Meet our newest Energy Explorers!
Does insulation help conserve energy? What is the best design for a windmill? What can I do to help save energy in my classroom? Why is it important to save energy?
This fall, third and seventh-graders in Washington Local School District considered these questions and others as part of a project designed to help them learn about energy production, consumption, and conservation. Funded with a grant from the Ohio Environmental Education Fund, the project reached 1,150 students and 28 teachers in grades 3, 7 and 10.
Each participating teacher attended a two-day professional development workshop in September, during which they learned about energy and related new science standards. They also designed an introductory lesson for use with their students.
Shoreland Elementary students participate in Workshop on Wheels activities in their classroom.
Students then participated in a classroom workshop on energy production and conservation, facilitated by Imagination Station staff. They also visited Imagination Station’s Energy Factory and Engineer It! exhibits. Third-graders brought home a kit of energy-saving devices to install with their parents, and seventh-graders completed a classroom energy audit.
Seventh-grade students used an instrument called a Kill-a-Watt meter to measure the amount of energy drawn by appliances in their classrooms. These meters were available to those wishing to do a home energy audit as well.
Stay tuned—class sets of these meters and a “Home Energy Audit” will soon be available to borrow from Imagination Station if you’d like to try this with your students.
Mindbender Challenge
Next week begins a series of puzzles designed to exercise your mind and entertain your brain!
One puzzle leads to the next with bonus clues along the way, so keep track of all your answers – they’ll help you solve the final puzzle. All participants that correctly answer the final puzzle will be entered to WIN A KINDLE FIRE*!
Check out the Toledo Blade’s Peach Weekender on the following Thursdays to find the puzzles:
- 1st puzzle - Thursday, February 2 Click here to print the puzzle
- 2nd puzzle - Thursday, February 16
- 3rd puzzle - Thursday, March 1
- 4th puzzle – Thursday, March 15
Puzzles will be posted to our website the day following their appearance in the paper, so make sure to bookmark this page and check back often because we’ll also be posting bonus puzzles periodically to help you answer the final puzzle!
After the Final Puzzle:
To enter to win the KINDLE FIRE*, submit your final answer one of these ways:
1. Submit your final answer online. Entry form will be available March 16, 2012
2. Drop off your final answer at Visitor Services at Imagination Station
3. Mail your final answer to – Imagination Station Toledo, Attention: Mindbender Challenge, 1 Discovery Way, Toledo, OH 43604. Entries must be postmarked no sooner than 3/15/12 and no later 4/1/12. Limit one entry per address. Entries that do not comply with mailing requirements will not be honored, acknowledged or returned.
Contest Rules:
Contest runs Thursday, February 2 – April 1, 2012. 1 entry per person. Must be 18 and over to participate. No purchase necessary. A random drawing of all completed and correct answers will take place on or after April 4, 2012. The winner will be notified by phone. The winners name will be announced on www.imaginationstationtoledo.org and on our facebook page. No cash value.
*Kindle, Kindle Fire, Amazon, the Amazon Kindle logo and the Kindle Fire logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.*
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Gingerbread House Winners!
Gingerbread Village
Culinary students from Penta Career Center designed and built gingerbread houses that were showcased during the holiday season at Imagination Station, from November 19 – January 2, during which time Imagination Station visitors voted for their favorites. The 1st-4th place winners are listed below under the photo of the house, or in this case, the barn, the church or the townhouse too!
Each house reflected the culmination of the semester’s classwork by each student. From project planning, baking and decorating, each gingerbread creation counted as a grade for the student as well as a personalized tribute to the holiday craft so many have grown to love over the years. The entire house, even the support structure, was edible and nothing was left out. They used candy, cookies, cereal, snacks – as long as it was edible it could be used. For a full photo album of all the gingerbread houses, please visit the Imagination Station facebook page.
Congratulations to all the winners!
First place winner Paige Elsass will receive a family membership to Imagination Station as a prize, and the 2nd-4th place winners will all receive family four packs of admission tickets to the science center.
First Place - created by Paige Elsass from Perrysburg
Second place - created by Summer Johnson from Anthony Wayne
Third Place - created by Ben Winne from Lake
Fourth Place - created by Victoria Lamb from Seward Bowling Green
Gingerbread Castle
The students also spent hours, accompanied by students from Penta’s Construction Department, building and decorating a giant gingerbread castle that was used as the backdrop for Santa’s many visits throughout the holiday season. The castle took more than 1000 lbs. of flour, 600 gallons of corn syrup, 300 lbs. of brown sugar, 100 lbs. of margarine to create and more than 3 months to bake and decorate. The castle featured candy coated images of the Rudolph and the gang, Santa and Mrs. Claus and several portraits of elves in action.
National Engineers Week 2012
February 20-25
2012 marks the 60th anniversary of National Engineers Week. Help us celebrate as we Think It. Build It. Test It… Do It Again!
Explore the engineering design process and discover that creativity and imagination are essential skills for an engineer. One step inside Engineer It!, our learning world dedicated to the engineer within us all, will inspire you to let your imagination run wild and build big, build tall and build safe!
Activities will include:
Polyhedras
Make your own polyhedra take home boxes.
Balloon Flinkers
Ever seen a helium filled balloon that doesn’t float or sink? By thoughtfully adding weights, these balloons are made to ‘flink’.
Puff Mobiles
Build a puff mobile out of index cards, straws and mints that can only be moved when you blow on them.
Wear & Tear
Investigate how different fabrics wear when abrasions and force are applied.
K’Nex Bridges
Can you build the longest, the strongest, the most durable bridge?
Teachers!
Thinking of a field trip? This is a perfect opportunity for a classroom full of budding engineers! For more information or to book a field trip, call 419.244.2674 ext. 250.
Sponsored by:
Presidents Day
Monday, February 20, 2012
Imagination Station will be open from 10am-5pm in celebration of Presidents Day.
Ever wonder how Presidents Day came to be?
Here’s a little history lesson for you.
Presidents’ Day is intended (for some) to honor all the American presidents, but most significantly George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. According to the Gregorian or “New Style” calendar that is most commonly used today, George Washington was born on February 22, 1732. But according to the Julian or “Old Style” calendar that was used in England until 1752, his birth date was February 11th. Back in the 1790s, Americans were split – some celebrated his birthday on February 11th and some on February 22nd.
When Abraham Lincoln became president and helped reshape our country, it was believed he, too, should have a special day of recognition. Tricky thing was that Lincoln’s birthday fell on February 12th. Prior to 1968, having two presidential birthdays so close together didn’t seem to bother anyone. February 22nd was observed as a federal public holiday to honor the birthday of George Washington and February 12th was observed as a public holiday to honor Abraham Lincoln’s birthday.
In 1968, things changed when the 90th Congress was determined to create a uniform system of federal Monday holidays. They voted to shift three existing holidays (including Washington’s Birthday) to Mondays. The law took effect in 1971, and as a result, Washington’s Birthday holiday was changed to the third Monday in February. But not all Americans were happy with the new law. There was some concern that Washington’s identity would be lost since the third Monday in February would never fall on his actual birthday. There was also an attempt to rename the public holiday “Presidents’ Day”, but the idea didn’t go anywhere since some believed not all presidents deserved a special recognition.
Even though Congress had created a uniform federal holiday law, there was not a uniform holiday title agreement among the individual states. Some states, like California, Idaho, Tennessee and Texas chose not to retain the federal holiday title and renamed their state holiday “President’s Day.” From that point forward, the term “Presidents’ Day” became a marketing phenomenon, as advertisers sought to capitalize on the opportunity for three-day or weeklong sales.
In 1999, bills were introduced in both the U.S. House (HR-1363) and Senate (S-978) to specify that the legal public holiday once referred to as Washington’s Birthday be “officially” called by that name once again. Both bills died in committees.
Today, President’s Day is well accepted and celebrated. Some communities still observe the original holidays of Washington and Lincoln, and many parks actually stage reenactments and pageants in their honor. The National Park Service also features a number of historic sites and memorials to honor the lives of these two presidents, as well as other important leaders.
From About.com
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