Sunday Science Club

New Resource

2006-02-06T16:50:00.000-06:00

I discovered a new science website yesterday. It is CSICOP: The Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal.

Check it out, and keep us updated if *you* find any awesome sites.

Step on a Crack, Break your Mother's Back

2006-02-06T15:55:00.000-06:00

Last night marked a mightly return to all things Sunday and Science. Hosted by the always delightful April (and Tim and Annie Oakley) at their new studio, we ate candy and muffins and cake and drank tea, but most importantly we talked science.

The topic was Science of Myth, Urban Legend, and Superstition. We had a presentation about ancient maps (hmmm), medical treatment of collies (Three white feet: don't treat!), the "five second" rule, the full moon, and lycanthropy.

In attendace were Agnes, Sheryl-Ann, Laura, Demian, April, Ainsley, Nathan, Tim and Tim. There was also an interesting folder of science wonders passed around that had been saved (along with a number of other folder oddities) from the trash by Kate and Laura. They will most likely be making appearances in upcoming club meetings.

Next week will be a general interest/open concept topic of Science that I cannot Live Without (Please please don't leave me, science!). Can you not survive without t.v.? Without vulcanized rubber? Without CDs or photographs or airplanes? Or maybe you just can't live without beer (chemistry), riding a bike (geometry/physics) or books (technology/development of language/industry!!).

Make it something you love and meet us at Union Station at 8pm.

Machinists

2006-01-10T21:30:00.000-06:00

The first Science Club meeting of 2006 was filled with building, small machines and - our favourite - technology!!

We began to put together some of the fantastic kits given to the club by Graeme before he left for Japan.

We started by building out own clock! Wowee, it was kind of tough (not recommended for 5-year-olds, no matter what the box says) and by the end of the evening we had a clock keeping [more or less] good time. It sure was noisy though. It had to be stopped so that the residents of Benson St. could get to sleep.

Next we put together a crystal radio. This was a kit that Bryn had had for sometime and finally got to assemble. This one was also a bit complicated (for a kid's project). It had small parts and required some time-consuming/patience-trying steps. I spent about half-an-hour wrapping wire around a tube!

winding and winding...

Remember these earphones! Totally crazy!

This is a cool project that doesn't use any batteries, and if encouraged properly - by borrowing an antannea or attaching it to something *grounded* - can totally pick up radio stations! We were only able to pick up static, but still have high hopes for our crystal radio.

Testing out the radio with the kitchen tap...?

Next week: We will be meeting at D'Arcy St. and putting together some more science projects. Also, please being any science news of interest or any project you have been meaning to present over the past while.

Spaced out and loving it

2005-12-09T10:44:00.000-06:00

Last week's meeting was at April's lovely house and the topic was astronomy.

There were enough people to fill a room, finish a bag of Doritos, and cover topics from ocean navigation, to the solar system, to super-heavy black holes.

Thanks to the large turnout, we were able to have a good discussion. I was particularly amazed at the concept of a super-dense black hole. It's hard trying to imagine it as anything except for the traditional cone-like vortex, but apparently, it's spherical and pulls at the fabric of the universe from all directions. Even that explanation doesn't actually do it justice though.

OK..........Think of it as a one-dimensional point, that has immense mass, but takes up no space. Weird, huh? It kinda defies those "absolute" rules of science, like "matter cannot be created or destroyed". It seems that when a black hole soaks up enough matter, sometimes it just vanishes, taking with it planets, suns, space dust, and unlucky cosmonauts.

Where does it go? No one really knows...
But speculation at the meeting was that it could be an inter-dimensional Fed-Ex company, that ships all this matter to a different universe.
......I know, I know. But if you have any better ideas, let us know.

science is a spicy dish!

2005-11-30T15:21:00.000-06:00

This past week we had a lovely (but et again underattended) meeting at Graeme's house. There were three great presentations made on the topic of pre-Latin ancient American science. Bekah's presentation was short but gross enough to last awhile! She talked about trephination, which is sort of a form of surgery that involved drilling though a person's skull. There are several different ways of doing this and many different reasons (in different cultures and times) but Bekah had found that the south american practice was very successful with most who went under the, ermm, knife, surviving.

This upcoming Sunday December 4th we will be studing Astronomy, after a previous attempt to cover the topic had to be cancelled.

Please stay tuned for time/location info.

Suddenly science is a lot more like indie rock

2005-11-22T16:01:00.000-06:00

The internet is amazing. It allows people from every place on earth, with every opinion, background, education, and interest to share their ideas and philosophies and discoveries.

But this also creates a dangerous terrain, does it not? We search for information and have no way to really authenticate what we find. Wikipedia, which I *adore*, is open source and can be contributed to by anyone. This is just an example, of course of how useful yet dangerous the internet can be.

Anyhow, while creeping around on to web researching my last topic I discovered a new resource. A science messageboard!! ow the experiences that I have had with messageboards have been only in relation to music scenes. People post about their shows, their favourite records, going for bike rides, what they ate for lunch...whatever they want to talk to other indie-rock kids about.

I am interested to see how the science version works out. Is it still they same type of people? Young-adults, trying to prove their cred? A website filled with science scenesters?

Medicine...and I'm not talking booze!

2005-11-15T16:01:00.000-06:00

So last Sunday was fun! It was a smaller group with 2 expert, medical-science students.
Fittingly, the venue was Toronto General Hospital's MASSIVE, glass patient court.

The topics included endothelial vascular disorders, the black plague, some disease that affects motor neurons (I forget the name, but imagine being paralysed and still being able to feel the unmovable parts! Yikes!), and also new technology in cochlear implants (ie. the bionic ear).

We had a vascular slideshow! Hehehe..."totally vascular, dudes!"
Also another interesting bit of info was that Andora (Yes! The kingdom of SHE-RA, princess of power!) was completely immune to the plague! And that you can cure it by surrounding yourself with redness!

Ok. Here is a pic of the way that physicians dressed during the bubonic pandemic!

Ok. See you next Sunday when the topic is Mathematics. And 'til then have a vascular weekend!

call out

2005-11-02T15:32:00.000-06:00

Dear Science Club,

I am not the only one who can update this blog. And it can be used for so much more than just meeting information! Post interesting science stuff you read about! Link to amazing websites you've found! Post projects or experiments you are working on that can't wait for a meeting!

Anyway...This week we're meeting at Laura's house and we are having a free-for-all with no particular theme.

Sunday November 6th, 8pm.

See you there.

Making Waves

2005-10-10T18:24:00.000-05:00

Wow, one Sunday without Science Club and I am already feeling dimmer.

Withdrawal. I don't know if I can stand another week! Perhaps I can join you kids via satellite?

For everyone who is in Toronto there will be a meeting next week. The topic is Waves, and you can apparently discuss any type of wave your heart desires. Ocean waves, goodbye waves, the Royal Wave, sound waves, light waves...waves of nausea?

If anyone has the rest of the info (time/date/location) it would be great if you could post it in this space.

As for the following Sunday Science meeting, I stand by my suggestion that we attend the afternoon *free* talk at UofT on the 23rd.

See you kids soon.
ains.

2005-09-27T13:33:00.000-05:00

I got this cryptic bit of info from s.a. in an e-mail:

could you pass this along to all who love science

Royal Candian Insitute for the advancement of science (www.royal canaidaninstitute.org)
science on sundays...live free science lectures on suday afternoons at three field trip?

A bit of sleuthing found this:
The Original Sunday Science Club?

Sunday's at 3pm Starting mid-October. I suggest we take a field trip on October 30th when the topic will be New Worlds in the Making: Origins of Planets and Brown Dwarfs.

-----------

Last night's meeing was alright. Bad weather and low attendance made me a little sad (as the host) but we had a good time, with yummy food stuff, some tea and talk of dye technology and felting (as well as good off-topic conversations about Sex Ed, language and books).

Next week we will be having Science Club Movie Night. Meet at Bekah's house next SUNDAYat 7pm and we will watch What the Bleep do We Know and Infinity if I can get my hands on it.

Wearable Science

2005-09-21T12:03:00.000-05:00

I missed this week's meeting due to my desperate need for cash and inability to turn down any shifts at work, but next week I am back with a vengeance.

After discussing Anatomy to their heart's content a small band of science-clubbers decided to continue to Tour of Toronto that we've had going on these past few weeks - Laundromat, Chinatown, Riverdale Park - and now...my place!

Next week's meeting will cover the Wearable Sciences: Textiles.

I call dibs on the chemistry and history of Dye Techniques. We will meet at my place Monday evening at 7pm and start the evening off with a potluck. Science-themed dishes will get you an extra gold star on your term.

If you need any info send an e-mail or post a comment here.

I'll show you you mine...

2005-09-13T09:36:00.000-05:00

Next week's topic:

We will be meeting Sunday night (please note the return to SUNDAY for next week) at Riverdale Park. First we will congregate at Nathan's place, which is a stone's throw from the park (good news for anyone who might need to pee).

His e-mail said 7:30 so I will stick with that time.

Hope to see you there!

Our Mistress Science really likes the wontons

2005-09-13T09:00:00.000-05:00

Hello folks. Last night's meeting was interesting in so many ways! New people, new locale, new beer!

We met at the Lucky Dragon and had a whole bunch of yummy Chinese treats (cheap-styles), including some weird coffee action and the delivery of some pork that no one ordered and no one was about to eat. The crew included Nathan, Bekah, Ainsley, Demian, Drew (a friend of April's), April, Agnes and Laura, with visits from Andrea and Martyna at the end of the evening.

We discussed how science was keeping us back, or ways that science complicates our lives. Topics included The expansion of the universe (and whether or not the universe is infinite), psychic ability, memory, inertia, stopping time and the speed of light, and a few other ideas that come from discussions, but notetaking was not a high priority for me last night with all that food coming at me. Sorry for anything I might have missed.

There was a lot of discussion, with people adding to presentations and asking questions, which I think is awesome! Because that's the whole point isn't it? sharing our ideas and what we know, and it's nice that we are all so comfortable chatting with eachother about this stuff. But we do have to be careful to let people finish their presentation before we turn it into a group discussion. For some of us it's hard just speaking to a group without being led off into debate and waiting to finish talking.

Good stuff all around. We definitely missed a few kids who we were hoping to see, including Ken who had snagged the prized topic of entropy, but was called away to the states at the last minute.

Science Club version 8.05

2005-09-07T23:34:00.000-05:00

Sunday (nee Monday) Science Club is picking up speed once again! This week we had a meeting at the Laudromat discussing laundry-time science. Attendees included Demian, Ainsley, Ken, Nathan and his friend Laura, Sheryl-Ann, Laura, Cam, April, and Agnes. (phew)

We discovered the magic of static electricity, how soap works, environmental laundry alternatives, the wonders of how salt relates to/became liquid bleach, and some genetically engineered mushroom enzymes which might be able to finally stop our colours from running.

We took some breaks while a few club members did their laundry and had some really good casual discussions too.

The group agreed, quite unanimously, to the suggested topic for next week. It will be...
Science is a Harsh Mistress:
The Shackles of Science

Come up with something that you wish you could do but that science is in some way keeping you from accomplishing. This will be a fun topic I think.

We are also having another *on location* meeting! We will be dining as we discuss, meeting at 7pm at the Lucky Dragon chinese restaurant on Spadina (just south of College on the West side). Please RSVP here or to the e-mail/phone tree communique so that we can make a reservation.

Genetics

2005-08-30T10:16:00.000-05:00

Hey kids. Last nights meeting was a good time, despite there not be a whole lot of preparedness on some of our part (myself, for sure). We discussed genetics, hearing a really cool article about mice and the potential for egg replacement in mammals (whoa!), and a bit about how genes really work, and the Human Genome Project. Charlamaigne was also brought up. Good stuff!
We also had some tasty snackage and discussed where we want the Club to be heading. Most importantly, we decided we need to get a little more organized and will be starting a phone tree this week.

Next week: Laundry Science will be the topic of discussion and we will be meeting at a new venue! Monday at 8pm at an as-yet undetermined laundromat. The phone tree will let you know.

See you there, scientists.

oh, sorry, I was looking at my sun-year calendar, and uhhh, my water clock was running slow.

2005-08-22T09:39:00.000-05:00

So we have gotten off track, and that is ok dearies, because we were doing fun stuff and got distracted! We even just hid under the blankets and pretended that we'd never even heard of science fair.

But let's get going again. I propose we revisit lat week's intended topic: Genetics, this coming Monday (that's one week from today), which gives us time to prepare and means more of us will be able to attend.

then we can decide what to do about Science Fair, and eat some cookies.

2005-08-08T11:34:00.000-05:00

hey all...nathan and I sat on 77 benson porch and no one showed, so we walked home. But our apologies to Ainsley because you zoomed by us on Bloor st and we yelled out and felt bad with thoughts of dissapointment for when you got home.
until next time.

starsstartsstars

2005-08-07T18:30:00.000-05:00

I tried to post an image but I can't for the life of me figure out why it doesn't work. It appears to be working, but nothing actually shows up.
Can anyone help me with this?
Instead, try going here to look at galaxies of stars and to remember how wondefully small we are below the hydrogen fueled light.
ahhhhhh......

http://users.sdccu.net/amasters/galaxies.html

Fair is Fare is Fair when it come to Science Fair!

2005-08-05T16:13:00.000-05:00

...what?

Anyway, we decided at the last meeting that the date of our Science Fair would *for sure* be Monday August 15th in the evening time.
So get ready pretties, for experiments! Data! Hypotheseses! And lots of bristol board!

Venue T.B.A.

Here is good link to get you started if you are feeling a little stumped...click!

Perhaps we need to work on submitting our data ina more timely manner?

2005-08-02T23:12:00.000-05:00

Ok, wow. We have had two truly excellent science club meetings that have not been posted here (for posterity, you know). Last weekend we had an exciting discussion about TECHNOLOGY, covering topics such as oil and luddites. I was waiting to scan Sheryl's fantastic visuals and thus didn't psot about that meeting.

This sunday we broke some records, me thinks! Not only did we have 5 super presentations on the topic of Physics (Mary with The Fourth Dimension, Bekah with Wormholes, Sheryls with the Physics of Flight, Nathan with the science of Water, and Ainsley with The Physics of Sound: Music vs. Noise). Rad.

Anyway, we also had 11 kids show up, 5 of whom were new to Science Club! And everyone had a great time, as far as I could tell.

This coming Sunday we will be changing things up a bit. We will be meeting at my house to discuss astronomy/sky watching with my roommies telescope. I work Sunday nights so let's say everyone show up at 9pm, but I might not be home until later. Can someone volunteer to be in charge (i.e. show up first and make sure everyone knows what's going on/doesn't smash my stuff)?

If you want to attend but need my address send me an e-mail: needleandthread@gmail.com

Ainsley.

Long week-end sunday genetics forum?

2005-07-27T13:40:00.000-05:00

Hey all,

Now, I don't mean to sound slow or nothin, but last meeting did we all agree to do Genetics for this coming club? Or was if physics. I can barely remember.

Also, I seem to think we bumped back the date of our science fair by a week to god knows when. Can someone clear this up as well?

Apparently Ainsley and I have formed a team the work on our exceedingly excellent (I'm sure) presentation. Our scientific knowledge will meld like ions in a hydrogen bond - the strongest molecular bond there is! (I think)

Cheerio,
Nathan

2005-07-22T00:56:00.000-05:00

Here is said pop quiz.

Now, I'm all for education and making sure that people are actually paying attention and all that - heck, I did pretty darn good in school mostly based on my ability to memorize exactly what the teacher said, composing perfect definitions on tests and such - but a "pop quiz" on subject matter that we have never discussed at meetings and almost certainly were not introuced to in school....well, that's just unfair.

Popped right out of nowhere.

She Blinded me with Science

2005-07-20T12:01:00.000-05:00

Hey science pals,

Last sunday was kind of odd. The whole night was spent by me administering a Geography quiz and then us eating the victor's salt-water taffy.

I proposed at the meeting a new topic of "Technology". It met with approval only when I explained that such a broad topic would create a veritable plethora of possible presentations. (alliterative) For instance, my early plan was to do a project on the invention of the paper clip. (it's not as old as you might think, and it IS technology. Well, It's an invention that makes lives easier, which I think is the definitiong. Hang on)

Maybe just do whatever and explain how you think it works into technology, I know I will!

This from Mirriam Webster:
Main Entry: tech·nol·o·gy
Pronunciation: -jE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -gies
Etymology: Greek technologia systematic treatment of an art, from technE art, skill + -o- + -logia -logy
1 a : the practical application of knowledge especially in a particular area : ENGINEERING 2 (medical technology) b : a capability given by the practical application of knowledge (a car's fuel-saving technology)
2 : a manner of accomplishing a task especially using technical processes, methods, or knowledge
3 : the specialized aspects of a particular field of endeavor

Sunday or...thereabouts

2005-07-13T01:32:00.000-05:00

This weeks meeting was delayed until monday night due to some extenuating circumstances and some hella great indy-rock action (read: Aidswolf at Wavelength). We met on Monday but with only four in attendance and only two presentations...which quickly became one-and-a-half because I got all aggro pretty quick and cut mine short. (Sorry!) Bekah talked about global warming and I talked about peat bogs.

Perhaps it would be best to try this topic [geography] again next week, with more time to prepare and the chance of more people showing up for discussion?

I will update when meeting time has been confirmed.

**Also please note: We have planned to have a Science Fair the last Sunday of this month. That would be July 31st. Bring your ideas or work in progress to any meetings beforehand if you want feedback or just want to make the rest of us nervous.**

Club meeting #3

2005-07-05T14:41:00.000-05:00

this Sunday's meeting was another great success.
There were nine attendees, some new, some regulars. They were: Sheryl-Ann, Agnes, Mary, Bekah, Graham, Nathan, Ainsley, Laura and Jon.
The topic of discussion was The Senses and we had discussions ranging from the development of our sense of tasts and the dispelling of our notions of tastebuds, fear as a sense, the sense of smell and it's role in different cultures, how colours work / they don't really exist!! and an introduction to Synaesthesia.
Next week there will be another regular meeting, same time same place, with the focus being on Geographic Science (including weather phenomenae and all goings on in/on the earth and the atmosphere).

We are also trying to plan a field trip to the Music Garden downtown, partnered with a discussion of Botany. More info soon.

Science - out of the closet

2005-06-30T13:58:00.000-05:00

We are the Sunday Science Club. We meet every week (sort of) to talk about science topics that we think are interesting.

We've had two meeting so far, the first discussing the bottom of the ocean and the second on scientific misconceptions. You are welcome to join us for the next meeting. Just don't be a smarty-pants.

Next topic of Disussion: The Senses (June 3)