Blog

STEM Tuesday –Community Science – Writing Tips & Resources

By on June 21, 2022   /   Community Science, STEM Tuesday  

The community bit to science is often the ignored, undervalued piece of the scientific process. Collective knowledge needs to be collected and then dispersed among the collective.

Totally confusing, right? 

Well, it is if you think about science as we’ve been generally taught…as a static thing. We’ve been ingrained to think of science as only a rather dull series of steps. How many times have you had to list the steps of the SCIENTIFIC METHOD on a test? I wish I had a dollar for every time I did!

  • Observation
  • Discovery
  • Hypothesis
  • Test
  • Conclude
  • Communicate

Sarah Greenwood, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

 

But science is so much more than just a few memorized steps in a process. What has often been overshadowed in science is the “aliveness” of science. We too often think about science as an individual or small group activity of people isolated in a laboratory, office, or at a site going about their business. We think of science as static. The same misconception holds true for technology, engineering, and mathematics. Lifeless and mundane egghead stuff.

But STEM is so much more. It’s vibrant and alive! It’s all around us. It affects all of us. Science is a tool we use to explain the world around us. Technology, engineering, and mathematics are the tools we use to help science define our world and then manipulate it. And STEM needs you. 

As much as science affects the community, community affects science. Whether it’s an individual or group participating in a scientific study to collect data points for a research group or science information being presented to a population, the community plays a vital role.

It’s TEAMWORK!

What better way to learn and appreciate science than by participating in science? Shared experience. Now, that’s the value of community science. With many eyes, bodies, and brains at work, the more alive the science is. Community science spreads the load in both directions. It helps cover the necessary ground to turn an unknown into a known by gathering and then distributing the information.

Within the realm of community science, there is a multitude of opportunities covering just about any interest. From open code sourcing software to bird counts, to data analysis, to at-home CRISPR gene-editing, there’s something for everyone. Find your particular jam and give it a shot.

Community Science for the win!

  • Teamwork
  • Spread the load
  • Cover the ground
  • Gather the information

Teamwork makes the dream work!

 

Mount Rainier NPS, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

 

 

Mike Hays has worked hard from a young age to be a well-rounded individual. A well-rounded, equal opportunity sports enthusiast, that is. If they keep a score, he’ll either watch it, play it, or coach it. A molecular microbiologist by day, middle-grade author, sports coach, and general good citizen by night, he blogs about sports/training-related topics at  www.coachhays.com and writer stuff at  www.mikehaysbooks.com. Two of his science essays, The Science of Jurassic Park and Zombie Microbiology 101, are included in the Putting the Science in Fiction collection from Writer’s Digest Books. He can be found roaming around the Twitter-sphere under the guise of @coachhays64 and Instagram at @mikehays64.

 

The O.O.L.F Files

This month’s version of the O.O.L.F.(Out of Left Field) Files provides resources to get involved in community science projects. 

Looking for a community science project? Check out these resources!

The one and only Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count!

CRISPR at Home – Gene editing for anyone!

The Cornell Ornithology Lab

 

Back to Top

Interview with Edgar® Award-Winner Christina Diaz Gonzalez

By on June 20, 2022   /   Articles, Author Interviews  

Today, I’m particularly excited to introduce Mixed-Up Files readers to Christina Diaz Gonzalez. I’ve known Christina for many years and have followed her amazing career. In April, Christina was the recipient of the prestigious Edgar® Award, given by the Mystery Writers of America, for her novel Concealed. She is the author of several other award-winning books, including The Red Umbrella, A Thunderous Whisper, Moving Target, and others. Upcoming novels include: Invisible (a graphic novel available in August 2022) and The Bluest Sky (a historical fiction novel available in September 2022). Her books have received numerous honors including the Florida Book Award, the Nebraska Book Award, and the International Latino Book Award. Her work has also been designated as an American Library Association’s Best Fiction for Young Adults selection, a Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People, a Junior Library Guild Gold Selection, and as an International Reading Association’s Teachers’ Choice book. Christina currently lives in Miami, Florida, with her husband, sons, and a dog that can open doors.

(Mouse over the titles of books for purchase or preorder.)

 

About Concealed


Dorian: First, huge congratulations on all the accolades you’ve gotten for Concealed. Can you tell us a little about the book and what inspired the story?

Christina: Thank you … I’m so thrilled about the response Concealed has received. Concealed is the story of a girl (currently named Katrina) who believes she and her parents are in the Witness Protection Program … having to change their names and move every time their cover could be revealed. But when her parents disappear, Katrina discovers that living a life of lies has been the biggest lie of them all. She discovers that the only way to save her parents is to find out the truth about who she is and why they have been on the run … even if it means destroying everything she has ever believed about herself and her family.

As for what inspired the story … a news story sparked my imagination, but I can’t say much more without giving away a huge spoiler (although I do address it in an author’s note at the back of the book).

 

Dorian: That’s really intriguing. What kind of research did you have to do for the book?

Christina: There were various levels of research like delving into scientific journals, plotting out travel times between cities, and researching where dairy farms in Georgia might be located. I try to add a level authenticity to even my more outrageous twists and plot scenarios.

 

Dorian: Concealed has a lot of twists and turns. Did you know what they would be when you first sat down to write the book, or did they come to you as you wrote?

Christina: I knew what some of the BIG twists would be, but many of the smaller ones revealed themselves as I wrote the story. I am much more of a “pantser” (write by the seat of my pants) instead of a plotter who outlines the whole book before writing the first draft.

 

Books by Christina

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dorian: What do you enjoy most about writing for the middle-grade audience?

Christina: I love writing (and reading) middle-grade books because it seems to be a time in a person’s life where the impossible can still be possible. There is no one path to follow because it’s a time of discovering who you are and who you want to be.

 

Writing Tips

Dorian: What are three of your best tips for our readers who are writers or would like to become writers?

Christina:

  • Write the story you would want to read.
  • Write from your heart.
  • Just write (you can always make it better when you revise).

 

Upcoming Books

Dorian: What do you have in the works that our readers can look forward to?

Christina: I have a graphic novel, Invisible (a Breakfast Club-inspired story set in middle school that is illustrated by Gabriela Epstein), coming out this August and a historical fiction novel, The Bluest Sky (set during Cuba’s 1980 Mariel boat lift where over 125,000 Cubans came to the US) that comes out in September. Needless to say, I am excited for the Fall!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks, Christina, for taking the time out to share with MUF readers!

Back to Top

Road Trip Roundup: Adventurous Reads for Your Summer List

By on June 17, 2022   /   Book Lists, Fiction  

trunk was a little full, but the views were killer!

Six years ago my wife and I went on a babymoon. We didn’t call it that. We still don’t call it that. But I’m pretty sure that’s what it was. We packed up our little car with snacks and camping supplies and a dog, then made for the West Coast. It was a pretty epic adventure to sneak in just before the birth of our first son. 

Fast forward and we’re now getting ready to welcome #3 into the world. No babymoon this time, unless you count a clandestine trip to IKEA while the grandparents watch our kids. We still talk about the road trip, though. We’d both love to take our littles across the country when they’re slightly less little. There’s just something about the roads out west — how the guardrails converge into pinpoints on those impossibly long, straight highways. Or the way every town has a story — usually recorded on some miniscule placard in the center of town, bronze letters boiling hot from the summer sun.

So maybe I won’t be loading up the car for an epic cross-country voyage this summer, but that doesn’t mean I can’t live vicariously through the adventures of someone else. Listed below are my favorite road trip-themed middle grade books. Whether you’re skipping town or waiting for gas prices to come back down to earth, I think there will be something here to take you into that vast, beautiful, mysterious open space of our incredible country. Enjoy!

 

See You In The Cosmos by Jack Cheng

When space enthusiast Alex Petroski sets out to find the truth about his family, he discovers a menagerie of interesting characters and locations spanning from his hometown of Rockview, Colorado all the way to Los Angeles. Told entirely through recordings on an iPod, it’s a refreshingly original take on the road trip concept, and Alex’s revelations about love and family mirror the complexities of the landscape.

 

 

We’re Not From Here by Jeff Rodkey

What road trip could be more epic than a journey to an entirely new planet? When Earth is rendered  uninhabitable, a small envoy of survivors travel for 20 years only to wake up from hypersleep and find that the arrangement with their new alien hosts has fallen apart. It’s up to Lan Mifune’s family to prove that humanity is still worth saving in this high-concept exploration of immigration and cultural acceptance. 

 

 

Doll Bones by Holly Black

Calling this a “road trip” book may be a stretch, but the theme of journey is so strong in this story that I couldn’t resist adding it to the list. The characters embark on a quest to return a haunted doll to its proper grave site, and while the trip only takes them to a neighboring town, the adventure manages to include bus rides, boat trips, and a secret overnight stay in a library. But Zach, Alice, and Poppy take more than just a physical journey — they explore the depths of their friendship, the ways it’s changing before their eyes, and the uncertain road that lies ahead.

 

The Honest Truth by Dan Gameinhart

In this clever and twisty adventure story, Dan Gameinhart takes us across Washington state with a main character bent on fulfilling a lifelong dream before it’s too late. Mark’s journey is not just an exploration of some of the most breathtaking parts of that region, it’s also an exploration of terminal illness, dreams, and the line between determination and foolishness. 

 

 

Are We There Yet? By Dan Santat

Okay, so this one’s not technically a middle grade book, but I still think it belongs on this list. Dan Santat’s vivid illustrations and clever formatting make this a picture book that I consistently come back to with my kiddos. Add in the hidden Easter eggs (including embedded QR codes!) and it’s a book with enough layers to entertain even the most bored car trip voyagers.

 

 

So how about you? Will you be taking any epic adventures this summer? Or maybe you’ll be road tripping from your couch like me. Either way, feel free to drop a comment with your favorite road trip-themed books so those of us who are staying local this summer can still look forward to a few adventures. Happy travels!

Back to Top