Looking for something fun for the science lover on your list?
Dvice.com has a neat list of "11 Cheap Gifts Bound to Impress Science Geeks." From plushy microbes to Mars rocks, the list includes items for both adults and kids. My favorites are the Gallium samples and the Aerogel.
GALLIUM As described on dvice.com:
Gallium is a silvery metal with atomic number 31. It's used in
semiconductors and LEDs, but the cool thing about it is its melting
point, which is only about 85 degrees Fahrenheit. If you hold a solid
gallium crystal in your hand, your body heat will cause it to slowly
melt into a silvery metallic puddle. Pour it into a dish, and it freezes
back into a solid.
This video from the Periodic Table of Videos shows how Gallium will melt in the hand, and features a cool experiment called "the beating heart" where the scientists use sulfuric acid to change the surface tension of a gallium sample. Sidenote: Video is also worth watching for the fantastic hair on Scientist #2.
AEROGEL
I had my first experience with Aerogel when I was at the NASA Social for the Mars Curiosity landing at the Jet Propulsion Lab, and we got to see a sample of it. You can get your very own piece of the world's lowesty density solid over at ThinkGeek.com. This QUEST Lab piece gives the basics on the substance, including a little blowtorch demo showing off its insulation properties.
SCI-JEWELRY
GeekSugar's gift suggestions trend more towards the scientific lifestyle, with suggestions ranging from Laboratory Beaker Mugs to the Hungry Scientist Handbook. I'm a girl who likes her jewelry, so I am partial to the DNA Ladder Earrings from NB Designs. The shop on Etsy has a whole bunch of science-themed pieces, including Petri Dish earrings and a Bacterium tie tac.
SCI-SLEEPOVER
If you're looking for something a bit more experiential, Business Insider's suggested gift list features a night at the American Museum of Natural History. Bring your sleeping bag and a flashlight, and get ready to frolic after-hours at the Museum before settling down to slumber beneath the big blue whale.
I stumbled across the Tumblr Science Chicks From History, which is pretty much exactly like it sounds: a blog dedicated to women from science history. Sweet and simple, each entry features a brief description of a lady scientist, usually partnered with an accompanying image. It serves as a lovely introduction to a group of scientists, mathematicians and technologists you may want to know more about.
I'm particulary intrigued by Aglaonike, cited as the first female astronomer in Greece, and Hypatia of Alexandria (350? - 415 AD), the first historically noted female mathematician. She sounds like a pretty cool chick:
She dressed in the clothes of a scholar instead of women’s clothes and drove her own chariot. Hypatia was murdered in the streets of Alexandria by a Christian mob after being accused of witchcraft and godlessness. Her writings were destroyed when the Library of Alexandria was burned.
As a member of a classical theater company, I've spent a lot of time in imagined worlds populated with ancient Greek gods and goddesses. But these women clearly had some real-world powers of their own which enabled them to perservere in learning and teaching at a time when science was truly a man's occupation.
Fire It Up! Curiosity's Laser Zaps Her First Target
"Do you expect me to talk?" "No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die." GOLDFINGER
Ok, let's be honest - lasers are just cool! It's fun to watch stuff get blown up, plus they come in awfully handy when trying to destroy the world (yes, I watch a lot of superhero movies). Luckily, Curiosity is on a benevolent mission, so when the Mars rover fired up its laser for the first time on August 19th, she had the best of intentions. Her target for this first test? A fist-sized rock called "Coronation." Here's what went down:
The mission's Chemistry and Camera instrument, or ChemCam, hit the fist-sized rock with 30 pulses of its laser during a 10-second period. Each pulse delivers more than a million watts of power for about five one-billionths of a second.
The energy from the laser excites atoms in the rock into an ionized, glowing plasma. ChemCam catches the light from that spark with a telescope and analyzes it with three spectrometers for information about what elements are in the target.
The technique has been used in a variety of extreme environments here on Earth, including inside nuclear reactors and on the sea floor, but this is the first time it's been used to explore an object on another planet. ChemCam was developed, built and tested by the U.S. Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory in partnership with scientists and engineers funded by the French national space agency, Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and research agency, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS).
This composite image incorporates a Navigation Camera image taken prior to the test, with magnified insets taken by the camera in ChemCam. The circular insert highlights the rock before the laser test. The square inset is further magnified and processed to show the difference between images taken before and after the laser interrogation of the rock. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/IRAP
The Art of Botany: Call for Entries
The Canadian Botanical Association/L'Association Botanique du Canada (CBA/ABC) 49th Annual Meeting and Conference, which is being held June 2013 in Kamloops, BC, will feature an "Art of Botany" show highlighting how art supports botanical research and learning about plants. The idea for this exhibition grew out of a collaborative relationship between an art instructor Ila Crawford and a botany instructor Lyn Baldwin at Thompson Rivers University.
In this article by Baldwin and Crawford, which appeared in the March 2012 Edition of the CBA/ABC Bulletin, each gives her take on the relationship between art and science.
Here's the official submission information:
Art and Science: Drawing and Botany
Artists and Botanists are invited to submit work that responds to the assertion that “art inhabits the teaching and practice of botany, and conversely botanical subjects and scientific methods have a legitimate place in teaching and practicing art.” The exhibition, "Art and Science: Drawing and Botany," will present an array of work that facilitates discussion about integrating art with science and science with art. Specifically this exhibit will include work that explores questions about the perceived boundaries between art and science, and will add to a growing synergy between art and botany. Many scientists, and specifically botanists, incorporate art practices as part of their own research, and many artists explore the realm of botany in their practice.
Invited: Artists, botanists, and groups of artists and botanists working on special projects (10 or more individuals)
Submissions: Three maximum for individuals; one per member for group submissions. Only original work will be accepted, no reproductions. Sketchbooks will be accepted. Only digital images will be accepted for the jurying process.
Entry Fee: $10 per registration ($10 covers up to three works)
While not strictly science-related, I saw Inception last night and had to post about this smart, gorgeously shot movie that will satisfy your desire for
popcorn action thrills as well as provide some more deeply nourishing
food for thought. If The Matrix, 2001 or Blade Runner hold any fascination for you, get your butt into a theater to check out Christopher Nolan's latest. I won't give away any other details from the film because you should see it without
knowing too much about it, but I'll just add that Nolan (The Dark Knight, Memento) continues to remain one of my favorite filmmakers.
2)ONLINE SHOWS: JOE GENIUS
If you don't feel like hoofing it to the theater for your entertainment, check out Joe Genius, the new online show from Revision3. As described by their PR materials, "Joe
Genius highlights home-grown Newtons who experiment, tinker, and yes,
blow stuff up in the name of science. And it's all caught on tape! Join [comedian]
Jonah Ray as he whizzes through these geniuses' most epic failures and
thrilling successes -- and of course, the science behind it all."
The
show features online vids from citizen scientists and students - some
that go well, others which go horribly wrong. The first episode focus
on chemistry, and includes such experiments as mixing rubbing alcohol
and chlorine, concocting homemade rocket fuel, and an endeavor titled
"watermelon versus liquid nitrogen."
Much like G4's new show It's Effin' Science,
the show approaches science like an extreme sport, accompanied by
comedic commentary. I am curious about the very last line of the show,
which states that the show is "brought to you in part by the National
Science Foundation"...interesting...will let y'all know when I find out
more...
3) PBS'S HISTORY DETECTIVES
The PBS show History
Detectivestraces the history, mythologies and family legends
behind found objects. This year, as part of the 8th season space-themed premiere, the show made a
direct interactive pitch to viewers to help solve the mystery of whether
or not a miniature piece of collaborative art was snuck aboard the Apollo
12 space mission, possibly created by Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg and others. It's a story of collaboration between engineers and artists, cryptic telegram messages and the fascination with getting a teeny bit of oneself up into space. The show's producers ask the public to help solve the mystery
here and over 170 viewers have already done so.
Many folks get through the hot summer by heading out to the pool club. The folks at the NSA have a different idea of how to blow off steam. A post
on Wired's Danger Room blog details how NSA staffers get down
& dirty after work. Turns out that hacking at top levels during the
day isn't enough for these guys - they continue their exploits in 12
different "Learned Organizations" after the work day is done. From the Wired post:
Most of the clubs revolve around cryptoanalysis, communications
analysis and language translation. Which is pretty much what employees
at the NSA do from 9 to 5 — and, it seems, still shell out $15 in
annual fees to do on evenings and weekends, too. But at least on evenings and weekends, snacks are involved...
The clubs offer more than chips & dip. In addition to the work
they do, the Crypto-Linguistics Association (CLA) has an International
Cookbook; the KRYPTOS Society has an annual literature contest; and the
Crypto-Mathematics Institute (CMI) has a fondness for word puzzles.
I'd love to sit in on a meeting of the Pen & Cursor Society (P&CS), which sponsors
“creativity seminars,” where members are invited to “explore childhood
memories,” “break rules!” and “fertilize the garden in which you grow
ideas.” I'd even bake some killer cupcakes if they'd let me come play, but alas, the clubs are only open to NSA Staff.
Image: AMNH