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Last year we reviewed Kidipede – History for Kids. Not to be labeled a one-trick insect, Kidipede has just rolled out a science site. Designed for middle-schoolers, Kidipede – Science for Kids offers useful info about biology, physics, chemistry, geology, as well as mathematics, the language of science.

You’ll find articles, videos, plus recommendations for further reading. Each article links to dozens of sub-articles, so if your students are reading about tectonic plates, they can feel free to go off on learning tangents and read up on earthquakes and volcanoes while they’re at it. Kidipede has more bits of information than a centipede has legs. -BILL FERRIS

Kidipede – Science for Kids

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Easy-to-do experiments for the science fair

I’m sure you’re familiar with the periodic chart of elements. Here’s a bare-bones rundown of how it’s laid out: hydrogen and helium are hanging out at the top all on their own, elements in the same row have something in common, and so do elements in the same column (but not all columns). And that’s the basic scheme. Cool with everything so far? Great. Now all you have to do is go through the painful, tedious memorization of each element on every square. Awesome, I’ll see you in a week or two.

So maybe rote memorization of the periodic chart isn’t quite cutting it for your students. Maybe it’s the opposite: your students have taken such an interest in the periodic chart that they’ve not only memorized it, but now they have you cornered and are demanding further explanations for Ununbium and Protactinium. Whichever direction things are going in your science classroom, The University of Nottingham’s Periodic Table of Videos has you covered. They provide a video for EACH AND EVERY element on the periodic chart, with concise explanations and several demonstrated experiments.

I’ll also point out that Professor Martyn Poliakoff isn’t afraid to rock the Dr. Emmett Brown/Einstein hairstyle, which, to me, gives him more street cred as a scientist.
–NICK YINGLING

Periodic Table of Videos

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If you or your students ever take a walk in the woods on a field trip, it’s a good idea to know the potential dangers. I’m not just talking about bears, either. You can find a lot of plants that can harm humans through ingestion, or even by simple touch.

Before heading into the wild, arm yourself by reading this list of the 20 Deadliest Plants on the Planet. You’ll find the usual suspects like hemlock and deadly nightshade [editor's note: that's a really cool name for a plant], some wolves in sheep’s clothing like the angel’s trumpet, plus a couple surprises – I knew poison ivy makes you itchy, but I had no idea if you burned it, the smoke can kill you if you breathe it in. Don’t miss the doll’s eyes plant, which looks a lot like what it sounds like. The berries are chock full of cardiogenic toxins which can give you a heart attack, but the fact that the berries look like eyeballs will probably be enough to dissuade even the most curious (or hungry) eaters. -BILL FERRIS

20 Deadliest Plants on the Planet via PurpleSlinky

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From the “Pretty Much What it Sounds Like” Department comes this Chemical Equation Balancer. True to its name, it balances chemical equations. Just type your equation in and hit the “Balance” button, and you’re set to go. I’m really struggling to say more about it, but there’s not very much to this no-frills app (that’s an asset, not a flaw, by the way).

This is a handy way for students to check their work. Though there are multiple ways to balance an equation, this should help them figure out if they’re on the right track. -BILL FERRIS

Chemical Equation Balancer

Find two school programs with less in common than art and science. Okay, maybe band and auto shop don’t have much in common. But for our purposes today, let’s say art and science are polar opposites within most schools. They’re on different sides of the building (if the art program hasn’t been cut altogether), and they attract very different students.

Or do they?

The lines between art and science blur in the Periodic Table of Elements Printmaking Project. Ninety-six printmakers from around the country joined forces to create prints for every element on the periodic table. Each print is inspired by the element it showcases (for example, the metal potassium depicts what looks like a bunch of robotic bananas).

The uses of this table are twofold: having a visual aid can help students memorize the elements easier. It’s also a fun project idea if you’re an art teacher and want to show that anything can be made into art. The table’s only drawback is that not all prints show all the information, so supplementing it with a standard periodic table is a good idea. But it could be an indispensable tool for art students in a science class, or visual thinkers of any discipline. -BILL FERRIS

Periodic Table of Elements Printmaking Project

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One of the reasons I didn’t major in the sciences was the periodic table. What may look to scientists like a finely-ordered display of the building blocks of the world, appears to me as a mess of senseless symbols (lead is Pb? How can I remember that?) or random strings of consonants (what the hey is yttrium?).

Back then, I could’ve used the Visual Elements Periodic Table. Each element is accompanied by a graphic that gives some insight into each element. Tungsten, which makes up light bulb filaments, features a picture of a light bulb. Naturally, you can also read up on the element’s discovery, uses, atomic number, all that stuff.

Now that I’ve got a visual association with each element, I might be able to memorize the entire periodic table and go on to win a Nobel Prize or something. But I must remember my duty to this blog which, I assure you, is the only thing standing in the way of my scientific success. Honest. -BILL FERRIS

Visual Elements Periodic Table

You can’t beat an ice sculpture to spruce up the refreshment table at the winter dance. But if your school doesn’t have huge blocks of ice or chainsaws in the supply closet, head to your local chemistry laboratory to take matters into your own hands. The Popular Science website shows you how to create liquid ice sculptures like an X-Man with water and sodium acetate.

The article advocates buying the sodium acetate from unitednuclear.com for $24 per pound. If you don’t already have the stuff lying around and want to do this on the cheap, you can check out this post on Instructables to learn how to make it yourself.

PopSci.com rates this experiment a 2 out of 5 in their safety scale (1 equals safe, 5 equals crazy), so your students can probably do this as a lab. As with any interaction of chemicals, please observe safety guidelines such as using goggles, and refrain from drinking the solution – so no using your icy art to cool off the punch bowl at the school dance. -BILL FERRIS

Transform Hand Warmers to Liquid Ice Sculptures via PopSci.com
Create Sodium Acetate via Instructables

The highlight of my high school chemistry class was watching a video of scientists chucking bricks of potassium into a lake and watching them explode. Thanks to the magic of the Internet, you can access scientific explosions any time you want to. And if you see only one bit of science shenanigans this month, make it Doctor Doctor.

Like the Diet Coke and Mentos guys, Doctor Doctor episodes look like Mister Wizard meets the Keystone Cops, complete with fast-motion video and old-timey music. Dr. Quickly and Dr. Science harness the destructive powers of science to implode steel drums and make water rockets, and create more complicated projects like a hovercraft powered by a leaf blower. Check out Doctor Doctor and let the hijinks ensue. –BILL FERRIS

Doctor Doctor

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Bill Nye the Science Guy returns with a new show, The Eyes of Nye. Though I haven’t yet seen the program, you should definitely visit its accompanying website, which provides facts and background information on topics such as cloning, climate change, and nuclear power. You can also find out more about scientists leading the way in researching each episode’s topic. The site also provides opposing viewpoints on issues such as global warming and alternative fuel sources.

The Eyes of Nye looks like it’s geared toward an older audience than Bill Nye the Science Guy. But don’t worry—though it’s a new show, Nye’s goofiness and trademark bow tie are still intact.—BILL FERRIS

The Eyes of Nye

Every science teacher’s favorite musical jaunt through the periodic table, Tom Lehrer’s “The Elements,” now has an animated video. This fun flash animation gives students a fighting chance at singing along by displaying each element as it’s sung.

At the risk of giving away the ending, animator Mike Stanfill kindly fills in the elements that have been discovered since the song was recorded in 1955, so it covers the complete list of elements. And far be it from us to tell you how to do your job, but any student who can sing this whole song from memory deserves some serious extra credit.

“The Elements” is an oldie but goodie that just got a little goodie-r. These kids nowadays with their rock and roll music could do with a song stuck in their heads that actually teaches them something. –BILL FERRIS

The Element Song

The periodic table has never looked so cool. Though that’s not saying much, the Dynamic Periodic Table adds a dash of interactivity to the old scientific standby. Click on any element, and it displays a window containing everything you’d ever want to know about it, courtesy of Wikipedia. You can view elements according to their orbitals, isotopes, and electrons (it’s been a while since my last science class, but I’m going to assume that’s useful information).

Your students will love you for showing them such a useful, easy reference tool. And you’ll love having all the info you need about every element known to man at your fingertips.—BILL FERRIS

Dynamic Periodic Table