Evan and Owen

Sarah and Anya

John and Caleb

Congratulations on a job well done!

You never know how things might be changing in the woods near your home!
Natural selection could be slowly driving changes right before your own eyes!

At the Racetrack Playa, a dried up lakebed in Death Valley, CA- the rocks move! They even leave trails. No one has seen them move. They don’t move very often- maybe once every several years. Some serve left and right and one named “Karen” even made a sharp right angle turn.

Death Valley is an area of desert that is below sea level. Let’s say you wanted to walk from the bottom of the valley on flat (level) land all the way to the coast. To do this a tunnel would have to be made through the earth. That would be the only way you could stay level with the bottom of the valley. Once you got to the coast, you would be underwater- 282 feet underwater. Death Valley is the eighth lowest dry land area in the world!

It is also famous for being the hottest place in North America. Temperatures can reach over 100^oF for many days in a row. The ground temperature is at least 40% greater than the air temperature.

Rainfall has increased 50% in the last 30 years to approximately 2.5 inches per year…not a lot for an entire year. On average Massachusetts receives 45 inches of rain per year. One rainy day in Massachusetts could equal the total rainfall for one year in Death Valley.

At this point, no one is exactly sure why the rocks move.  Does it have something to do with:

• The shallow lake that forms at one end of the basin due to flash flooding?
• The wind? Can the wind blow fast enough to move a rock? How heavy are the rocks?
• Temperatures reaching below freezing the during winter nights?
• The rain events that only deliver between 0.04 to 0.35 inches of rain?

Search the web. Read the theories by scientists as to “why the rocks move”. Take a closer look at the weather data in that area. Study the geology of the lakebed. What is your explanation as to why the rocks move?

What do groundhogs do to get ready for winter?

We usually eat a bit more in the fall since during the winter we will hibernate underground- that means we go into a deep sleep. Sometimes we even dig another burrow for our hibernation.  Burrows are usually dug below the frost line (or the depth at which the water in the ground will freeze) so that they will stay warmer.  We might go as deep as 5 feet underground when making a burrow.  And of course we add a little extra insulation, like grass or hay to keep warm too.

What happens when you hibernate?

Hibernation is kind of like sleeping without getting up until spring. Our body temperature drops and our heart rate, breathing, and metabolism (other chemical reactions in our body) all slow down.

How big is a typical burrow?

In a typical burrow, we might have as many as 5 to 7 openings to the ground surface.  Some of my friends have up to 46 feet of tunnels in their burrows.  One burrow might require the removal of 35 cubic feet of dirt or 710 pounds of dirt.

What do groundhogs do when out and about all day?

We like to eat. We are herbivores so we only eat plants. Next, we have to watch out for the foxes, coyotes, and hawks that might try to eat us. If we need to we will climb trees to take a look at the surroundings.  And believe it or not, we are excellent swimmers.

Do you really look for your shadow on Groundhog Day?

We leave the shadow spotting to the Ground Hogs at the zoos especially to Phil in Punxsutawney, PA.  That hole shadow business is too much of a mob scene for us that live in wild. Plus we are still hibernating at that time and really don’t want to leave our warm burrows!

Or like this…

Or even like this…

These shed and boxes are  called stream gage stations. They are scattered through out the United States along river banks. Stream gages can even be silver boxes mounted to sides of bridges. The gages are part of the stream gaging network maintained by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Yes, the USGS studies more than just rocks and volcanoes! One of the biggest responsibilities of the USGS is to study water!

Each one of these stations has equipment that can detect the height of the water and how much water is flowing in the river. 

The amount of water flowing in the river is measured in cubic feet per second* (cfs).  This type of information is especially important when designing the construction of dams and bridges, irrigation, and during stormy weather.

Next blog installment:  Check the amount of water flowing in your state at each stream gage station- right from your own computer!!! 

*What is a cubic foot?  Picture a box that is 1 foot high, 1 foot in length, and 1 foot in width to visualize a cubic foot.  Another way to visualize a cubic foot is to picture a basketball since a basketball is just about the size of a cubic foot.  So you can think of the stream gage as being able to tell you how many water “basketballs” flow past it every second.

Yes! After checking with the National Weather Service, water vapor can attach to raindrops as they fall and increase the size of the falling drop, thus increasing the amount of rain falling. The United States Geological Survey also informed us that raindrops can bump into each other and become one drop as they are falling as well.  This process is called coalescence. Once a drop reaches 4 millimeters in size, it usually splits into two drops.

Additionally when a different cloud moves overhead, the amount of rain and the intensity of rain may also change. So this is another reason why, we can change from a drizzle to rain.  Rain is usually from a cloud higher in our atmosphere and drizzle from a lower cloud.

In case you are wondering…..How do raindrops form?

Raindrops form when water vapor molecules bump into a dust particle in a cloud and condense around it becoming a droplet (smaller than a drop). Condense means that the water vapor (water in gas form) changes to water in liquid form around the dust particle. Wow- a good thing about dust! The size of the dust particle will affect the size of the droplet. A bigger particle of dusts results in a bigger droplet. The droplets must coalesce (bump and become one) with other droplets to become heavy enough to fall from the cloud.

In honor of the March 12, 1999 anniversary of the idea for Catch the Science Bug, we would like to share with you an interview between Rex Trailer, former host of Boomtown, and Kim Bent that was recorded on the very first day that Catch the Science Bug was broadcasted from PBS Rhode Island on November 13, 2006!

 Since the beginning, we have met so many people that are huge Rex Trailer fans.  From working with Rex, I can firmly attest that he lives up to everything you would want in a childhood hero!  THANK YOU Rex! Your legacy of helping children will live on through Science Bug.

 Thank you to everyone who helped Catch the Science Bug grow to where it is today! We could not have done it without all of you who have supported us in countless different ways- a big hug of appreciation is being sent to ALL of YOU!

 Designs_Inspired_by_Nature_Quiz

Take care of things by:

•  Storing properly  
• Using in the intended manner
• Cleaning the items
• Keeping the object in the appropriate temperature and humidity
•  Attending to routine maintenance
• Organize and keep like items together (This will prevent you from losing pieces of a game or buying something you already have but could not find.) 

All of these tips  can save you money. They also save the water, electricity, transportation, packaging costs and the disposal impact.  Using less of all of these things emits less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and that’s a great thing when it comes to global warming!

Taking good care of your stuff helps preserve polar bear habitat!

Things do wear out and when they can no longer be fixed, try to recycle as much of the materials as possible even if this means taking the item apart. Look for a more energy efficient, environmentally friendly, or  better quality product when replacing the item. These products may be a bit more expensive but if they can last longer than the cheaper ones. You will definitely get your money back and then some!

First time builders:
First Place: Camryn: 144 marbles
Second Place: Tim and Jack: 137 marbles

When it came to engineering a better chair the second time:

First Place: Caleb was our master at holding the most weight: 812 marbles

Second Place: Nick was our innovator, being the first to venture on his own: (308 marbles).

 Honorable Mention to: Brendon, Nico, Logan, Genevieve, JP, Owen, Andrew, Brady, Nora, and KiKi! Great job everyone!!!! For those of you, who took stuff home….we anxiously, await your results!

First watch our Science Bug Investigators’ Tower Building Competition!

Next choose the materials that you would like use to make your tower.  If you are doing this with friends and making this into a competition to see who can build the tallest tower, everyone has to have the same exact materials.  You can even compete against your self if you have a duplicate set of materials. Your goal would to be to try to build a taller tower than you did the first time.

Next decide if the amount of tape be limited or unlimited. If you limit the tape, you would give everyone only a certain amount, like 2 feet. If unlimited, give them the entire roll!

Third, decide if you are going to set a time limit. If you set a time limit you will need a timer. How much time will you give everyone? 5 minutes? 30 minutes?

Then it is up to your and your friends to be civil engineers and see who can build the tallest tower!  Good luck.  And please share your results with us on this blog.  Tell us what materials you used and your tower heights.

Civil engineers also build among other things, dams and bridges.   Can you make a bridge from paper strong enough to hold a golf ball?  Make a waterproof dam out of clay? Or what can you think of for your next competition?