When you're back in school, just hold the spider!

The first day of school is coming up, and I wanted to share with you a story that I promise has a cool little life lesson attached!

For as long as I can remember, I have been terrified of spiders. Terrified to the point that I would frequently have nightmares that big, furry spiders were crawling around in my bed or descending from my ceiling, which would result in me running screaming from my bedroom in my sleep. This fear of mine is completely irrational; I have never had a bad experience with a spider. For whatever reason, they just freak me out. (Picture @ left: Me at the Museum of Science being scared of the black widow spider display!)

When the MAS went to the AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) convention in Boston in February, I unexpectedly had to come face-to-face with my fear! Chris Mitchell, one of our first volunteers, (see the interview I did with him as an Aspiring Scientist ) brought along his menagerie of cool animals, including a turtle, a scorpion, a corn snake, and (gulp) a rose-haired tarantula (picture @ right)! When I first found out there was going to be the very object of my nightmares within 3 feet of me I was so creeped out. I could feel my face flushing red, my heart rate pick up, and my hands start to shake a little---but I was trying to keep it together because we were at a very important science convention and we were literally surrounded by hundreds of influential people. The tarantula arrived along with the rest of the animals, and for the first couple hours I tried my best to avoid it.

As the day wore on, I started to feel more comfortable with the spider’s presence. Chris had the tarantula out (picture @ left), and I observed it from afar. Slowly but surely, I became fascinated by it. I was watching how it moved its legs, and I realized how similar its legs were to my fingers. Eventually, I realized that if I was every going to conquer my fear of spiders, now was the time. So, I held it (picture below @ right)! And it was one of the coolest thing I have ever done! Its weight was evenly distributed to its feet, so it felt weightless and a little heavy at the same time. I also remember the bottoms of its feet being cool. I was so glad I did it. To this day, I am still a little creeped out by spiders, but nowhere near like I used to be!

Anyways, the reason I shared this story with you is because I got a phrase out of it that has become a staple in my vocabulary: just hold the spider. It reminds me to just be brave when I need courage!

There are going to be moments in your life where you need to just hold the spider. Being a student especially requires bravery on a daily basis. It takes courage to raise your hand and ask a question. It takes courage to realize when you are struggling with something, to actually admit it to yourself, and to get the help you need for it. It takes courage to try out for a sport, or to reach out to other people to make friends. If you remember to just hold the spider, you will conquer these fears and discomforts and grow from the experience.

Ambrose Redmoon, a writer from the 1960’s, once said that “courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear,” and I could not agree more with this statement. It is completely okay to be afraid of things in life from time to time, but never let them hold you back from experiencing things. I hope you keep this in mind as you go back to school. Just hold the spider, and remember, as always, to think, explore, learn!

~Sara

Bug Bites

While I’ll be the first to admit the pure awesomness of summer, there are certain unpleasant realities we have to deal with that just come with the season. Luckily for us, many of them are steps we can take to prevent them from happening. As always, knowledge is the best weapon we can have in our arsenal.

Anyways, there is one particular summer pest I have in mind. When I was younger, all of the kids in my neighborhood used to get together at night to play a game called Manhunt, which was basically two teams playing tag in the dark. When we’d come home, my sisters and I were usually covered in these red, itchy welts. Of course, you know I am talking about mosquito bites.

Mosquitoes are a type of insect. In North America, there are 167 different types of species of mosquito, with 46 different species in Massachusetts alone. Mosquitoes feed on nectar from flowers, but it’s only the females that practice haematophagy, or the drinking blood for food, that mosquitoes are famous for. Females don’t need blood in order to survive, but they take it to get certain nutrients that help develop healthy eggs…think of yourself as a mosquito vitamin.
Mosquitoes are really cool because they are streamlined to search out their prey with their special sensors they are equipped with. When birds and mammals breathe, they take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide as waste when you breathe out. Carbon dioxide is one of the chemicals that mosquitoes are able to detect from up to 100 feet away. Once they are close enough, they can sense the heat radiating off of the mammal, or even visually detect your movements or your clothes contrasting with the background.

Once mosquitoes zero in on the object of their desire, it becomes all about using their specially designed anatomy to obtain their food. Mosquitoes have a very long proboscis, or nose, that has a very thin and sharp end, which is why you never feel it go into your skin. Once the proboscis is inside of the blood vessel, the proteins in the saliva of the mosquito are a special kind that prevent the clotting in your blood. (Clotting is what makes your blood stop flowing when you get a cut, and this is what enables the injury to form a scab and heal.) The mosquito will drink until her belly is full (unless she is disturbed) and fly away.

When the mosquito is gone, she leaves behinds some of the proteins from her saliva in your blood. These proteins provoke an immune response from your body, and that is what causes it to swell up. The proteins also make this welt itch. As soon as your body breaks down the mosquito’s proteins, the bump stops itching. In the meantime, in order to reduce the itching, you can use Calamine lotion or over-the-counter cortisone cream.

To prevent yourself from being bitten in the first place, make sure to wear as much clothing as the weather permits, and to use bug spray containing DEET. Make sure to reapply the bug spray on a regular basis. It is important to protect yourself from mosquito bites, not only to save yourself the annoyance of having to deal with those big, red, itchy bumps, but also to defend yourself against the diseases mosquitoes can sometimes carry.

For more information, check out:

How Stuff Works: How Mosquitoes Work
Wikipedia: Mosquito


Alrighty, guys! I know that you’ll use this information to keep yourself safe and mosquito-free for the rest of the summer! And remember, as always, to think, explore, learn!

~Sara

Clara Barton

Special Thanks to Ashley for the email!

Just a question, I was wondering how Clara Barton is a scientist and what her discoveries are. I am curious to learn about her.
Thank you,
Ashley

Clara Barton was an incredibly important historical figure to the United States. She is not a scientist in the literal sense in that she worked in a laboratory or studied out in the field. But she made an enormous contribution to science because she founded the American Red Cross. She was born in Oxford, Massachusetts in 1821.

Clara became well known after her work during the Civil War in the 1860’s. We all know that women were not allowed to do many things during that time period, and that included being on the battlefield. However, Clara received special permission from President Lincoln to go behind the frontlines and provide medical attention to the injured soldiers. After the war, she also helped locate missing soldiers for worried families. She was able to locate around 30,000 men!

Clara’s doctors recommended that she take a trip to Europe in order to have some much-needed rest. While there, she became inspired by Europe’s International Committee of the Red Cross and the help that they provided during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. The thing she especially liked was the idea that he ICRC provided help to ALL victims of war, no matter which side they were fighting for.

When she returned to the United States from her trip to Europe, Clara worked on establishing the American Red Cross. She presented it to President Garfield as not only a means of assistance during times of war, but also as an organization that provided relief during natural disasters. The American Red Cross was officially founded on May 21, 1891, with Clara as the first President.

Today, the American Red Cross not only plays a vital role in disaster relief, but also provides a variety of services, classes, and therapies that are used in healthcare and by the general public. The Red Cross is the nation’s leading source of donated blood. They run nationwide blood drives and the blood donated is screened to make sure it is safe and then transfused into patients that are either ill or victims of an accident. Blood transfusions save countless lives every day. The Red Cross also sponsors biomedical research facilities that make many important discoveries in the field of healthcare and medicine. In addition to these provisions, the Red Cross also holds classes that are available to the public that teach very important skills in areas such as first aid and CPR. The Red Cross still remains as a frontrunner in disaster relief. When Hurricane Katrina hit, they single handedly raised over 2 million dollars to help the people of New Orleans.

Clara Barton was truly an amazing woman. Not only did she stand as an example of human compassion, but she also serves as an icon for women’s rights. Her efforts of getting the Red Cross together in the first place have lead to many important advancements in the field of health care, medicine, and disaster response.

For more information on Clara Barton and the American Red Cross, be sure to check out these websites:
Red Cross Museum: Clara Barton
Red Cross Homepage
A Brief History of the American Red Cross
American Red Cross Resource for Teachers and Students
Wikipedia Search: Clara Barton
Wikipedia Search: American Red Cross

And remember, as always, to think, explore, learn!

~Sara

Waste my Summer? No thanks!

So, school’s out and science even dictates that it is officially summer (a.k.a. Friday’s Summer Solstice). Now is the time to kick back and relax, of course. (With how hard you worked during the school year? You EARNED it!) But at the same time, don’t just laze the summer days away. I don’t know about you, but for me there are few better feelings then the feeling of accomplishment. With that in mind, I try to make a small list of goals I want to achieve by the end of the summer. They are always things I know I can do, and can accomplish in a fairly short amount of time. If I can stick to my list, then I know that my summer wasn’t a waste!

Setting goals for yourself also helps to keep your mind stimulated during the summer, which will make the transition into school easier for you in the fall. (I know, I know, you don’t even want to think about that right now, but hey, it’s the truth!) But write ‘em down post them on the wall, enlist a friend to do it with you…whatever it takes to get them done!

Here are some rules of thumb I usually use when making my goals:
1. Learn something new-What is something you have always wanted to do? Why don’t you try to teach it to yourself? Do research on the computer, check out books from your local library, see if your parents will allow you to take lessons. Whether you are learning how to use a computer program, play a musical instrument, do a new arts n’ craft, whatever! Maybe you’ll develop a new passion or skill that will come in handy later!

2. Do something physical-Get off your butt! Summer is the time for gorgeous weather, so get outside and do something. Make a pact with yourself to ride your bike, go roller blading or swim on a regular basis. You can even arrange a weekly game of wiffle ball or Manhunt with the other kids in your neighborhood. Staying healthy will make you happy!

3. Stimulate your brain-Create a just-for-fun reading list with books YOU want to read. Reading may not be your favorite thing to do, but I guarantee you, you can find a genre of books that interests you. Reading on a regular basis will definitely help you during school---it expands vocabulary, enables spelling, and all sorts of other awesome benefits.


Need to see an example of these tips in action? Here are MY goals for the summer.
1. Learn how to use Photoshop- Photoshop is a very handy tool that is used in a ton of places. I would love to learn how to edit my own pictures. Also, it will benefit my career. While I was researching careers for journalists, I read that it was good for prospective journalists to have skills in a variety of computer programs, including Photoshop. I found an awesome online instruction book, and I just spend time playing with the program and making practice images.
2. Work the gym into my weekly routine-I joined a gym, and want to work it into my schedule. I want to be healthier. I made myself a workout progress chart so I can keep track of the steps I take while getting healthier. I really just want to be able to run without getting terribly winded, and improve my upper body strength. So far, I’ve been working on my pacing on a treadmill, and I have been doing arm lifts with free weights.
3. Get through my book list-I love summer because I finally get a chance to read for pleasure without having tons of other things to do or study for. I made a list of books that I want to read for the summer, and hope to read through it by the end of the summer.


Of course it’s okay to relax and enjoy yourself this summer…but keep busy, and, as always, remember to think, explore, learn!

~Sara

The First Official Day of Summer!

I’m sure at this point, everyone is out of school for the summer. But we’ve all heard of that particular day in June, the Summer Solstice, that marks the first official day of summer. The summer solstice is a really cool concept because not only is there a ton of science behind it, but there is also a lot of history and superstition associated with it. Today, June 20 2008 at 23:59 (that’s 11:59 tonight) will mark the first day of summer.

First, some background information. Earth orbits around the sun in an ellipse, which is an oval shape. To go around the sun once, it takes the Earth about 365 days, or one year. The Earth itself is divided into sections with imaginary lines. The axis is the imaginary line that goes from the North Pole to the South Pole. Along with revolving around the sun, the Earth is also rotation, or spinning, around on its axis. To complete a full spin takes about 24 hours, or one day. One very important thing to remember is that the Earth is tilted on its axis. There is also an imaginary line that goes around the Earth called the equator, which divides it in half. These pieces are called hemispheres. The top half is known as the Northern Hemisphere, and the bottom half is known as the Southern Hemisphere.

Okay, that’s all very interesting, but what does it have to do with the solstice? Well, the solstices, along with the equinoxes, occur because the Earth is at a particular spot in its orbit around the sun. There are 2 solstices that occur during the year, and 2 equinoxes. There is the Summer Solstice and the Winter Solstice, and the Vernal Equinox and the Autumnal Equinox. All four of these occurrences have to do with how much direct sunlight is pointing at the Earth at the given time. (Check out the diagram below---it might help to have a visual!)



When the Earth is in its Summer Solstice, the way the Earth is tilted on its axis is making the Northern Hemisphere the closest point to the sun, which has the Sun’s rays pointing directly at it. This also allows for more daylight hours, therefore making it the longest day of the year. The Winter Solstice is the exact opposite of this. It occurs in late December, and because the Northern Hemisphere is pointed away from the Sun and away from the direct rays. It is the shortest day of the year. The Autumnal Equinox happens in the Fall. The position the Earth is in allows for sunlight to fall directly on the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, and daylight and nighttime hours are equal. This is exactly what happens with the Vernal Equinox, only it occurs during the springtime.

For thousands upon thousands of years, religions have been intrigued by the Solstices. For that reason, the Solstice has so many mystical elements to it. Due to it’s universal intrigue, it has acquired many names throughout history. All throughout history, a bunch of different religions have have had holidays and days of ritual on the day of the Solstice. Personally, I find the Solstices especially interesting. You often see a lot of controversy between science and religion, and I think it's really cool to see that both of them find a sort of common ground in their fascination with the Solstices and the Equinoxes.




For more information, check out:

Summer Solstice 2008: Fun Facts, History, Rituals and Celebrations

About.com: Overview of the Summer Solstice


Happy Summer, guys! Keep checking back for more updates, and remember, as always, to think, explore, learn!

~Sara

National Astronomy Day!

As you have probably seen from the website already, the MAS traveled east to Newton for National Astronomy Day at the Clay Center. There is really only one word to describe the day: awesome. Sandy, Gabby and I had so much fun...we all concluded it was definitely one of our favorite events that we have gone to. Everyone we talked to was just so into everything we had to say and to show them. It was awesome to see how much our liquid nitrogen demonstration excited people. We had lots of kids asking AWESOME questions about it...things that we hadn't even thought about ourselves! I can't even explain how amazing it was to see the enthusiasm in the kids and adults alike. NAD was the last event we did before the summer. I am even more excited now for all of the visits we have planned for the fall!

Here are some pictures that you might not have seen already!
Picture 1: Sandy is doing a liquid nitrogen demonstration as I look on. As you can see from the students and parents watching, it's a pretty cool experiment! The experiment in the picture is the aftermath of adding liquid nitrogen to soap and water.

Picture 2: Gabby explains some liquid nitrogen facts to a crowd.

Picture 3: A behind-the-MAS-scenes look! Here we are with the Biology Department van that I got to drive to Newton (so fun!!)

Picture 4: A guy named Benjamin Grauer had a really cool booth set up close to ours. He had a huge green screen up against the wall and on the floor, and when we stood up against it (with Monty) to take our picture, he was able to superimpose us into space. He also had some orange NASA space suits for students to wear, but, unfortunately, we were too big for them :o(






























E-mail us and make an appointment for us to come visit your school in the fall! We would love to come hang out!

Until next time, remember, as always, to think, explore, learn!

~Sara