BEAM-UCLA | Science and Engineering Outreach

an awesome visualization of sound waves source:...

astralnocturne — Sat, 11 May 2013 12:24:52 -0700

an awesome visualization of sound waves

source: http://www.marketplace.org/topics/tech/tech-report-blog/watch-video-animation-based-sine-waves

weirdly shaped bubbles - check it...

astralnocturne — Sat, 11 May 2013 12:22:27 -0700

weirdly shaped bubbles - check it out!

thatscienceguy:

Awesome bubble geometry!

How Much Do Americans Know About Science?

bitesizedbiology — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:39:18 -0700

How Much Do Americans Know About Science?:

An exclusive poll shows Americans crave stronger mathematics, science schooling for U.S. kids

In case it wasn’t already evident enough, here’s yet another reason why STEM education is so important. Keep up the good work BEAM!

Giving Good Praise to Girls: What Messages Stick

bitesizedbiology — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 21:23:28 -0700

Giving Good Praise to Girls: What Messages Stick:

“My research shows that praise for intelligence or ability backfires,” said Dweck, who co-authored a seminal research paper on the effects of praise on motivation and performance. “What we’ve shown is that when you praise someone, say, ‘You’re smart at this,’ the next time they struggle, they think they’re not. It’s really about praising the process they engage in, not how smart they are or how good they are at it, but taking on difficulty, trying many different strategies, sticking to it and achieving over time.”

But what some might not know is that this paradox is strongest for girls.

A very interesting read!

BEAM- Spring 2013. This week’s lesson plan session had an...

caro-19 — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 22:23:59 -0700

BEAM- Spring 2013. This week’s lesson plan session had an excellent turn out! Beam volunteers along with our visiting CSUN Beamsters created and raced their own rubber band powered cars! We sure hope the kids at the school sites we will soon visit will have as much fun as we did.

The Bridge on STEM Education: Progress and Prospects (Spring 2013)

astralnocturne — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 10:54:39 -0700

The Bridge on STEM Education: Progress and Prospects (Spring 2013):

Here are the articles on improving K-12 STEM education, discussed by Prof. Carman in the first class on April 2.

Blackawton bees, et. al.

astralnocturne — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 22:49:22 -0700

Blackawton bees, et. al.:

As mentioned in the TED talk “Science is for everyone, kids included,” this is the paper published by 25 8-10 year old students at Blackawton primary school.

To everyone enrolled in the BEAM course, MAE 194, here is your...

astralnocturne — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 16:41:00 -0700

To everyone enrolled in the BEAM course, MAE 194, here is your first assignment:

Please watch this TED talk, “Science is for everyone, kids included,” before our next class on April 9. Thanks!

Last week mentors and students had a messy fun time playing with...

caro-19 — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 21:48:13 -0800

Last week mentors and students had a messy fun time playing with the interesting non-Newtonian fluid known as Oobleck. We found out Oobleck, which we created from mixing cornstarch and water, acts as a liquid and a solid!

Beam mentors and students learned about the environmental...

caro-19 — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 19:25:12 -0800

Beam mentors and students learned about the environmental effects of oil spills and worked as environmental engineers to create oil spill models and explore ways to clean up our generated oil spills. We worked in teams to discuss methods to clean up our simulated oil spill. We found cheesecloths (our sorbents) and pipettes (our vacuums) to do the best job!

kqedscience: For Science’s Sake, It’s ‘Mohawk Guy’ “To...

bitesizedbiology — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 17:23:00 -0800

kqedscience:

For Science’s Sake, It’s ‘Mohawk Guy’

“To highlight science education and memorable haircuts, one of the guests in Michelle Obama’s box during the State of the Union speech Tuesday night will be the “Mohawk Guy” — Bobak Ferdowsi, a member of the team operating NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover who is best known for his spiky, red- and blue-streaked haircut and the stars shaved on the side of his head.

Last Thursday, Mr. Ferdowsi was driving when he got a phone call from John P. Holdren, the president’s science adviser. “He said the first lady would like to invite you to the State of the Union address,” Mr. Ferdowsi said. “It’s kind of a surprise.”

In Tuesday night’s speech, Mr. Obama is likely to touch on familiar themes touting the importance of science education and innovation for the United States economy. In its descriptions of the invited guests, the White House noted that Mr. Ferdowsi volunteers as a mentor at robotics competitions.”

The only think we love more than science and engineering is an awesome science and engineering role model…

Here we have our BEAM mentors and students exploring the...

caro-19 — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 01:19:25 -0800

Here we have our BEAM mentors and students exploring the exciting hidden world of microbes with our two-week microbiology lesson plan! We tested our abilities as microbiologists as we swabbed for microbes around the classroom and activated yeast to inflate balloons.

BEAM volunteers are thrilled to start the BEAM Winter quarter by...

caro-19 — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 23:36:55 -0800

BEAM volunteers are thrilled to start the BEAM Winter quarter by learning the physics behind parachutes and designing and testing their very own parachutes! With a successful first week of a planning session and site visits to our three school, we are sure this quarter will be one of fun filled active learning!

Hello BEAM Volunteers, Just a friendly reminder that BEAM will be holding its info session...

caro-19 — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 12:36:25 -0800

Hello BEAM Volunteers,

Just a friendly reminder that BEAM will be holding its info session this Tuesday (1/15) at 6 pm in Eng. IV 37-124 (Please note the room change). Free food will be provided! Please come to sign up for a site visit/time to volunteer.

Snowflakes, Starflakes, and Swirlflakes A fun, math-filled...

bitesizedbiology — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 21:09:00 -0800

Snowflakes, Starflakes, and Swirlflakes

A fun, math-filled winter activity!

The Flame Challenge

bitesizedbiology — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 23:56:13 -0800

The Flame Challenge:

The Flame Challenge is “an international contest that asks scientists to communicate complex science in ways that interest and inform an 11-year-old.”

Hey, this sounds an awful lot like what BEAM does. How cool is this?!

Bill Nye + aerodynamics + iPad = AWESOME

astralnocturne — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 22:44:53 -0800

Bill Nye + aerodynamics + iPad = AWESOME:

Bill Nye is working on a new game for iPad that explains how aerodynamics works! Check it out! http://kck.st/11cxYkB

Hey all! Just a reminder that we will be having our final planning session for this quarter tomorrow...

caro-19 — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 21:09:05 -0800

Hey all! Just a reminder that we will be having our final planning session for this quarter tomorrow (Wed, 11/14) at 6 pm in Eng IV 37-124. This week, we will learn how to make ice cream (and you can eat it!)

Saturday’s event, Exploring Your Universe, hosted by...

caro-19 — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 16:07:11 -0800

Saturday’s event, Exploring Your Universe, hosted by Astronomy Live had a wonderful turn out! Kids of all ages and from different schools in Los Angeles stopped by our BEAM tables where they were thrilled to explore with microscopes and program robots!

The microscope lesson applied 5th week turned out a great...

caro-19 — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 20:05:01 -0800

The microscope lesson applied 5th week turned out a great success! The kids learned how to properly focus their microscopes and were excited about creating their own slides to observe. Thanks to the all the volunteers who were able to go to any of the sites. Good luck on midterms Beamsters!