Day: May 30, 2008

Exploring the ocean’s hidden worlds

 

Another wonderful story from the World of Science:

Ocean explorer Robert Ballard takes us on a mindbending trip to hidden worlds underwater, where he and other researchers are finding unexpected life, resources, even new mountains.

I am very ignorant of what’s out there in the deep blue briny, but I do know of two wonderful sources of information in this regard; Redmond O’ Hanlon’s Trawler and Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything (get the illustrated version – it’s well worth the extra expense).

Ten great ideas revisited

The amazing thing about our science education is not that so many run away from it, but rather that any at all stick with it. We really do an exceptional job of sucking out all the good stuff.

There must be a website out there somewhere concentrating on the most wonderful ideas in science for the non-specialist, but I haven’t been able to find it.

So I’m going to do one.

Ten ideas. I’m sure the number will grow. Then link each to relevant external resources; these must be interesting, informative and aimed at an appropriate level.
For project work I could maybe get students to pick one which interests them, research it in detail and report back to the class.

Because I am fascinated by science, and am sick to death of teaching students how to measure the density of a stone.

I have put together a word document on this for a recent Fourth Year test; it’s a start.