Before I get to bug of the week, did you get up to see the meteors? Weren’t they incredible? I saw one particularly bright one shoot across the sky.
Today I have a mystery for you. In these two photos, there is evidence of an insect.
I’ll give you a hint. This is the bottom of a saguaro cactus.
Any ideas? The answer will be posted next Wednesday.
As if National Chemistry Week wasn’t enough science this week, the Orionid Meteor Shower is also expected to peak on Wednesday, October 21. For more information, check The 2009 Orionid Meteor Shower page at NASA or keep an eye on SpaceWeather.com. If you have never watched a meteor shower, it is fantastic! Bundle up, find a nice dark place to observe the sky, and if possible, spread out on a lawn chair, the ground or the back of a pick-up truck with some blankets or sleeping bags. When the meteors are active it can be better than fireworks. No guarantees, though, so prime your children to be patient or also do the star count at the same time (see next).
If you and your family are interested in stars right now, it is also time for the Great Worldwide Star Count. This international event encourages everyone to go outside, look skywards after dark, count the stars they see in certain constellations and report what they see online between October 9 and 23, 2009.
Let’s hope for clear nights this week. Let me know what you see.
It’s National Chemistry Week this week, from October 18–24, 2009. If you are in the mood to do some chemistry activities to celebrate, here are some helpful links.
When I found the Home Chemistry blog, I was excited because there was a post about the “Chemistry of Colored Bubbles.” I have been wondering if you could make a colored bubble for ages. Now I know you can!
I think I mentioned this in a previous post, but Off the Shelf Chemistry has hands-on activities for teaching high school level chemistry with things more or less from around the house.
The home of National Chemistry Week 2009! is the American Chemistry Society. Their 2009 theme is “Chemistry—It’s Elemental!†They have a lot of resources, so plan to spend some time looking around.
About.com has a whole list of projects as well as good basic chemistry information.
Finally, Robert Krampf at the Happy Scientist has a number of chemistry experiments. Some of his experiments are free, but most require a subscription. He does have a free newsletter that has general science topics called Experiment of the Week.
And of course we have some chemistry experiments here, like Colors with Acids and Bases.
Hope you enjoy chemistry week!
If you have any great chemistry sites that I have missed, please leave them in the comments.
For more information, see Roberta Gibson Writes.
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