Seminole Ridge SECME

Build a Better Mousetrap Car!

2014-02-09T16:59:00.000-05:00

Seminole Ridge during the second run of their mousetrap powered vehicle at the February 8, 2014
SECME Engineering Olympiad on Saturday, February 8, 2014.
DISTANCE: 2100 centimeters
TIME: 19.8 seconds

Math-elites Win 2nd 4th Place at PBAU

2013-11-11T08:28:00.001-05:00

Seminole Ridge students had a fourth-place finish at the annual Palm Beach Atlantic University high school mathematics and computer science competition on Saturday, November 09, 2013. Teams of teenagers from across Martin and Palm Beach County attended the calculating contest, from Port St. Lucie Centennial to Spanish River were among the scores of students solving real-world problems. And for the second consecutive year, the Hawks finished in the top tier.

The team members lead by Captain Sam Smith are math whizzes from the school’s SECME engineering and MAθ (Mu Alpha Theta) math honor society. During the competition, students solved three sets of paper and pencil problems in algebra, trigonometry, statistics, probability, and pre-calculus problems using Texas Instruments graphing calculators.

The team from Suncoast High School in Riviera Beach was declared champion of the 3-hour competition Coach Kay Mathews, science teacher for Biology, is proud of the Hawks' honorable mention.

Volunteering at the PBAU math competition are former Seminole SECME students and recent graduates Andrea Olave and Priscilla Cerqueira

SECME annual themes

2013-07-18T10:40:00.000-04:00

2013-2014 SECME: Going Out On A S.T.E.M.

2012-2013 THINK it’s imPOSSIBLE? THINK sySTEMatically. THINK SECME!

2011-2012 SECME: Plan It - Build It - Live It

2010-2011 SECME: STEMulating Minds

2009-2010 SECME: Igniting Minds Through STEM Education

2008-2009 SECME: Thinking Out of the Box

2007-2008 SECME: Lighting the Torch To Empower Future Leaders

2006-2007 SECME: A Launch Pad for the Next Generation of Explorers

2005-2006 SECME: Changing the World, One Student At A Time

2004-2005 SECME: 2lst Century Pioneers—Dreaming Today To Discover Tomorrow

2003-2004 SECME: The Global Road Map to Success

2002-2003 SECME: Vehicle of the Future – Engineered for Success

2001-2002 SECME: Equation for a Better World

2000-2001 SECME: Bridging the Technical Divide

1999-2000 SECME: Leveraging Partnership to Ensure Technical Talent for the New Millennium

1996–1997 SECME: Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology – Using the Past and Present to Building a Better Future

1995–1996 SECME: Entering the New Millennium Through Science and Engineering

PALM SPRINGS MIDDLE SCHOOL EDUCATOR NAMED SECME NATIONAL TEACHER OF THE YEAR

2013-05-29T08:07:00.000-04:00

Dawn DeWitt, Science Teacher, and SECME Coordinator and Department Instructional Leader at Palm Springs Middle School has been named the 2013 SECME National Teacher of the Year. Each year SECME, Inc. (formerly the Southeastern Consortium for Minorities in Engineering) recognizes outstanding K-12 educators who have demonstrated leadership ability in advancing student development and outcomes in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Bruce Wear (SECME Coordinator SDPBC), Dawn DeWitt (SECME Teacher of the Year), Michele Williams (Executive Director, SECME National), Sandra Jinks (Principal, Palm Springs Middle School) Back row; Charles Tharp (Ms. DeWitt’s husband and engineering volunteer)

In honoring Ms. DeWitt, SECME noted,”The SECME National 2013 Teacher of the Year demonstrated exemplary accomplishments in building and sustaining a successful SECME school program through creative and enriching curricular and extracurricular activities, thereby increasing the number of historically under-represented students who are interested in, and academically prepared for, studies in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM).”

Bruce L. Wear, Palm Beach County District STEM/SECME Coordinator wrote in his nomination letter, “In her capacity as a SECME Coordinator, I have seen Ms. DeWitt work tirelessly with her own students spending countless hours after school and even on Saturdays leading them towards excellence. She constantly shares her knowledge and experience with others on a frequent basis. She runs several of our Saturday Mousetrap and Bridge/Truss Seminars for the benefit of other members of our SECME “family”. Dawn brings not only her enthusiasm but also her deep felt desire to raise all students problem solving abilities.”

Richard McCombs from Statesboro High School in Georgia was named SECME Co-Teacher of the Year with Ms. DeWitt. The 2013 SECME National Co-Teachers of the Year will be recognized on June 22 at an “Evening of Elegance” celebration sponsored by the ExxonMobil Foundation to be held during the 37th Annual SECME Summer Institute, hosted this year by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, from June 16-23, 2013

For more information please contact Bruce Wear at bruce.wear@palmbeachschools.org.

First African-American In Space Marks 30th Anniversary Of Flight

2013-05-28T16:52:00.002-04:00

FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN IN SPACE MARKS 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF FLIGHT

When NASA's Space Shuttle Challenger lifted off on August 30, 1983, one 
crewmember chuckled with excitement all the way into space, and he 
made history along the way. 

Thirty years later, Guion S. "Guy" Bluford's memories of his historic 
flight (STS-8) are just as vivid as they were on that summer night. 
It was the first Space Shuttle launch and landing at night and the 
first time an African-American flew into space. 

"It was around midnight and it was raining," Bluford recalls today. 
"We came down the elevator, heading to 'the bird,' what we called the 
Shuttle, and all these people were standing there cheering us on. 
When the clock counted down and we took off, I just laughed, it was 
so much fun," he said. 

Though his achievement instantly thrust him into the spotlight as a 
role model for young African-Americans, Bluford says his goal was 
never to be the first African-American in space. "I recognized the 
importance of it, but I didn't want to be a distraction for my crew," 
he said. "We were all contributing to history and to our continued 
exploration of space." 

Instead, Bluford says his goal was "to make others feel comfortable" 
with African-Americans in space. 

"I felt I had to do the best job I could for people like the Tuskegee 
Airmen, who paved the way for me, but also to give other people the 
opportunity to follow in my footsteps," Bluford said. The Tuskegee 
Airmen made history as the first black flying squadron in World War 
II. 

Bluford's interest in flying dates back to his days in junior high 
school, making model airplanes and wanting to learn more about jet 
and rocket engines. Though he wanted to become an aerospace engineer, 
he became an Air Force fighter pilot in 1966, eventually flying 
combat missions over Vietnam. When he returned from the war, Bluford 
began teaching others to fly, but soon decided he was ready to learn 
more about flying at a much higher altitude. 

In 1977 he applied to NASA to become an astronaut. A year later, he 
was selected for the program, along with two other African-Americans, 
Fred Gregory and Ronald McNair. But it wasn't until 1982, in a 
meeting with George Abbey, then director of flight crew operations at 
NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC), that Bluford realized he was 
headed to space. 

"Dale Gardner, Dan Brandenstein, Dick Truly and I were all sitting in 
Abbey's office," he recalls. "Abbey said, 'I'm looking for a crew for 
STS-8, and I was wondering if you were interested?' It was quite a 
thrill." 

Before the flight, NASA kept Bluford out of the news media spotlight, 
so he could focus on his mission. It also helped; much of the 
attention was still focused on Sally Ride, who had just made history 
on the previous Shuttle flight as the first American woman in space. 

Bluford and the crew of STS-8, including fifth crewmember Bill 
Thornton, trained at JSC for 15 months, before heading to Kennedy 
Space Center, Fla., for their rainy launch early on Aug. 30. 

With the cockpit dark, Bluford recalls fellow astronaut Shannon Lucid, 
who would fly on five future Shuttle missions, strapping him into his 
seat between Brandenstein, the pilot, and Shuttle Commander Truly. 
The clock counted down, and the Challenger lifted off. Over the next 
six days, Bluford and the crew deployed INSAT-1B, a multipurpose 
Indian satellite, and they conducted medical measurements to 
understand the effects of space flight on the human body.

The one thing he didn't have to worry about was his appetite. "We had 
little sandwiches tied to our seats, and when we got on orbit a 
couple of crewmembers weren't feeling well as they adapted to space, 
so they passed on lunch," Bluford said. "I felt fine. I not only ate 
my lunch, but part of theirs, too," he said. 

Following Challenger's successful early morning landing at 12:30 a.m., 
Sept. 5, 1983, Bluford went on a three-month national speaking tour, 
thanking the public for supporting him, the crew of STS-8 and the 
Shuttle program. He was a crewmember on three more Shuttle missions, 
STS-61A, STS-39 and STS-53, before retiring from the Astronaut Corps 
in 1993. "I was very lucky to have had four successful missions," 
Bluford said. "When you went out to the pad with me, everything 
pretty much went as planned." 

For more information about Guy Bluford, on the Internet, visit: 

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/bluford-gs.html
http://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/workinginspace/bluford_1st_african_amer.html

Seminole SECME fieldtrip to Kennedy Space Center, FL

2013-05-25T17:20:00.000-04:00

NASA Kennedy Space Center hosted a college recruitment fair for high school sophomores, juniors and seniors showcasing STEM education opportunities available at top colleges and universities across the nation. The Air Force and its industry partners launched WGS-5, the fifth Wideband Global Satellite Communications spacecraft, into orbit aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV booster fired from Cape Canaveral AFS, Florida, at 8:27 p.m. Eastern on May 24.

TEACHERS FROM POINCIANA ELEMENTARY AND ATLANTIC HIGH SCHOOL SELECTED TO PARTICIPATE IN NASA MICROGRAVITY EXPERIENCE PROJECT

2013-05-20T08:29:00.002-04:00

West Palm Beach, Fla., May 17, 2013 — Two SECME coordinators, Kris Swanson from Poinciana Elementary, and Chris Perry from Atlantic High, and their two teammates have been selected by NASA to build an experiment that they will conduct with their students this spring, and then fly on NASA’s Microgravity Aircraft this summer.

Kris Swanson, Lisa Saunders, Vicki Spitalnick, and Jenn Andrews from Poinciana Elementary STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Magnet School, and Chris Perry from Atlantic will spend ten days at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX, this July to undergo training and learn more about microgravity and its effects on spacecraft and astronauts. At the end of the week, the teachers will take turns flying on the Microgravity trainer and conducting the experiment.

The experiment is titled “How Is Convection Affected By Microgravity?” It will utilize a small tank with heaters and coolers attached to it that will create a stable convection cell within it, and record the motion of the cell using video and temperature sensors. Students at Poinciana and Atlantic will run the experiment numerous times this spring in 1g, and hypothesize how convection may occur differently at 0g and 2g. This July, the teachers will repeat the student’s experiments in a reduced gravity aircraft, also known as the “Weightless Wonder.” Imagine the student’s excitement at their teachers floating for brief periods of weightlessness and microgravity.

Poinciana STEM Magnet school allows the students the opportunity to develop, create and hypothesize about hands-on experiments analyzing and sharing the results with other students to enhance the overall learning experience. The science program at Atlantic High is part of an International Baccalaureate magnet with a very strong emphasis on science, math, and technology. Students are not permitted to repeat the experiment on the reduced gravity flight themselves, but their teachers will bring back video and still pictures to help share their flight experiences as well as the matching data of 0g and 2g convection for the students to learn from.

Not only has this experience brought out the interest and curiosity of the students and teachers, but a group of engineers from several local companies and FAU have volunteered to assist with the coding, programming and building of the data recorder and the construction of the tank for the experiment. The engineers include Gabriel Goldstein from Anidea Engineering in Wellington, Ben Aiken, Adam Gresh, Ben Rigas, and Luis Moss from Modernizing Medicine in Boca Raton, Mahesh Neelakanta from FAU College of Engineering.

You can follow the team’s progress as they build the experiment, conduct it in 1g with their students, and fly it in microgravity this summer through their website http://microgravity.poincianastem.org. The team is looking for sponsors to fund the building of their device and the travel expenses for the teachers’ trips to Houston this summer.

If you would like to contribute, checks can be made out to Poinciana Elementary School, 1203 N. Seacrest Blvd Boynton Beach, Fl 33435…. Memo Microgravity Team. Sponsors names and/or logos will be placed on the website and the banner which will fly in the “Weightless Wonder” aircraft this summer.

For more information, contact Lisa Lee at lisa.lee@palmbeachschools.org or call 561-739-5700.

About The School District of Palm Beach County

The School District of Palm Beach County is the eleventh largest in the nation and the fifth largest in the state of Florida with 185 schools, serving more than 177,000 students who speak 150 languages and dialects. As the largest employer in Palm Beach County, the School District has nearly 21,000 associates, including 12,627 teachers. To learn more about The School District of Palm Beach County, please visitwww.palmbeachschools.org.

NASA KSC Lunabotics Mining Competition STEM College Recruitment Fair

2013-05-17T14:55:00.004-04:00

College Recruitment Fair for High School Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors

High school sophomores, juniors, and seniors are invited to participate in the Lunabotics College Recruitment Fair at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. NASA is hosting a college recruitment event focused on connecting high school sophomores, juniors and seniors with Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education opportunities available at top colleges and universities across the nation. In addition, NASA scientists and engineers will be available to answer questions about specific majors and technical career paths. Click here to register for the Lunabotics College Recruitment Fair.

In a dream you can cheat architecture into impossible shapes. That let's you create closed loops, like the Penrose steps. The infinite staircase.

2013-05-16T08:21:00.000-04:00

Search for the Escherian Stairwell at Imagine RIT
Student film director hopes to inspire awe about the myths of RIT

Is it possible for a staircase to violate the laws of physics and basic logic by looping back into itself? This is one of the questions Michael Lacanilao, a film and animation graduate student at RIT, examines in his video series and Imagine RIT exhibit The Escherian Stairwell.

Lacanilao created the video series, “Can You Imagine,” to highlight the many interesting facts, stories and myths of RIT. The exhibit, located in Artistic Alley in Gannett Hall room A171, will help festivalgoers search for the stairwell and give them a behind the scenes look at “Can You Imagine.”

“Four years can go by quickly and a lot of us don’t have the time to learn about all the things that RIT does and offers,” says Lacanilao. “When we take the time to venture outside our daily routines, we find that it really is the place where the left brain and right brain collide. I’m proud to be a part of that.”

To watch the third episode of “Can You Imagine,” which spotlights the Escherian Stairwell, go to youtube.com/watch?v=iBY4HaAngaA.

Rocketeers Advance to Nationals

2013-05-15T14:01:00.000-04:00

At its May 15 meeting the school board recognized Seminole Ridge SECME as overall champions in the 2013 district Olympiad model rocketry contest. Team Osprey now advances to the SECME national competition next month at Embry-Riddle College of Engineering in Daytona Beach. Congrats!

(Photo, L-R: brothers Nick Smith and Sam Smith, Kim Smith [no relation] with championship certificate.)

Science and Technology Knowledge Quiz

2013-05-14T09:01:00.000-04:00

Do you know more about science and technology than the average American? Take a 13-question quiz to test your knowledge of scientific concepts. http://www.pewresearch.org/quiz/science-knowledge/ Then see how you did in comparison with the 1,006 randomly sampled adults asked the same questions in a national poll conducted by the Pew Research Center and Smithsonian magazine.

Correlation Implies Causation

2013-05-03T15:32:00.000-04:00

Published on May 2, 2013: Fox News hosts wonder why Americans know so little. Really.

You should Take our 13-question quiz to test your knowledge of scientific concepts!

2013 SECME Teachers of the Year have Roots in Palm Beach County, FL

2013-04-29T14:11:00.001-04:00

SECME, Inc. (formerly the Southeastern Consortium for Minorities in Engineering) has selected Dawn DeWitt from Palm Springs Community Middle School in Palm Beach County, Florida, and Richard McCombs from Statesboro High School in Statesboro, GA as the 2013 SECME National Co-Teachers of the Year.

McCombs and DeWitt will be recognized June 22, at an “Evening of Elegance” celebration sponsored by ExxonMobil to be held during the 37th Annual SECME Summer Institute, at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, June 16-23.

McCombs was surprised with the announcement Wednesday afternoon during the school’s weekly faculty meeting by SECME representatives from the Georgia Institute of Technology via Internet, Bulloch County Superintendent of Schools Charles Wilson, SHS Principal Marty Waters and members of the SHS staff. “I thought this was an announcement about Georgia Southern becoming the 44th SECME member university in the nation,” McCombs said. “I couldn’t do this without all of you,” McCombs expressed to his faculty peers.

According to a statement released by SECME (formerly the Southeastern Consortium for Minorities in Engineering), the two outstanding educators were selected from a pool of nominees based on submission of extensive portfolios that were adjudicated by a panel of educator and community leaders. SECME also stated that the co-winners “demonstrated exemplary accomplishments in building and/or sustaining a successful SECME school program through creative and enriching curricular/extracurricular activities, thereby increasing the number of historically under-represented students who are interested in, and academically prepared for, studies in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM).”

ABOUT RICHARD MCCOMBS
If there were game stats for academics, McCombs would be one of science’s most winning coaches. His success is an ability to help students apply science to reality. He was a finalist for SECME National Teacher of the Year in 2006, and he is a four-time school-level teacher of the year, receiving the coveted accolade at all three schools he’s served: Pahokee Middle Senior and Lake Worth High Schools in Florida and twice at SHS. Last year he was also selected as Bulloch County Schools’ 2013 District Teacher of the Year and as the school system’s and region’s STAR teacher. “Having Rich in our school system is a jewel,” said Wilson. “He makes science relevant to all students, and the timing of this award fits with what we are trying to accomplish in our school system with STEM education.”

McCombs has coached two SECME student bottle rocket teams to national championship titles in the last three years, and with another recent state win, the team will once again have the opportunity to defend that title. He’s led the school’s Vex Robotics and Mousetrap Car Teams to top-five national championship finishes in 2012 as well. For five years in a row SHS’s SECME teams have advanced to nationals by sweeping all four high school categories at the state SECME competitions. He’s also helped coach two Odyssey of the Mind (OotM) teams to top state finishes and appearances at the World OotM competitions.

“'What’s in it for me?' is what most people ask in this age, but Rich wants to know how it can benefit students,” said SHS Principal Marty Waters. “To him extra-curricular competitions provide the practical application of classroom instruction as well as the soft skills that are needed for college and career readiness such as critical thinking skills, resourcefulness, teamwork, and time management.”

Outside the classroom, McCombs coaches and travels with a total of six different extra-curricular clubs and activities including Chess Club, Science Quiz Bowl, Science Fair, Science Olympiad, SECME and Odyssey of the Mind. He has led the students involved in these organizations to numerous regional, state and national honors. “He epitomizes the servant's heart mentality and is an example of the inspirational teachers with whom we are fortunate to work,” Waters said.

Since 1981, SECME has recognized outstanding K-12 educators who have demonstrated leadership ability in advancing student development and outcomes in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. SECME was founded in 1975 by the Engineering Deans from six Southeastern universities: Alabama, Florida, Georgia Tech, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Tuskegee. Today SECME is a non-profit alliance that extends to 40 school systems, 37 major engineering universities, and industries and agencies in 15 states, the District of Columbia, and Grand Bahamas. SECME's mission is to increase the pool of historically under-represented and under-served students who will be prepared to enter and complete post-secondary studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), thus creating a diverse and globally competitive workforce. SECME provides teacher professional development and coordinates student competitions across the country. Its National Headquarters is housed on the campus of The Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia.

http://secme.secme.org/Default.aspx?id=42

The Stability of Thy Times

2013-04-20T10:32:00.000-04:00

“Wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy time." - Isaiah 33:6 (KJV)

Wisdom, 30 Rockefeller Plaza

"Creativity and Imagination shall be the stability of thy times." - Lego Store at Rockefeller Center

Fuel for Thought

2013-04-19T14:59:00.000-04:00

Fuel for Thought Prepares High School Students for Our Global Energy Economy

ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The concept of energy is central to all the science disciplines, seamlessly connecting science, technology, and mathematics. For high school and upper middle school teachers, NSTA’s Fuel for Thought comprises inquiry-based activities, lesson plans, and case studies designed to help teach increased awareness of energy, environmental concepts, and the related issues.

Drawn from NSTA’s award-winning, peer-reviewed journals, Fuel for Thought is divided into three overarching segments for learning and teaching: Student Activities and Investigations includes several activities that tackle such topics as “Energy, Heat, and Temperature,” “Vehicles and Fuels,” and “Living Connections.” Student Projects and Case Studies includes examples of extensive, question-driven student projects, and the last section, Issues in Depth, provides background content knowledge for deeper understanding of the critical energy issues facing the world today.

These interesting and meaningful investigations demonstrate the interdisciplinary nature of energy, preparing students for the complex reality of our global energy economy.

You can browse sample pages of Fuel for Thought free at http://goo.gl/lZszT or at the NSTA Science Store website.

For additional information or to purchase Fuel for Thought and other books from NSTA Press, visit the NSTA Science Store at www.nsta.org/store. To order by phone, call 800-277-5300 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET weekdays. The 408-page book is priced at $25.95 and discount-priced for NSTA members at $20.76

Moby - an idea for water rocket seminar

2013-04-16T12:44:00.001-04:00

Idea for decorating a water rocket: paint orange and details for a Moby head. Not sure how aerodynamic it will be, but it will look like a winner.

Moby and Lily Landstrom

Moby and Mr. Landstrom

Ever wonder how spaceships leap off the planet and fly into outer space? In this BrainPOP movie, Tim and Moby will teach you the basics of space flight! First, you’ll get a brief lesson on the physical forces that send spacecraft zooming into space. Next, you’ll learn some of the main concepts of rocketry, including the all-important force called thrust. You’ll also gain an understanding of the two basic types of rockets and how they work to get spacecraft off the ground. And you’ll learn a bit about various types of spacecraft and the rockets they use to become space-bound. So strap in and get ready for the countdown to begin--this movie is really out of this world!

"A is for Ampere"

2013-04-05T20:44:00.001-04:00

Ladyada’s “E is for Electronics” is a coloring book adventure with electronic components and their inventors. Makers of all ages can learn, color, and share common parts and historical figures throughout history. Explore the world of electronics with Ladyada as your guide!

Here’s an excerpt: “A diode lets electrons flow in only one direction. It works like a switch: when current is flowing one way, the switch is on, but when current tries to flow the other way, the switch turns off. Sir John Ambrose Fleming is best known for inventing the diode, originally called the kenotron.”

Blood Drives in Danger?

2013-04-04T18:17:00.002-04:00

Blood Drives in Danger?
by Cameron Edlund, Ridge staff writer
Originally appeared in The Ridge, the school newspaper for Seminole Ridge High, Volume 8, Issue 14

Our school hosts blood drives throughout the year, and science teacher Mrs.Shawna Ahmad coordinates those drives with help from the National Honor Society blood drive committee, resulting in our students donating the most blood of any school in Palm Beach County for some time now.

If you happened to be in the courtyard during the last drive, you saw science students launching bottle rockets in a spectacular fashion. Hundreds of rockets were launched, labeled—as an incentive to give—with the names of those who donated. Twenty-eight rockets, launched before any others, were fired off in honor of those who died in the Sandy Hook school shootings. It was a touching ceremony to watch, and a pretty cool one.

Unfortunately, the system that worked for so long was changed for the last drive, and maybe for many to come. Students who wished to participate used to be able to choose any class to ‘skip’ to donate blood. Of course they all chose their worst class, usually a ‘core’ class, to skip. The core class teachers had had enough, leading to new restrictions: students are no longer allowed to cut a ‘core’ class to give blood, so many don’t bother signing up for the drive.

Along with the food and the reward of saving lives, kids donated in order to skip class. Sound ugly? What can you expect? We're just kids! And without the ‘skip class’ incentive, blood donations have dropped significantly—you could see how few people were sitting in the waiting room to donate. Unlike in previous years where we were packed like sardines, no one struggled to find a seat.

We must ask the ‘core’ teachers: is this new restriction really worth it? Is missing one class that wrong? It might be any of us—or them—lying on a table someday in need of blood!

Going to Mars With MAVEN Student Art Contest

2013-03-22T12:05:00.002-04:00

The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission, also known as MAVEN, is set to launch to the Red Planet in November 2013. And your artwork could hitch a ride to Mars!

To enter the contest, participants must be ages 5-17. All artwork must be original. The contest is open to students worldwide. Entries are due April 8, 2013. The public will vote to select the winner. Winning artwork will be used on a DVD label that will fly to Mars on the MAVEN spacecraft.

For more information and to submit your artwork, visit http://lasp.colorado.edu/maven/goingtomars/art-contest/.

Banner Brainstorm: a smART stART to inspire ART imagination

2013-03-18T16:03:00.000-04:00

Click on the banner brainstorm template PDF. It may be useful starting point to plan the SECME banner. I give each student a copy of the banner brainstorm and let them work out their ideas of placement, proportion, and use colored pencils. Here's a banner brainstorm template that opens in Microsoft Word for editting.

If someone tells you to write a poem on a piece of paper, it helps you when they say specifically make it a sonnet of 14 lines and an alternative abab rhyme schem. It's a lot easier to ensure the quality of the end product. So when beginning the banner with Seminole SECME, I share the following mathematical concepts. You might find them interesting:

BrainPOP: Scale Drawing
Like to draw in a big way? In this BrainPOP movie, Tim and Moby show you how to resize images and use scale drawing to make pictures larger and smaller! They’ll guide you through a sample problem to help you figure out how to use ratios to find the scale of your original image and that of the final product. You’ll also see what can happen if your height and width scales are different. Lastly, you’ll discover how using a grid can help you keep things nice and neat. Anyone can be an artist!
Watch the Math movie about Scale Drawing

BrainPOP: Proportions Losing your sense of proportion? Regain it with this BrainPOP movie, as Tim and Moby teach you all about ratios or proportions! You’ll find out how to figure out the price of a movie ticket in proportion to average monthly income — and how to compare it to prices from earlier decades. You’ll also learn how to set up a proportion problem, including where to put the ‘x’ and how to cross-multiply in order to get the right answer. Finally, you’ll see how proportions can be used in any number of real-life situations!
Watch the Math movie about Proportions

[ED NOTE: post originally published September 11, 2009. Revised March 18, 2013]

Pi to 314 Places

2013-03-14T06:27:00.000-04:00

In celebration of Pi Day at Seminole Ridge High School in Loxahatchee, FL, students in Mu Alpha Theta math honor society and SECME engineering club have decorated the courtyard in chalk around the circumference of the circular planters with the digits of pi to 314 places.

Pi Day is an annual celebration commemorating the mathematical constant π (pi) -- the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi Day is observed on March 14 (or 3/14 in month/day date format), since 3, 1 and 4 are the three most significant digits of π in the decimal form.

27th DiBiFiLiTi brings 300+ for $4000

2013-03-13T10:56:00.000-04:00

The 27th annual Drop it, Build it, Fly it, Launch it, Thrill it Engineering Competition was held Saturday, March 9 at the South Florida Science Museum. More then 300 kids from elementary to high school competed for $4,000 in cash prizes in five different design contests: built bridges, protection for eggs, paper airplanes, model rockets and roller coasters. The competition was judged by the Florida Engineering Society.

Cody Summerlin talking with Royal Palm Beach HS SECME students before the Launch It water rocket contest

Summerlin's rocket Osprey on the launch pad

Palm Beach Post: Engineering competition draws 300 to South Florida Science Museum
WLRN: U.S. Lags In Science & Tech Education, While Science Fairs Boom In Palm Beach County

Congratulations to Lily Landstrom - for the second year in a row, she designed the grand prize winning perfect egg container to protect an egg from a 3-story drop! Her egg drop container, "Mr. Pickle" weighed 16.9 grams without the egg, and survived two falls, one from 25 feet and one from 50 feet.

Mr. Pickle presented for registration

Mr. Pickle returned after the 25 foot drop

Judges inspect egg for cracks after first drop from 25 feet

Second drop from 50 feet high

Mr. Pickle -- no breaks for nobody! (and Lily is all smiles about it).

2013 winners of "Drop It", elementary school category with Doctor SciFun at the South Florida Science Museum

Grand prize winner of $100 in elementary school egg drop

Seminole SECME 'Hawk Talk' newsletter Spring 2013

2013-03-09T21:29:00.001-05:00

In the Spring 2013 issue of the Seminole SECME 'Hawk Talk' newsletter

- Hawks Win Second Place at 2013 School District Olympiad
- NextEra Energy SECME Generator Build Competition
- Alumni Advise on Surviving College
- Math Midway exhibit at the Museum of Discovery and Science in Ft. Lauderdale
- Seminole SECME remembers Sandy Hook Elementary
- A Shout Out to Our Sponsors

Click here to download the attached PDF copy of our Seminole SECME 'Hawk Talk' newsletter Spring 2013 issue
Hawk Talk Winter 2013

Mousetrap Cars: It's Not a Snap

2013-03-08T11:31:00.000-05:00

Mission Solar System

2013-03-07T16:15:00.002-05:00

NASA and DESIGN SQUAD NATION team up to inspire a new generation of engineers. This guide has six space-based hands-on challenges for school and afterschool programs.
http://pbskids.org/designsquad/pdf/parentseducators/dsn_nasa_missionsolarsystem_complete.pdf

In a universe filled with planets and moons, comets and asteroids, imagine a robot-controlled spaceship that can send a drill deep below the surface and pull up materials never before seen by human eyes. What secrets does an alien core hold? What mysteries will it reveal?

For more than half a century, NASA has inspired the scientific imaginations of young people through the challenge of space exploration. Now, the excitement of space engineering is available for kids in the classroom and in after-school programs through Mission: Solar System; from NASA and Design Squad Nation.

Mission: Solar System is a free, curriculum-based educational resource that includes everything you need to bring the exciting challenges of real NASA engineers to life. There are

leader notes with detailed instructions for each challenge and ideas for making curriculum connections
kids handouts’ with helpful tips and illustrations that enable kids to come up with their own unique solutions to each challenge.
video profiles of young engineers that explore the direct link between each challenge in Mission: Solar System and real-world problem-solving at NASA.
and do-it-yourself videos are included to model how a group of kids can brainstorm a variety of creative solutions.