VanCleave's Science Fun

Your Guide to Science Projects, Fun Experiments, and Science Research

Physics: Radiant Energy

By

Energy Energy enables something to do work. Nothing happens when energy is stored. Things happen when energy is transferred. Most things that happen involve many different energy transfers. Energy is not used up, instead it is transferred from one form of energy to another. Energy is needed for every  motion your body makes, from blinking […]

Chemical Cycling

By

Earth’s only inexhaustible energy source comes from the Sun. The supply of chemicals on Earth are fixed, unless you count meteorites from space. The food you eat is made of chemicals–where did they come from? If you trace the source of each chemical in your body, you would end up going in circles. This is […]

Acid Rain: Man Made

By

Sulfur oxides are gases released when fossil fuels (coal and oil) are burned. Large amounts are released when industries and power plants burn fossil fuels.The diagram shows two sulfur oxides: sulfur dioxide sulfur trioxide The main source of nitrogen oxides is from the exhaust of vehicles. Nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides in air react with […]

Astronomy: Moon Divider

By

Question: What is the boundary between the light and dark regions on the Moon Called? Answer: The terminator. Question: If the photo is of a waning moon, was the photo taken from the Northern Hemisphere or the Southern Hemisphere? Answer: The lighted part of a waning moon continues to get smaller each day until it […]

Astronomy: Earthshine

By

Question: What does earthshine mean? Answer: The photo of the Moon shows a lighted crescent shape plus what looks like a shadow that covers the dark part of the Moon that faces Earth. The shadow area of the Moon is visible because of the faint light from the Sun that is reflected from the Earth, […]

Butterflies: Facts

By

The butterfly and flower are both exquisite specimens of beauty. With so many morphing cartoons, toys, as well as movie characters, the word metamorphosis should easily roll off the tongue of very young learners. Science terms would so much easier if I’d taken Latin. So many science terms are a smorgasbord of Latin prefixes–roots–and suffixes. […]

Teaching Tips

By

A great teacher is not someone who knows all the answers. Instead, a great teacher is someone who can give GREAT CLUES. Teachers need to STOP being answer givers and START being “FUNOLOGY GUIDES.” FUNOLOGY GUIDES are facilitators–in other words, a funology guide  direct and provide fun clues so that kids can be excited about […]

Physics: Pinhole Camera

By

I want to introduce you to a really COOL! website: MEET ME AT THE CORNER! The main part of each page is a video. What I like is that a kid is interviewing some professional about a specific topic. Of course, I immediately found all the science topics, which includes pinhole photography. I have always […]

Space: International Space Station

By

I received an email with a link to how the international space station is being built piece by piece. WOW!! It is so big and is still growing. See for yourself at: International Space Station NASA has many opportunities to learn more about the International Space Station, such as an interactive computer game that allows […]