I love chemistry! We have been looking at the atomic theory in greater detail to prepare my students for high school. They will be learning about it again in 9th and then again in 11th grade. My students have completed two inquiry labs where they used a flow chart that they created from experimenting with chemical reactions and indicators to identify an unknown substance and then to identify a unknown solution’s pH. I found the labs in a book called “Inquiry-Based Experiments in Chemistry”. The labs went really well. Read the rest of this entry »
Each team is unique, from vehicle architectures to outreach strategies, and the same holds true for the exterior design of their vehicles. Even at this early prototype stage of vehicle development, many of the EcoCARs are custom-painted and personalized with images of the schools’ mascots and EcoCAR logos. Read the rest of this entry »
Paul Fryzel, supervisor of plant and industrial engineering at the Flint Metal Center, talks with Dillon students about what waste can be recycled, re-used or reduced.
For the last eight years, UAW and GM representatives from the Flint Metal Center have visited Dillon Elementary School to talk about how students there can do their part to protect the environment.
A couple weeks ago, the Flint Metal Center team, which included some personnel from Flint Engine South and Flint Assembly, walked three third-grade classes through the process of how we separate oil from water before sending the water on to the city of Flint for further treatment. Read the rest of this entry »
Out here in New Jersey, public schools were recently told to prepare for budget cuts across the state in every district. In the spirit of the sustainable design challenges and problem solving activities that we have been giving students all year, our current situation presented us a REAL problem to solve. Next year, we might have less money to buy new supplies, so it is important to conserve now. However, we want to continue giving students fresh design challenges that deal with sustainability and the integration of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), as well as other 21st century skills such as innovation, critical thinking, problem solving and collaboration. Read the rest of this entry »
Well, chemistry is done and our state testing has also been completed. The end of our chemistry unit focused on a recap of content and acid/base chemistry. I used an online lab called GEMS Alien Juice Bar activity. My students loved it and it helped them remember things like, acids neutralize bases and vice versa, as well as, what indicators are. Read the rest of this entry »
This year was the 40th Earth Day. So naturally, our EcoCAR teams – about 200 university students building green cars – looked under their hoods for inspiration…
As a result, we’ve started the 40-Mile Pledge. For the rest of 2010, every time we hit the road for a day trip, we’re keeping it under 40 miles. It’s a simple way to conserve energy and drive like you own a hybrid, even if you don’t. Read the rest of this entry »
For the past couple of months we’ve been working hard on a project that uses the exciting technology and images of Google Earth to show how energy is used and produced all over the world. We call it the GM Google Earth Project.
More than 1,100 educators around the world are doing it.
On Earth Day, April 22, 2010, they are going paperless. These teachers have pledged that they will not make copies, hand out worksheets, give tests–at least, tests produced on paper–or do anything else that requires paper. Read the rest of this entry »
Wow were do I start? You have heard of the journey of life…well, I am on the journey of alternative fuel discovery. And so are my students. My latest big event brought me to NSTA (the National Science Teachers Association convention in Philadelphia). As an auto shop teacher I felt a little bit like a fish out of water. Nevertheless this fish is growing wings, just like in the Discovery Education movie “Life,” which I got to see on an Imax screen at one of the fun conference night events. As a green auto shop teacher collaborating with the science department, it was a great experience for me to be at this mecca of science conventions with more than 10,000 attendees. Read the rest of this entry »
And here we are, back in Michigan. 500 hours of planning, 30 hours of manning a booth, 3,500 recycled newspaper pencils and 350 bamboo USB drives later, NSTA’s 2010 national conference is officially over.
As one who works behind the screen most of the time, it was a really really awesome experience for me to get to meet the teachers on the other side of the screen and be able to give away resources that they could take back to their classrooms. Read the rest of this entry »
