Posts Tagged #SciComm

Happy New Year from the STEM Tuesday Team! The 2026 Light Bulb.

By on December 30, 2025   /   STEM Tuesday  

The 2026 Light Bulb

New inventions are often built on previous inventions through the power of trial and error. 

The light bulb, as we know it today, is truly an invention built on inventions. It was a combined effort across many decades and experimental prototypes and is a shining example of how science moves forward on the shoulders of previous discovery.

Thomas Edison gets most of the credit for inventing the light bulb, but, in reality, his contribution was mainly to tweak existing inventions to make a commercially viable light bulb. The bulk of the early steps forward to invent the light bulb came from British inventor Joseph Swan, who built upon the work of Warren de la Rue of using metal filaments encased in vacuum tubes. Swan patented his version of the light bulb in early 1879 after almost 30 years of work. 

Edison bought the rights to an 1874 patented light bulb invention by two Canadian scientists, Henry Woodward and Mathew Evans. Their light bulb used electrodes connected with a carbon rod contained in a nitrogen-filled glass cylinder and was by no means ready for mass production. Then Edison, “borrowing” from the Swan’s patented technology, used trial and error to come up with a design that was cheaper to produce and lasted longer, thus becoming a commercially viable product. Edison filed his patent in late 1879 and it was quickly challenged by Swan. Swan won his patent infringement case against Edison, and the court made Swan a partner in Edison’s company. The rest is history.

The light bulb is one of those fascinating inventions we take for granted. A single bulb turns into a multitude of power. The light bulb helps turn darkness into light. (Maybe even too much light when we consider the effects of modern light pollution?)

Adityaoberai, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The light bulb is also associated with ideas, ask any of us who grew up on a steady diet of cartoon entertainment. Many a great accomplishment or a hilarious failure in one of these cartoons grew out of a light bulb appearing above the characters head. 

The light bulb became the basis of one of the classic (and not politically correct) joke cycles of all time, the “How many _____s does it take to change a light bulb?”

For example,

How many scientists does it take to change a light bulb? None. They use them as controls in double blind trials.

How many radio astronomers does it take to change a light bulb? None. They’re not interested in that short wave stuff.

How many software people does it take to screw in a light bulb? None. That’s a hardware problem.

How many hardware folks does it take to change a light bulb? None. They just have marketing portray the dead bulb as a feature.

How many writers does it take to change a light bulb? Never mind that — let me tell you about MY light bulb.

How many lawyers does it take to change a light bulb? How many can you afford?

I know I should apologize for the bad humor, but I find it difficult since I had such a good laugh searching for light bulb jokes. Now, back to the original, and a bit more serious, light bulb theme.

The light bulb of 2025 needs changing. It is yellowed and dim. It’s like the ancient, naked bulb hanging in a dark and damp cellar of a horror movie. Its light creates more shadows and anxieties than it illuminates. It’s high time we change it.

The 2026 assignment is simple. Change the yellowed and dim light bulb of 2025 by shining your light bulb into the creeping darkness and shadows of our times.

  • Shine a light for creativity.
  • Shine a light for books.
  • Shine a light for libraries.
  • Shine a light for bookstores.
  • Shine a light for our schools.
  • Shine a light for STEAM.
  • Shine a light for other human beings.
  • Shine a light for all things we know to be good and to be true!

Above all else, let the bright light of your creativity illuminate everyone you come into contact with. Be inspired by one of my favorite passages from the Bible.

“You are a light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a candle to be put under a bushel basket; they put it on a lamp stand where it shines for everyone in the house.” (Mt 5:14-15)

In short, SHINE YOUR LIGHT!

One final question.

How many of us does it take to change the dim and sputtering light bulb that’s currently in the socket?

All of us. 

One light at a time. Shining into a multitude of light that drives out the darkness, the shadows, and the fear.

Happy New Year from the STEM Tuesday Team!

Shine on!

 

Adrian Tync, CC BY-SA 4.0, 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/life/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 Bluesky under the guise of @mikehays64.bsky.social and @MikeHays64 on Instagram.

 

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STEM Tuesday — Planets and Stars — Book List

By on September 8, 2020   /   Planets and Stars, STEM Tuesday  

This has been a busy year for space exploration. In February, NASA launched a solar orbiter. Late May saw SpaceX launch their Dragon, followed by three different missions to Mars. And China is planning to send a rover to the moon. We hope these books will inspire our next generation of Space Explorers!

Our Solar System and Beyond

Absolute Expert: Space, All the Latest Facts from the Field by Joan Marie Galat

This book starts with the question, “where does space begin?” and takes off to explore our solar system, stars, the big bang, and even communicating with aliens. Every chapter includes Space Watch (things you can see without needing a telescope) and Space Labs (hands-on experiments).

 

Dr. Maggie’s Grand Tour Of The Solar System by Dr. Maggie Aderin-Pocock

Dr. Maggie is a space scientist and in this book she takes you on a journey around our solar system. There’s a stop at every planet: a hike up Olympus Mons on Mars, a visit to the red spot on Jupiter, and some quick tours to a few moons. What’s fun is that she includes a “ship’s database” at the back filled with facts and statistics.

 

The Daredevil’s Guide To Outer Space by Anna Brett, illustrated by Mike Jacobsen

A Lonely Planet guide of a different sort! Cartoon characters blast off to explore our solar system and beyond. Text is presented in panels and text boxes as well as through dialog. Readers visit the International Space Station and meet other spacecraft throughout the journey.

 

Dr. E’s Super Stellar Solar System by Bethany Ehlmann and Jennifer Swanson

Dr. Ehlmann has an out-of-this-world job: she’s a planetary geologist AND she helped drive the rover, Curiosity on Mars. But she wonders what it would be like to zoom around the solar system. The comics are fun, the science is real, and there are some “try this” activities. There’s even a handy guide for likely places to find alien life.

 

Mars Missions

Mission to Mars by Mary Kay Carson

Humans will go to Mars someday. What will it take to get them there? Will there be water on the planet? Martians to greet us? This book looks at what we’ve discovered in previous Mars missions, and the technology and training for future exploration.

 

The Mighty Mars Rovers: The Incredible Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity (Scientists in the Field Series) by Elizabeth Rusch

At 13 years old, Steven Squyers watched astronauts land on the moon. Two decades later, with a degree in geology, he started thinking what a mission to Mars might look like. He proposed sending rovers – and in these pages readers follow along as he and his team design, build, and launch the rovers Spirit and Opportunity.

Welcome to Mars: Making a Home on the Red Planet by Buzz Aldrin & Marianne Dyson

Treating the reader as a Mars Mission crew member, the book examines the preparation, travel, and early residency involved in settling Mars. Each chapter includes both early and ground-breaking science, political and scientific history, facts, and numerous hands-on activities.

 

 

Looking into Deep Space

The Hubble Space Telescope: Our Eye on the Universe by Terence Dickinson, with Tracy C. Read

After discussing Edwin Hubble, the intricacies of the Hubble telescope, and providing a glossary on the universe, this book looks at the remarkable images Hubble has revealed and the advances in scientific knowledge and understanding of star clusters, gorgeous nebulas, the milky way, and distant galaxies that it has provided.

 

Beyond the Solar System: Exploring Galaxies, Black Holes, Alien Planets, and More (A History with 21 Activities) by Mary Kay Carson

Examining the scientists and their contributions to our increasing knowledge of stars, planets, and other galaxies (from prehistory to 2010), this book invites readers to recreate their discoveries and the tools that the scientists developed to explore our solar system and the universe. It includes a glossary and great additional resources.

Visual Galaxy: The Ultimate Guide to the Milky Way and Beyond by National Geographic, with a foreword by Chris Hadfield (Astronaut and Former Commander of the International Space Station)

Combining stunning photographs with illustrations and graphics, this book explores our galaxy and planets. Then it expands into deep space to look at the creation of stars and galaxies, how the universe fits together, and possible exoplanets. It includes information from space missions and a glossary.

Wormholes Explained by Richard Gaughan

If we haven’t seen them, can they exist? Using engaging, accessible text and beautiful images, this book distills a wormholes’ description, scientific theories of gravity & relativity, and the mathematics involved as it offers the data and evidence scientists currently have about wormholes and space.

 

 

STEM Tuesday book list prepared by:

Sue Heavenrich writes about science for children and their families, from space to backyard ecology. A long line of ants marching across the kitchen counter inspired her first article for kids. When not writing, she’s committing acts of citizen science in the garden. She blogs about science for kids and families at archimedesnotebook.blogspot.com.

 

 

Maria Marshall is a children’s author, blogger, and poet passionate about making nature and reading fun for children. She’s been a judge for the Cybils Awards from 2017 to present. Her poems are published in The Best Of Today’s Little Ditty 2017-2018, 2016, and 2014-2015 anthologies. When not writing, critiquing, or reading, she bird watches, travels the world, bakes, and hikes. Visit her at www.mariacmarshall.com/blog.

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STEM Tuesday — STEM Activity Books– Writing Tips & Resources

By on August 18, 2020   /   Activity Books, STEM Tuesday  

Sometimes, when there’s so much uncertainty in the world (like now) it’s nice to have a set of rules or instructions to follow. Honestly, having fewer choices is one reason I love writing nonfiction. We can’t just make up plots and main characters; we must stick with the facts and harness our creativity to turn those facts into compelling true stories.

This month’s booklist includes a host of STEM activity books, found here, all of which fall into the category of “how-to” books. As I looked through the books, I noticed each offered detailed rules or procedures for making or building items or conducting experiments. And each activity contained the following elements:

  • A list of supplies and/or equipment needed
  • Step-by-step instructions
  • Pictures showing the process

So how can we apply this “how-to” process to our writing? By embracing poetry, of course! Most poetry requires we follow certain rules. And some special poetry forms involve using materials like books, newspapers, markers, and more, just like our STEM how-to books. Fun, right?

Here are two simple, hands-on poetry forms to try.

Blackout Poems (erasure poetry)

No Angle by Austin Kleon

Supplies/tools needed:

  • old newspaper, magazine, or a page from a discarded book
  • pencil
  • markers

Instructions:

  1. Scan through one page of your newspaper or book, looking for interesting words that might spark a poetry idea. Lightly circle them with your pencil.
  2. Now look for other words connecting your circled words. Remember, you won’t be able to reshuffle or reorder the words. You can only use what’s available to you in the order it appears reading left to right, down to up. Circle those new connecting words with the pencil.
  3. Now go back with a marker and circle all the words for your poem.
  4. Color or blackout all the remaining words on the page, so only your chosen words remain. You can even draw interesting shapes and designs over the remaining words if you like.

Here’s a step-by-step how-to video from Austin Kleon showing how he made the poem above.

Spine Poems (found poetry)

Supplies/tools needed: Lots of books!

Instructions:

  1. Stack up books, one on top of the other, so you can read the spines.
  2. Starting at the top, read down through the spines, letting the words from each title become a line of poetry.
  3. Rearrange books as necessary until you have a poem you like.

Enjoy following these hands-on poetry “how-tos.” And here’s hoping limited choices spark unlimited creativity.

O.O.L. F (Out of Left Field)

Kirsten W. Larson used to work with rocket scientists at NASA. Now she writes books for curious kids. She’s the author of WOOD, WIRE, WINGS: EMMA LILIAN TODD INVENTS AN AIRPLANE, illustrated by Tracy Subisak (Calkins Creek, 2020), A TRUE WONDER, illustrated by Katy Wu (Clarion, 2021), THE FIRE OF STARS, illustrated by Katherine Roy (Chronicle, Fall 2021), along with 25 other nonfiction books for kids. Find her at kirsten-w-larson.com or on Twitter/Instagram @KirstenWLarson.

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