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STEM Tuesday
  • STEM Tuesday -- Bioluminesence-- In the Classroom
    STEM Tuesday — Bioluminesence– In the Classroom
    October 8, 2024 by
                This month I learned from the following books that there are a LOT of animals that glow: Mysterious Glowing Mammals: An Unexpected Discovery Sparks a Scientific Investigation by Maria Parrott-Ryan This book tells the story of scientific discovery. I love how it shows the twists and turns that scientists follow when they’re exploring a topic.   Animals That Glow: Fireflies and Glowworms by Joyce Markovics This book highlights a few animals that glow on land, specifically fireflies and glowworms. Animals That Glow: Octopuses and Squid by Joyce Markovics This book explores the octopuses and squid that glow in the ocean. Some create their own light, while other harness the light made by other creatures.     Bonus: Luminous: Living Things that Light Up the Night by Julia Kuo This picture book is a great introduction to bioluminescence. Simple text is augmented with informative sidebars. The animals highlighted come from all around the world, on...
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  • STEM Tuesday-- Glow in the Dark -- Book List
    STEM Tuesday– Glow in the Dark — Book List
    October 1, 2024 by
    Ever wonder about fireflies or glowing ocean waves? Scientists are discovering just how many plants and animals use biofluorescence, bioluminescence, and ultra-violet light and how we might use these phenomena in the future.   Mysterious Glowing Mammals: An Unexpected Discovery Sparks a  Scientific Investigation by Maria Parrott-Ryan When a forest ecologist took an ultraviolet flashlight outside one night, he discovered something unexpected – a flying squirrel that glowed bright pink! The squirrel wasn’t making its own light using chemicals. Instead, it absorbed UV light and released it as the pink glow. This book dives into biofluorescence in animals and outlines future directions for scientific study. Nature at Night by Lisa Regan This visually stunning photo-illustrated book explores the ways plants and animals use biofluorescence, bioluminescence, and ultra-violet light for hunting, mating, or camouflage. In addition to aquatic animals, it also examines some unusual land-based ones, such as fungi, click beetles,...
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  • Rube Goldberg Cover
    STEM Tuesday — Inventions that Changed the World — Author Interview with Sarah Aronson
    September 24, 2024 by
    Welcome to STEM Tuesday: Author Interview, a repeating feature for the last Tuesday of every month. Go Science-Tech-Engineering-Math! Today we’re interviewing Sarah Aronson, author of the award winning book: Just Like Rube Goldberg.  The book is a fascinating look at the journey of a trained engineer who decides to take a job at a newspaper instead. His drawings of ridiculous inventions doing simple tasks became so popular, people use them as a starting point for creating their own “Goldberg” inventions. “Aronson notes that Goldberg ‘drew comics to make us look closer’; fittingly, this thoughtful, playful picture-book biography does just that, with whimsical pencil, ink, and digital illustrations capturing the machines’ intricacies.” – The Horn Book   Christine Taylor-Butler: Sarah, you are a prolific writer for both children’s fiction and nonfiction. But you didn’t start out as a writer? Sarah Aronson: I didn’t. I taught fitness then trained to become a...
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  • STEM Tuesday -- Inventions that Changed the World -- Writing Tips & Resources
    STEM Tuesday — Inventions that Changed the World — Writing Tips & Resources
    September 17, 2024 by
      My post is taking a little twist on “Inventions that Changed the World.”  I am looking to the future. When one thinks of inventions, you think – what?  Television, the wheel, steam engine, etc. Merriam Webster says invention noun: something invented: such as : a device, contrivance, or process originated after study and experiment. I picture thousands of “inventors” daily going about their jobs as parents, teachers, librarians, child care and elder care workers. People who are dedicated to helping others move into the future as successfully as they can. Each day these frontline workers invent devices, contrivances, and processes that assist themselves and their audience toward a better world. While there is no substitute for hard work, there are resources that contribute to making the job of “inventing” easier. I advocate for the similarity between the arts and sciences and participating in both can enrich the other. Scientific...
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Shruthi Rao

Website: https://www.shruthi-rao.com/

Biography

Shruthi was that kid who actually enjoyed writing essays in school! She wrote her first novel when she was eleven. It was an Enid Blyton rip-off. It was terrible (so she says). She didn’t write stories for a long time after that. Instead, Shruthi got a Master’s degree in Energy Engineering from one of the top schools of India, and worked in the IT industry for four years.

And then, in the 2000s, she rediscovered my love for writing. Shruthi blogged at Hallucinations! and wrote short stories, and essays for a number of publications. She now writes books for children of all ages, both fiction and non-fiction.