Harris Educational Fan Page Archive July 2009

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www.harris-educational.com TM TM
Harris Educational Fan Page Archive for the Month of: July 2009
Harris Educational is the originator and manufacturer of "Reinventing Science" science kits and materials
that inspire experimenters of all ages to participate in science, math, technology, history and discovery. We
also provide services such as training and workshops, as well as eLearning, multimedia, and product
development. Our mission is to excite young minds (and older young minds) and inspire them to DO
science, math, and technology.
In June of 2009 we started a fan page on Facebook with the goal of promoting awareness of our products
and services. But we don't just want to advertise ourselves but rather to act as a service to educators,
parents, students, and science hobbyists. We post links and articles daily that relate to science, history,
education, and open source software. Also located on our fan page are photographs, information, and
discussion forums. Another of our goals is to become an interactive location where educators, students,
parents, and hobbyists can interact, share their ideas, and become more involved in science and science
projects.
Our fan page is located at:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Harris-Educational-Reinventing-Science/86177094101
Please subscribe and become fan. Also help us grow our community by using “suggest to friends” one of
the first links under our logo picture in the upper left hand side of the page.
(Note: At some point we will be able to have a custom URL instead of the more clunky one we have now. I
am assuming the original link will continue to work even if that is the case. If you are viewing this document
and the link above does not work, then please do a search on Facebook for “Harris Educational” or
“Reinventing Science” we will update the link in future documents.)
About this Document:

This document is an archive of the activity on our Facebook fan page for a given month. Our goal is to
preserve links, useful content, and other materials so that new fans can benefit from stories that were posted
before they joined AND so that people who do not have or wish to have Facebook accounts can access our
information. All links are given based upon the date/time they were published and therefore may not contain
the same information or even still exist depending on when in the future you try to view them.
This document will be published to our account on Scribd and can be viewed there online, downloaded as a
PDF file, or printed. All hyperlink URL's in this document should be active and can be clicked in order to
launch your default web browser with that content loaded.
The content of this document is meant for educational and hobby purposes only. All copyright or trademark
terms or names are the property of their owners. No copyright infringement is intended. Harris Educational
is not responsible for the content posted at 3rd party sites.
phone: 336.506.6696 (9-5 est) Building Better Education twitter: twitter.com/reinventor32

fax: 866.306.3016 (toll free) youtube: www.youtube.com/reinventor32
document:www.scribd.com/reinventor32
Become a fan at our Facebook Fan Site:
www.facebook.com/pages/Harris-Educational-Reinventing-Science/86177094101
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Harris Educational Fan Page Archive for the Month of: July 2009
July 1, 2009
Summer Time Science Fun: Invisible Ink!
Forget Computer Encryption and send some secret messages the old school way!
http://www.cartridgesave.co.uk/news/7-amazing-types-of-invisible-ink-how-you-can-use-them/
July 1, 2009
July Space: Check out this link at NASA for detailed diagrams of the Apollo Space Craft, the LEM, and the
Saturn V Rocket. The technology is still as impressive today 40 years later.
Did you know? The navigational computer on board the Apollo space craft had less computing power than
the computers in most modern automobiles?
http://history.nasa.gov/diagrams/apollo.html
July2, 2009
July Space AND Open Source: Did you know that NASA, in order to reduce costs, uses a LOT of open
source software? They also produce a lot of software for their purposes that they make available to the
public as Open Source.
http://opensource.arc.nasa.gov/
July 2, 2009
An ok audio slideshow of the evolution/development of the PC from the BBC.
Note to Americans "valve" means "tube" as in vacuum tube.
Also... the slides mention the home-brew computer club, but don't mention the Altair 8800, co-developed by
Forrest Mims (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altair_8800) The Altair was really the first "personal" computer kit.
Thank you to fan Joel for suggesting this article.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8127944.stm
Another omission from the slide show is any mention of the Commodore 64 (and the VIC20)... an affordable
and very popular personal computer from the 1980's to the early 1990's. It was known for its SID audio
processor chip and still has fan clubs and user groups all over the world. In fact recently a fan built an
interface that lets people use ... Read Moretheir old C64 as a twitter client to send and receive tweets from
twitter!
http://www.vandenbrande.com/wp/2009/06/breadbox64-a-twitter-client-for-the-c64/
July 2, 2009
Did You Know? Kirlian Photography is a process of photographing plant matter by placing it onto
photographic film and then electrifying it, a process popularized in the 1930's?
(this article is dedicated to Shavon Via Photography and all of her fans!)
http://www.shavonviaphotography.com/
http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=111179759512&h=Ox1HQ&u=TJGSR&ref=mf

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July 3, 2009
July Space: The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is currently in orbit around the moon taking
photographs. It is a first step in sending our next manned mission to the moon. Soon it will be taking photos
of the Apollo Landing sites!
(sorry about the text in the link, its not playing well with firefox 3.5 for some reason)
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/main/
July 3, 2009
Following Up on an earlier story... Video of a volcano erupting shot from the International Space Station.
Last week I posted a link to photographs taken on the ISS of a volcano erupting. NASA has now posted
video of the eruption on YouTube. Its one of the coolest things you'll ever see.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Riauw5UTnW8
July 4, 2009
Happy Independence Day
We all know a firework's color is based on its chemical makeup... but this article explains how they can get
fireworks to make shapes and patterns.
http://www.aip.org/isns/reports/2008/024.html
(fan follow up)
by Edwin Boyette
It is interesting how much thought goes into something, that lasts so briefly. There is a lot of skill and
specialized knowledge to produce those.
(fan follow up)
by Edwin Boyette
"A Chinese alchemical text from 492 noted that saltpeter gave off a purple flame when ignited, providing for
the first time a practical and reliable means of distinguishing it from other inorganic salts, making it possible
to evaluate and compare purification techniques." quoted from the wiki on gunpowder.
Its cool that people were practicing cromatographic chemistry or perhaps colorimetric over 1,500 years ago.
Are there any colorimetric experiments kids could do at home cheaply and safely?
(our answer)
by Harris Educational
While we in no way recommend that kids or adults who are non chemists burn any materials or chemicals
(especially those that they may not understand, or that may be explosive)... here is a good article on how to
build your own spectroscope using an old CD-ROM and some cardboard.
http://www.uwm.edu/~awschwab/specweb.htm
You CAN safely use it to view light sources such as different kinds of light bulbs, starlight, etc etc.

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July 5, 2009
July Space: The International Space Station will be visible over parts of North America over the next few
days. This site has some great pictures taken by amateur astronomers as well as a link to NASA's tracking
site. (if you should take any pictures of the station please send them to us!)
http://spacefellowship.com/2009/07/04/space-station-marathon/
July 5, 2009
Software: Freeware "Radio Sure" is an internet radio player. Radio stations around the world make their
programming available via their websites as various kinds of audio streams. Radio Sure contains a
searchable list of over 12000 stations. It also includes a record feature, record audio as mp3. Some stations
have olde time radio shows, or listen to other countries radio. Now in version 2.0
http://www.radiosure.com
Note to Linux users: Radio sure does not have a Linux native version, however it is reported to work ok
under WINE.
July 6, 2009
History/Mathematics: 200 year old Cipher solved by hand! Secret message sent from Robert M. Patterson to
Thomas Jefferson solved by Dr. Smithline of the Center for Communications Research in Princeton, N.J.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124648494429082661.html?mod=yhoofront
July 6, 2009
Video Podcast from UNC Public Television about the Electric Car.
Very much worth your time, especially if you live in North Carolina.
(thanks to fan Ewan Pritchard from the Advanced Transportation Energy Center at NCSU
{http://www.atec.ncsu.edu/} for originally posting this link)
http://flash.unctv.org/ncnow/ncn_electric_cars_062909.html
July 7, 2009
July Space/Open Source: Stellarium is a great free open source astronomy program for your PC. It works on
PC, Macintosh, or Linux. Its a great tool for the amateur astronomer, and great to use in schools.
http://www.stellarium.org/
July 7, 2009
(from fan Bill Stevens)
Great site for space and tech. News.
Http://www.SpaceDaily.com
July 7, 2009
An excellent site for keeping up with what's going on up in space...
http://www.spaceweather.com

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July 7, 2009
Reinventing Edison / Green Energy: New energy regulations may kill the conventional incandescent bulb in
favor of fluorescent bulbs, however the new bulbs DO have their bad side (environmental impact of making
each bulb, mercury, etc.). This is where innovation comes in. Phillips is experimenting with a new way to
encase a filament inside a container that reflects heat back to make more light.
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/09/07/07/0716247/Incandescent-Bulbs-Return-To-the-Cutting-Edge
July 8, 2009
Open Source: Video Lan (VLC) is a great free, open source media player that works on PC, Macintosh, and
Linux. I highly recommend it as an alternative to other pre-installed media players. This week they went from
beta to stable and officially released version 1.0 (code named Goldeneye).
http://www.videolan.org
July 8, 2009
PBS's fan page here on face book just passed 90,000 fans today! If you like the kind of stories we post here,
we are sure you'll like PBS and their page. Help them get to 100,000 fans and go become a fan of their page
today!
http://www.facebook.com/pbs?ref=mf
July 8, 2009
Reminder: In recognition of the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, this July is Space Month here on
our page. We'll be posting many space related stories, and hope that you will share your space stories and
links with us as well!
July 9, 2009
We may all be able to have our very own 3D printer sooner than you think. Open source rocks!
http://reprap.org/bin/view/Main/WebHome?dummy=true
(Harris Educational Response)
Similar to the idea of "Replicators" in Star Trek. I've seen lots of interesting 3D printers that use a light
activated resin mapped out by lasers, but this is a pretty neat concept. FYI there is a whole distribution of
Linux that is built just for CNC work!
July 9, 2009
Pictures of space exploration related items that are on display at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space
Museum in Washington D.C.
A great place for a field trip, day trip, or spend a few weeks if you have the time!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=90311&id=86177094101&ref=mf

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July 9, 2009
Inventive Spirit: This link leads to a CNN video about a teenager who built his own electric car! Faced with
high gas prices last summer he bought a car that was destined for the junk yard, stripped out its gasoline
engine, and replaced it with a forklift motor he acquired online. He learned how to do things as he went
along. This shows what we are all capable of if properly motivated.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2009/07/08/dnt.ks.teen.electric.car.kwch
In the clip he says that he doesn't even know how to change his own oil! Also that he learned through
Internet research and by making mistakes along the way. My favorite though is his quote:
"If I can't find a way, I'll make one"
I'm personally inspired by this, we need more of this!
July 10, 2009

Happy 153rd Birthday Nikola Tesla! Did you know? When Tesla first came to America he worked for Thomas
Edison? Tesla lamented that Edison tried every possible way of attacking a problem instead of trying to first
understand and quantify it, thus reducing the number of experiments by first calculating. Here for your
enjoyment: Musical Tesla Coils.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVDmjnCQ1g4
Our modern life owes much to the inventions and genius of Nikola Tesla! He invented a more efficient
method of transmitting electrical energy by using polyphase alternating current instead of direct current. He
invented the induction motor, the tesla coil, and the ignition systems used on gasoline automobiles. His
theories also lead to the ... Read Moreinvention of radio transmission. Recently, in honor of his achievement,
Tesla Motors named their electric car company after him: http://www.teslamotors.com/
July 10, 2009

July Space: Worlds Largest Ground Based Lunar Image (made up of many smaller images taken on the
same night and stitched together) has won a Guinness World Record. The site includes the image which can
be panned and zoomed. Sales of their posters aid the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.
http://www.lunarworldrecord.com/index.php
July 11, 2009

July Space: Did you know? Google Image Search hosts a gallery of high resolution Life Magazine
photographs of the Apollo 11 mission. (as well as other Life Magazine galleries)
http://images.google.com/images?q=source:life%20apollo%2011

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July 13, 2009

July Space: We Choose the Moon's website will faithfully recreate the Apollo 11 mission in real time starting
at the anniversary of liftoff at 9:32 AM EDT July 16th. The site contains images, multimedia, and lots of great
historical information about the mission. On the mission it will map the path taken to the moon including
maneuvers and will allow multiple perspectives at each key point. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
http://wechoosethemoon.org/
July 13, 2009

Lee Walker, a good friend of ours from Partnership for Learning used our "Reinventing Edison: Build your
own Light Bulb" science kit as part of a teacher training workshop. The teachers at the workshop, and Lee
graciously agreed to share the pictures with us and you!
July 14, 2009

July Space: Ten Things you didn't know about the Apollo 11 Moon Landing, an article from Popular Science.
http://www.popsci.com/military-aviation-amp-space/article/2009-06/40-years-later-ten-things-you-didnt-know-
about-apollo-ii-moon-landing
11th thing you didn't know: The moon dust was very very fine and got everywhere inside the Lunar
Excursion Module as the astronauts took off their lunar space suits. It then got under their fingernails and
worked its way all the way back to the root causing the astronauts to eventually shed their fingernails after
they returned to Earth!
July 14, 2009

Please click on the "Discussions" tab and help us out by taking part in our survey "How are we doing"... let
us know how well we are serving your needs as a fan, and what we can do to improve. This is your chance
to shape our growth and help us to get and keep more fans! Let us know what you'd like to see more of, or
less of. Tell us how we are doing.
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=86177094101&topic=9229
July 14, 2009

(from fan Ralph Patterson)
Cornell Notes is a note taking methodology that can aid in the organization of thoughts for students of any
age. There is a pdf that can be found here and used as a guide. Free resource!
http://coe.jmu.edu/learningtoolbox/cornellnotes.html
Thanks Ralph! A great tip for students, parents, and teachers. Everyone, please feel free to share your
stories or links about science, history, technology, or education.

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July 14, 2009

(from fan Ralph Patterson)
Cellphones as Instructional Tools: This is an opportunity for educators to deal with the issue of cell phones.
This is a one time limited event, so register early if you find interest in this idea.
https://event.on24.com/eventRegistration/EventLobbyServlet?
target=registration.jsp&eventid=154461&sessionid=1&key=F6D1D2D288709C1B15A12F74A57B0660&sour
cepage=register
July 15, 2009

Physics/Light Bulb Kit: Scientists who previously discovered that light can have an attractive force have now
found that light can also have a repulsive force. The applications include chips that process information
more quickly and power supply applications that would improve solar energy production.
http://www.physorg.com/news166711942.html
July 15, 2009

(from fan Kristi Mixon Nobers)
One of my most favorite Teacher websites
http://www.tammyworcester.com/Tips/Tammys_Technology_Tips_for_Teachers.html
(Harris Educational response)
This looks like a great site Kristi, thanks! And would be a good resource for parents who want to help teach
their kids computer skills as well.
(Kristi's response)
It's a good place to go when you don't have time to look for resources. Plus a lot of stuff I would categorize
as "Why didn't I think of that?"
July 15, 2009

Technology/Photography: This site has a wonderful DIY article with tips on how to build your own
inexpensive "Steadicam" mount and includes a video of the camera in action. Its not intended as final plans
for the perfect mount but rather as a starting point for those who would design their own.
http://www.yb2normal.com/DIYsteadicam.html
Teacher Tip: This project would be a great summer time project to share with your children OR a great
school project. Explain the physics behind center of gravity and stability. Also explain gimbals and bearings
and how they are used in gyroscopes (which are used in airplanes, ships, and spaceships for navigational
aids)
July 16, 2009

July Space: Did you know, today is the 40th anniversary of the launch of the Apollo 11 mission. This link
gives you a NASA timeline of the mission. Also remember to check out "We Choose the Moon" for a minute
by minute recreation of the mission including radio transmissions, images, video and more! An amazing site:
http://www.wechoosethemoon.org/
http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029/Apollo_11i_Timeline.htm

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July 16, 2009

Green Energy: Following up on an article I posted last month about a grocery store in England using
regenerative energy technology to turn parking lot traffic into electricity. Now a New Jersey Burger King
restaurant is going to install a similar system in their drive through in order to help power appliances in their
store. (Below is a video of the system, article link in the comments.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEv4g6PbSHg
Here is the original article: http://www.newenergytechnologiesinc.com/investor.php?
subaction=showfull&id=1246886089&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1&
(response from Fan Edwin Boyette)
I think this would be equally good technology in parking lots or in places where you want traffic to slow
down. Replace regular speed bumps with something akin to this.
That's a good idea. Put them on the roads outside of school crossings and post a sign that showed the
number of Kilowatts generated for use by the school by traffic passing that point to date.
July 17, 2009

July Space: On Today's (7-17) Science Friday on NPR they are having an "Apollo Moon Fest" from 2pm to
3pm (starting EST) including guests Alan Bean (Apollo 12), Harrison Schmitt (Apollo 17), and space
historian Andrew Chaikin. Listen on your local NPR station, or use their internet stream (easy using open
source software Radio Sure)
http://www.facebook.com/scifri?ref=mf
Also, in their second hour they will be discussing "painting your roof white" as a way to positively impact the
environment. We'll keep posting theme-related updates on their content, but if you like Science Friday then
go become a fan of their page so you get their updates personally!
July 17, 2009

July Space: Today NASA released the first photos from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter that is currently
orbiting the moon, showing the landing sites of the Apollo Missions. In one photo you can see the tracks of
astronaut footprints! The page also has a map of the moon showing the landing sites, and links to more
great info.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/multimedia/lroimages/apollosites.html
Google Maps also has a map of the moon located at:
http://www.google.com/moon/
They don't have these new photos up yet, but I'm sure eventually they'll use LRO images to further enhance
their maps. Can you or your children name at least three landmarks on the moon? go learn some!
July 17, 2009

R.I.P. Walter Cronkite Beloved TV news anchor for CBS News. Cronkite was the voice that many Americans
trusted to tell the story of the Space Program as well as much of the other big news of the 20th century. He
will be missed. Walter Cronkite 1916..2009
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/showbiz/2009/06/23/lkl.cronkite.2001.cnn

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July 18, 2009

Open Source Software: click2try is a website where you can log into a remote virtual machine and try out
various open source software packages without having to install them on your own machine. They host a lot
of different kinds of software including things that might be more difficult to install/uninstall on your own
machine just for a test drive. A partial list of software hosted there in the comments.
http://www.click2try.com/
Software Includes: Linux Distributions (incl. OpenSuse and Ubuntu), Educational Software like Moodle
(develop and post online courses, eLearning), web tools like WordPress (blog), and filezilla (FTP client) and
various wiki software. Also includes software for programmers like the Eclipse IDE. Hopefully over time more
software will be posted there.
July 18, 2009

July Space: Restored High Definition video from the Apollo 11 Mission. Currently they have some of the
most pivotal moments restored (landing, first step, flag ceremony, etc.) but remember to check back later
this fall because by then they will have restored even more footage!
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/hd/apollo11.html
I was shocked to find out that many of the school aged kids that I've worked with (mostly ages 7-16) either
didn't know that we'd landed on the moon at all OR if they did know, they didn't know any real information
about this amazing time in our countries recent history. No matter how old your child or students are or what
you teach, take a minute to share some of this history, science, and technology with them. One of them may
be one of the next people to walk on that moon!
July 19, 2009

July Space: During the space race, NASA and the US Astronauts did their missions live in front of the world
via TV. Our competitors, the Soviets did their missions in secret only announcing the mission success after
the fact. To this day the general public around the world knows very little about the soviet space program.
This site has a very detailed and interesting look at the Soviet Lunar Module.
http://www.astronautix.com/craft/lk.htm
If you navigate back to their man page at www.astronautix.com the site also has a lot of detailed information
about proposals for other spacecraft design, and about other Soviet and US space programs. If you are an
engineering junkie and love astronautics then this site is for you!

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July 19, 2009

Technology/Photography: This is a great article about studio lighting techniques. Improve your shots of
people and of objects by understanding a very key concept of photography "light writing" i.e. the light part!
http://www.shotaddict.com/tips/article_Tips%20You%20Are%20Looking%20For%20Studio%20Lighting
%20Techniques.html
Teacher Tip/Summer Science Fun: Teach the ray model of light and optics by using some of the lighting
techniques in this article. Fix your camera on a tripod, and fix an object in focus in front of it. Then take
different photographs at the same point but with different lighting. (put a white board in the shot that shows a
diagram of the ... Read Morelighting of each shot) and then compare the results. With a digital camera this is
quick and easy. Shop lights or even flashlights can be used even if you don't have studio lights. Best done in
a room where you can control the lighting (i.e. thick shades and few windows). Talk about variables and how
to control them, and how to only manipulate one at a time. i.e. if you have a window in the room, then the
sun's varying light (with clouds, as the day moves on) will change the outcome of the experiment.
July 20, 2009

July Space/Software: The Apollo program has had a tremendous impact on our culture including spawning
many computer and video games simulating the lunar landing. This article traces the history of these games
from the earliest one written by a high school student all the way to present day. Have you ever played one
of these games?
http://technologizer.com/2009/07/19/lunar-lander/
Some Lunar Lander games have been "just for fun" but many have actually taken into account the real
physics of landing on the moon. This is a good science/math issue to teach kids. As you approach you use
up fuel, so there is an abort point and a point of no return. Also, your thrust needs change as you expend
fuel because as you expend fuel your mass is changing. (a good example of why we need calculus, related-
changing rates).
July 20, 2009

Today is the 40th Anniversary of the landing of the Apollo 11 mission on the moon! Make sure to check out
the website "we choose the moon" (listed in our links below) this afternoon for a recreation (including real
audio from the mission) of the landing in real time. Landing is around 4:15 EST today, so tune in earlier since
it takes a few minutes to load this flash website, especially with lots of traffic!
July 20, 2009

New Note Posted: Bibliography and Reading List for Reinventing Edison: Build your own Light Bulb
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=139103823032&ref=mf
July 21, 2009

July Space: You can now explore the moon in Google Earth. Features include detailed maps, images, links
to video clips from Apollo and other missions, narrations by astronauts, and an Apollo Lander Simulator! A
good reason to download the latest version of Google Earth: http://earth.google.com/moon/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHJ77RsnFXI

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July 21, 2009

Technology: (a follow up to an article posted by Fan Bill Stevens a while back about 3D printing). This is a
great article from Popular Mechanics showing how Jay Leno uses 3D scanners and 3D printers to make rare
replacement parts for his many antique cars. And not just in plastic, but also printing in metal!
http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/jay_leno_garage/4320759.html
July 21, 2009

Just for Fun: Not strictly science, but this is Craig Ferguson's tribute to the Apollo 11 Anniversary from last
night's show. I hope you all enjoy. On a side note, we are up to 210 fans now, gained 100 in 28 days initially
and took 21 to get the second 100. Help us get more fans, share our links, or use "Suggest to Friends" to
ask your friends to join!
thanks for supporting our page!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw7w2UAi2zA
July 21, 2009

(posted by fan Garland Arnold)
A good tutorial on soldering.
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/07/solarbotics_soldering_summary.html?CMP=OTC-0D6B48984890
Thanks Garland. The book "Getting Started in Electronics" by Forrest Mims has a great tutorial on soldering
too (and he also is a contributor to Make Magazine). Soldering is an art. A safety tip... (aside from the
obvious burn and fire hazards) Older solder contains lead, and even lead-free solder can do some nasty
things if you breath the fumes for extended periods of time. Always make sure to work in a ventilated area
and don't directly breath the fumes.
July 22, 2009

Major spike in new fans lately... so here is a reminder. Be sure to check out our Notes tab for articles about
science and open source software (more on the way). Also be sure to check out our Discussions Tab for a
discussion on open source software and a "how are we doing" discussion. We want feedback! And don't
forget to check out the photos tab. We have pictures of our kits, from workshops, space, and more!
July 22, 2009

Technology/Green Energy: If you've ever watched "The Woodwright's Shop" with Roy Underhill on PBS then
you already know about "Human Powered Tools" for "subversive woodworking". But just in case you don't.
Here is a great article (followed by more in the comments) about his Foot Powered Treadle Lathe and Scroll
Saw. Building your own human powered tools is a great way to get exercise AND conserve electricity.
http://blog.woodworking-magazine.com/blog/Footpowered%20Lathe%20And%20Scrollsaw.aspx
3D Model of the Lathe from Google 3D warehouse

http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=f44766036ec8d67e738e43095496b061

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Foot Powered Circular Saw and other tools from Blue Ox

http://www.blueoxmill.com/Humantools.htm... Read More
Another Treadle Lathe:

http://www.bloodandsawdust.com/sca/lathes2.html
The Treadle Lathe FAQ

http://www.inthewoodshop.org/methods/trlathe.shtml
Another Treadle Lathe:

http://homepage.mac.com/estuary1/estuary/PhotoAlbum4.html
Teacher Tip: Building a foot powered lathe or scroll saw could be a GREAT way to get kids interested in your
science or technology programs. They can learn mechanics (flywheel, conversion of motion from linear to
rotational), you could even find a way to calculate calories burned to operate the tool and compare that to
the equivalent electricity ... Read Moreto run the same tool with a motor. There can even be connections to
math and calculus!
I've toyed with the idea of providing the hard to get/hard to make items along with a set of plans for such
tools as a science/technology kit. Does anyone think that would be a popular product?
July 22, 2009

Open Source: Today "Open Source for America" launched to help promote open source software as a viable
alternative to for-pay proprietary software for use by government agencies, schools, universities, non-profits,
and anyone else wishing to save on both initial investment costs, and total cost of ownership for software.
The organization is made up of many industry leaders in Open Source Software. Take a look!
http://www.opensourceforamerica.org/
We will continue to support Open Source software here at Harris Educational and as time permits build
articles and education to help Educators and others make use of Open Source Software and save money for
their schools and for themselves. Remember to check out our discussion tab for an open discussion on
open source, and also our Notes tab where we've already posted one article about using "the Gimp". Please
feel free to share your information about your favorite Open Source software!
July 23, 2009

July Space: Today is the 40th anniversary of the day that a 10 year old saved the Apollo 11 mission! We
know the name Neil Armstrong, and maybe Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins, but the space program was a
collaborative effort of hundreds of thousands of people. And one of those people was a ten year old boy, so
remember the name Greg Force and the contribution that only a child could have made to this amazing time.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/07/20/apollo11.irpt/index.html

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July 23, 2009

(Posted by fan Garland Arnold)
Looks like a great book and the author has set up a social networking site on ning as well for more
geekiness. :D
http://www.geekatlas.com
Garland, thanks for this link. After recently watching a re-run of an older "Woodwright's Shop" on PBS (airs
at 2:00pm on UNC-NC weekdays) where Roy Underhill took his audience on a tour of a woodworking
museum in Canada, I thought to myself... Wouldn't it be great if there was a list of historic places and
museums someplace that would help a ... Read Moreperson plan a trip that had a science theme. Every
state has many unique and interesting sites. This would be a good resource for a teacher planning science
related field trips too.
July 23, 2009

New Note posted Bibliography and Reading List for “Reinventing Morse: Build your own Telegraph”
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=140484313032&ref=mf
July 24, 2009

Photography: Make your own Snorricam camera mount. If you don't know what this is, you'll find out at
about 50 seconds into the video clip posted below. A neat summer project, or project for a school video. (just
add "Yakety Sax" music for your own entertaining chase scene)
(see the article at Make Magazine here: http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/07/how-

to_adjustable_snorricam.html?CMP=OTC-0D6B48984890)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsKCFoyd2i8
July 24, 2009

Reinventing Morse: This is a video produced by "The Vision Forum" to promote our "Reinventing Morse:
Build your own Telegraph" science kit for their "All American Boy Adventure Catalog". It stars the same
young inventors as their other video about the Light Bulb. (this video shows our older brown-base telegraph
kit, but the basic design is the same now). A cute video with a 'little rascals' style ending. Enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxm_U0Ieodg
July 25, 2009

Science Education / Music: Educational theory states that we learn best when the most senses (and
therefore the most parts of our brain) are engaged. This is a GREAT article about how music can be
integrated into teaching science lessons to help students learn and retain more information about complex
topics. (this post is dedicated to one of our new fans Brandon Moore, a great music teacher)
http://www.scienceinschool.org/2007/issue5/music/
If you home school OR even if you are just a parent and want to help your child improve on their study
habits and retain more information, this article has some good ideas. If you think about it, shows like

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Sesame Street have done this for years, just for younger minds. How many of us learned the Alphabet by
singing the Alphabet song? The same idea could work for students of any age, even if you are older and
going back for your grad degree yourself!
July 25, 2009

Science Education / Music: Following up on the previous article about using music to aid in retention of
complex knowledge, here is a great example by They Might Be Giants "Why Does the Sun Shine?" (being
posted as a separate post so the video will show up here on the wall) A catchy tune... and it helps you
remember about atomic fusion!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zbgul1NpEA8
July 27, 2009

Science / Food: Next time you bite into a cupcake take a minute to appreciate the science and chemistry
involved. Do you know WHAT baking powder is vs. baking soda? What each ingredient does? What you
could substitute for those ingredients if you didn't have one of them? This article is a good starting point to
learn more about the chemistry of cupcakes. (dedicated to fan and baker Garland Arnold)
http://media.www.jhunewsletter.com/media/storage/paper932/news/2008/09/25/ArtsEntertainment/Science.T
urned.Sweet.With.Cupcake.Chemistry-3453450.shtml
Summer Time Science Fun: No matter how old your child, take an afternoon and bake some cupcakes with
them. But with a twist. Use this article as a starting point and teach them what each ingredient does, and
why you use the amount that you do. Also a good place to explain how measuring works, and why liquid
measure is different than solid measure. While they are in the oven quiz them on what they have learned. If
you are really adventurous, bake one batch by recipe, and another batch by varying an ingredient or two
based on the article. Compare the results and use that to teach the idea of a "control" in the scientific
method.
(response from fan Garland Arnold)
Thanks Bennett! I am just catching up on my online-iness today. Monday's are always bonkers. This is great!
One of my fave things to do when baking is tweak the recipe. Whether it's making it vegan or making a
recipe not vegan, changing the proportions of a recipe, or just tweaking the flavors it is fun to know what
you're doing well enough to be able to make the recipe your own. :D
July 27, 2009

(posted by fan Bill Stevens)
Pluto may make a return to a full share planet status...
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327181.600-is-pluto-a-planet-after-all.html?DCMP=OTC-
rss&nsref=online-news

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July 27, 2009

Green Energy: This is a neat concept in solar powered parking lots where you could park, keep your electric
or hybrid vehicle shaded and cool, and recharge it in the process. Best of all, its more aesthetically pleasing
by mimicking a forest. Add a fuel cell storage system into each "tree" and a kinetic energy system in the lot
itself (as we've published in previous stories) and you could also recharge at night!
http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/07/27/solar-forest-charging-system-for-parking-lots/
July 28, 2009

July Space: Astronomer Thierry Legault took the amazing image (seen in this Gizmodo article below) of the
International Space Station as it crossed the face of the sun. He used only a ground based telescope and
special solar filters. This is truly an amazing photograph.
http://gizmodo.com/5324162/the-iss-as-it-crosses-the-face-of-the-sun
Information about the astronomer and his equipment can be found here: http://legault.club.fr/info.html
July 28, 2009

Reinventing Edison: Did you know? Light bulbs and vacuum tubes would have been impossible if not for the
invention of "Dumet" wire? Dumet is specially coated metal compound that has the exact same
expansion/contraction rate as glass. Without this, an electrical connection through glass would either cause
the glass to crack when heated OR would allow air to leak into the vacuum inside when cooled.
http://www.dumet.net
July 29, 2009

Physics: Scientists create "Transparent" Aluminum. Pretty neat news, however with a sensational headline
comes the reality that its only transparent to extreme ultraviolet radiation (not visible light) and then only
when bombarded by x-rays, and then only for 40 femtoseconds. However it does represent a neat trick in
removing electrons from a material possibly representing a new state of matter. (see comments)
http://www.physorg.com/news167925273.html
Teacher Tip: Science Journalism just like any kind of journalism is faced with the problem of grabbing
attention and getting readers. Thus sensational headlines form. In fact the original article that linked to this
primary article suggested that we've achieved transparent aluminum just like on "Star Trek". To me that
means lightweight, ... Read Moreunbreakable windshields for cars and the space shuttle. Not a pin point
invisible to ultraviolet when bombarded by extreme x-rays. This is an excellent "teachable moment" to help
your students become informed consumers of information. Teach them to look for biases, to fact check, to
find primary information and not just links to it. This is even more important as we move more and more from
a print world into an instant web world. Also note that this article was from England, note the British spelling
of "Aluminium"
Even so, the article itself (not its headline) is a neat read and has some great information about particle
physics.

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(response by fan John Johnson)

The goals of journalism are often at odds with the goals of science, a fact that often plays out frustratingly in
reporting of health care studies. Often headlines reporting health care studies disagree with the body of the
report, which disagrees with the abstract of the paper being reported, which disagrees with the body of the
paper!
July 29, 2009

Reinventing Edison: We just published an information brochure detailing our "Reinventing Edison: Build your
own Light Bulb" science kit to our new account on "scribd" you can view the brochure at the link below as "i-
paper" or you can download a PDF file that you can view or print. If you want to learn more about the kit
please take a look at this link.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/17782720/Reinventing-Edison-Science-Kit-Info
This is my first experiment in publishing "print" materials online. I am hopeful that this will be a great way to
distribute printed information such as workshop handouts, kit instructions, and other materials useful to
teachers and students, as well as to science and technology enthusiasts. I'm interested in your feedback
about the service as well as about the quality of our posts there as time goes on.
July 29, 2009

(posted by fan Bill Stevens)
A new state of matter... we now have solid, liquid, gas, plasma, and.... transparent aluminium. Wait... what?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20090729/sc_livescience/scientistsclaimnewstateofmattercreated
(response by fan Ao Goudiaby)
VERY INTERESTING!! My physics prof. Was telling us last semester that they were coming close to doing
this.
July 30, 2009

Earth Science: Did you know? At the intersection of three plates in Ethiopia lies one of the worlds lowest
spots and most active volcanoes? This national geographic video posted on youtube shows the kind of
exciting and dangerous lives that vulcanologist live in order to gain new data. Can you imagine being
lowered into this cauldron?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FeTBYLTdCU
(response from fan Joy Edwards)
Wow. Such bravery!

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July 30, 2009

Reinventing Morse: This is an information sheet about the Reinventing Morse: Build your own Telegraph kit.
Its hosted at Scribd, can be viewed there downloaded, or printed.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/17782739/Reinventing-Morse-Science-Kit-Info
The info sheet we posted yesterday to Scribd about our Reinventing Edison kit became the featured page of
the day on Scribd and has had over 580 views at this point. Scribd is a wonderful way to share documents
and find an audience for anything you wish to publish. We plan to make a lot of use of Scribd to post
materials useful to teachers, parents, students, and hobbyists. Stay tuned!
July 31, 2009

Lee Walker, a good friend of ours from Partnership for Learning used our "Reinventing Edison: Build your
own Light Bulb" science kit as part of a teacher training workshop. The teachers at the workshop, and Lee
graciously agreed to share the pictures with us and you!
July 31, 2009

Open Source: Emacs, a VERY powerful and extensible text editor just turned 23! (that is to say version 23),
it actually was born in the 1970's. It is used mainly as a programming text editor to write computer code. It
was one of the programs in the "editor wars" along with 'vi'. Emacs provided "windows", split screen,
workspaces, and even includes a version of 'Eliza' an artificial intelligence program.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emacs
Remembering Emacs: We used a version of emacs as a programming text editor on the DEC 2100's that
made up project EOS at NCSU in the early 1990's. I mentioned Eliza above, but it also had 'the doctor"
another artificial intelligence program that asked questions and pretended to be a psychoanalyst. A macro
was created that would allow you to feed... Read More the output of one program into the input of the other,
creating a dialog between one artificial intelligence simulating a person, and the other simulating the
psychoanalyst. The resulting text could then be saved into a file. It was quite entertaining to read the
"conversations" that emerged. I'm not certain but I'd be willing to bet that modern versions of Emacs still
retain these extensions and ability. Here is a funny cartoon about the editor wars...
http://xkcd.com/378/
(response by fan John Johnson)
I use GNU Emacs to run R, SAS, LaTeX, and my day. Org-mode is one of the best ways to implement David
Allen's Getting Things Done.


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phone: 336.506.6696 (9-5 est) Building Better Education twitter: twitter.com/reinventor32

phone: 336.506.6696 (9-5 est) Building Better Education twitter: twitter.com/reinventor32

phone: 336.506.6696 (9-5 est) Building Better Education twitter: twitter.com/reinventor32

phone: 336.506.6696 (9-5 est) Building Better Education twitter: twitter.com/reinventor32

phone: 336.506.6696 (9-5 est) Building Better Education twitter: twitter.com/reinventor32

"If I can't find a way, I'll make one"

I'm personally inspired by this, we need more of this!

July 10, 2009

July 10, 2009

July 11, 2009

phone: 336.506.6696 (9-5 est) Building Better Education twitter: twitter.com/reinventor32

July 13, 2009

July 13, 2009

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July 14, 2009

July 14, 2009

phone: 336.506.6696 (9-5 est) Building Better Education twitter: twitter.com/reinventor32

July 14, 2009

July 15, 2009

July 15, 2009

July 15, 2009

July 16, 2009

phone: 336.506.6696 (9-5 est) Building Better Education twitter: twitter.com/reinventor32

July 16, 2009

July 17, 2009

July 17, 2009

July 17, 2009

phone: 336.506.6696 (9-5 est) Building Better Education twitter: twitter.com/reinventor32

July 18, 2009

July 18, 2009

July 19, 2009

phone: 336.506.6696 (9-5 est) Building Better Education twitter: twitter.com/reinventor32

July 19, 2009

July 20, 2009

July 20, 2009

July 20, 2009

July 21, 2009

phone: 336.506.6696 (9-5 est) Building Better Education twitter: twitter.com/reinventor32

July 21, 2009

July 21, 2009

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July 22, 2009

July 22, 2009

3D Model of the Lathe from Google 3D warehouse

phone: 336.506.6696 (9-5 est) Building Better Education twitter: twitter.com/reinventor32

Foot Powered Circular Saw and other tools from Blue Ox

Another Treadle Lathe:

The Treadle Lathe FAQ

Another Treadle Lathe:

July 22, 2009

July 23, 2009

phone: 336.506.6696 (9-5 est) Building Better Education twitter: twitter.com/reinventor32

July 23, 2009

July 23, 2009

July 24, 2009

(see the article at Make Magazine here: http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/07/how-

July 24, 2009

July 25, 2009

phone: 336.506.6696 (9-5 est) Building Better Education twitter: twitter.com/reinventor32

July 25, 2009

July 27, 2009

July 27, 2009