boomer who grew up on Gilbert Chemistry sets, the appeal to return to a version of science that can be done at home is a fascinating prospect. As a philosopher of science, the opportunity to think seriously about how far from grace with the actual practice of science we have fallen as a culture will be most instructive, I feel certain.

Will Cowling

Welcome to SAS, Will! There is a thriving market for old electronic parts and even vacuum tubes. Try searching for what you need on eBay, www.google.com and other search engines. You'll be surprised by what you can find out there. Editor.

More Amateur Science Obstacles

Editor,

I read Joanie Silk's article "Pity the Poor Amateur Scientist!" (The Citizen Scientist, 6 April 2007) about the difficulty of obtaining chemicals for amateur science with great interest.

I would like to point out that the problem goes far beyond that. You can't even get affordable glassware and other accessories. You usually find that you must buy glassware by the "case," which means you have to buy six, eight, or a dozen items when all you want is one. The cost becomes prohibitive. Where can you get a half dozen lengths of 6 mm glass tubing? How do you obtain two #6 rubber stoppers or an affordable set of cork borers? Does anyone still supply the good old long-necked, round-bottomed flask with a side tube for distillation? And if someone does, how do you buy just one.

Not only are science curriculums in high schools going downhill, those of us who care about science education are being put out of business as well.

Harry Kroeger
Lawrence, Kansas


Airplane Science

Editor.

Regarding the editorial on "Airplane Science" (The Citizen Scientist, 6 April 2007), I remember a book from maybe 30 years ago called "Science From Your Airplane Window." I believe it was out of print long ago. But, it had wonderful projects that a person could from cloud watching to looking for the edge of the earth to see if you could see the curve. Just about everything. That was fun. I think it was a Dover book. Anyhow it was fun.

Anna Hillier,

Anna, your memory is correct. "Science From Your Airplane Window" is a wonderful Dover book (1968 and 1975) by Elizabeth A. Wood. It's well worth reading by frequent flyers--and my copy is well worn. Editor.

The Missing Honeybee Syndrome

Editor,

The scarcity of honeybees is in the news. Honeybees are needed to pollinate non-grass food crops, including peanut, cotton, soybean, all fruits, many vegetables, including peas, beans, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant. Honeybees also pollinate fruit-like vegetables, including melons, cucumbers, squash and everything with white and colored flowers with a pleasant fragrance.

The reason for the sharp decline in honeybee population is presently unknown. Possibly they are destroyed by genetically-modified corn pollen, lawn grass, and other crops with toxic pollen. Bees collect pollen to feed their young. A possible remedy is to find, feed, water and shelter surviving honeybees. Some may be resistant to toxic agent, and may increase in population.

Glen Hemerick

Comment on Measuring the Absolute Motion of the Earth

Editor,

To me there are several improvements that may be made in this experiment ("Update and Comments about An Experiment to Measure The Absolute Motion of the Earth" by Lance Osadchey, The Citizen Scientist, 6 April 2007).

The most important of these is to reduce the laser spot size.

It appears that you need a 0.5 diopter lens which (I think) works out to a 2-meter focal length. This should work for a 6-feet long beam.

This seems hard to find, but this link offers a 0.5 diopter camera eyepiece correction lens.

As the price seems reasonable ($56), I suggest you try it.

Al Rydberg

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