teaching

tags: Great Argus Pheasant, Great Argus, Phoenix, Argusianus argus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz [Mystery bird] Great Argus Pheasant, also known as the Great Argus or the Phoenix, Argusianus argus, endemic to Malaya, Sumatra, and Borneo. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours] Image: John del Rio, 2009 [larger view]. More images by this photographer can be seen on the front page and in the gallery. Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/800s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400. Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification. The scientific…
tags: King Bird of Paradise, Cicinnurus regius, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz [Mystery bird] King Bird of Paradise, Cicinnurus regius, photographed in the Mount Bosavi volcano, a collapsed cone of an extinct volcano on the Kikori River Basin/Great Papuan Plateau, Southern Highlands province, Papua New Guinea. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours] Image: Ulla Lohmann [larger view]. Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification. What is the picture showing? What part of the bird is this? Once you've figured out the answer to those questions, you are…
tags: How it's Made: Snowboards, snowboards, sports, engineering, material science, technology, streaming video This video describes in detail something that winter sports enthusiasts care about during this time of year!
tags: Olive Sparrow, Arremonops rufivirgatus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz [Mystery bird] Olive Sparrow, Arremonops rufivirgatus, photographed in the Hazel Bazemore County Park, Corpus Christi, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours] Image: Amy Shutt, 23 November 2009 [larger view]. Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification. Review all mystery birds to date.
tags: politics, terrorism, economics, social psychology, Red Brigades, Italy, TEDTalks, TED Talks, Loretta Napoleoni, streaming video Loretta Napoleoni details her rare opportunity to talk to the secretive Italian Red Brigades -- an experience that sparked a lifelong interest in terrorism. She gives a behind-the-scenes look at its complex economics, revealing a surprising connection between money laundering and the US Patriot Act. TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their…
tags: Ladder-Backed Woodpecker, Picoides scalaris , birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz [Mystery bird] Ladder-Backed Woodpecker, Picoides scalaris , photographed on the Katy Prairie, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours] Image: Joseph Kennedy, 1 January 2010 [larger view]. Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/400s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400. Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification. Review all mystery birds to date.
tags: Chipping Sparrow, Spizella passerina, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz [Mystery bird] Chipping Sparrow, Spizella passerina, photographed at Illinois Beach State Park, Lake County, Illinois. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours] Image: Janice Sweet, 20 October 2009 [larger view]. Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification. Review all mystery birds to date.
tags: biology, zoology, insects, Dragonfly, Wandering Glider, Globe Skimmer, Pantala flavescens, migration, Maldives, India, TEDTalks, TED Talks, Charles Anderson, streaming video While living and working as a marine biologist in Maldives, Charles Anderson noticed sudden explosions of dragonflies at certain times of year. He explains how he carefully tracked the path of a plain, little dragonfly called the Globe Skimmer, Pantala flavescens, only to discover that it had the longest migratory journey of any insect in the world. TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and…
Who: Richard WisemanWhat: free public presentation, "Investigating the Impossible"Where: University Settlement, 184 Eldridge Street (and Rivington St.) [map]When: Tonight at 730pm (Tuesday, 5 January 2010)Cost: FREE and open to the public! Join the New York City Skeptics as they kick off their 2010 Public Lecture Series with noted skeptic, psychologist, and magician Richard Wiseman. For over 20 years, Professor Richard Wiseman has investigated a variety of strange psychological phenomena. In this talk, he describes some of his more colorful adventures, including his work into why some…
tags: Least Grebe, Least Dabchick, American Dabchick, Tachybaptus dominicus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz [Mystery bird] Least Grebe, also known as the Least Dabchick and the American Dabchick, Tachybaptus dominicus, photographed at Brazos Bend State Park, Needville, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours] Image: Joseph Kennedy, 27 December 2009 [larger view]. Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/320s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400. Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification. Review all mystery birds to date.
tags: DonorsChoose, science education, teaching, fund-raising, poverty > Do you remember our fund-raising effort for impoverished American science classrooms through Donors Choose? Well, here's a really lovely thank you to one of my readers from one of our classrooms!
Who: Richard WisemanWhat: free public presentation, "Investigating the Impossible"Where: University Settlement, 184 Eldridge Street (and Rivington St.) [map]When: tomorrow at 730pm (Tuesday, 5 January 2010)Cost: FREE and open to the public! Join the New York City Skeptics as they kick off their 2010 Public Lecture Series with noted skeptic, psychologist, and magician Richard Wiseman. For over 20 years, Professor Richard Wiseman has investigated a variety of strange psychological phenomena. In this talk, he describes some of his more colorful adventures, including his work into why some…
tags: Common Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz [Mystery bird] Common Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus, photographed at Brazos Bend State Park, Needville, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours] Image: Joseph Kennedy, 27 December 2009 [larger view]. Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/500s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400. Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification. Review all mystery birds to date.
tags: Cotton: Building a Better Plant, cotton, agriculture, genomics, fabrics, technology, streaming video This is another beautifully written and produced video about plant research. The lucky plant? This time, it's cotton -- what jeans and t-shirts are made of! This video explores how modern cotton plants came to be, the 50 species of cotton, and how cotton genomic research can improve our lives. Plant genome research is already revolutionizing the field of biology. Currently, scientists are unlocking the secrets of some of the most important plants in our lives, including corn, cotton…
tags: Ashy Starling, Cosmopsarus (Spreo) unicolor, Yellow-collared Lovebird, Black-Masked Lovebird, Agapornis personatus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz [Mystery birds] Ashy Starling, Cosmopsarus (Spreo) unicolor (L), and Yellow-collared Lovebird, also known as the Black-Masked Lovebird, Agapornis personatus (R), photographed at Tarangire National Park, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours] Image: Dan Logen, 31 August 2007 [larger view]. Nikon D2X, 200-400 mm lens at 400. ISO 400, 1/250, f/5.6. Please name at least one field mark that supports your…
tags: White-eared Barbet, Stactolaema leucotis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz [Mystery bird] White-eared Barbet, Stactolaema leucotis, photographed at Amani Preserve, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours] Image: Dan Logen, 6 September 2007 [larger view]. Nikon D2X, 200-400 mm lens, at 400. ISO 200, 1/250, f/6.3. Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification. Review all mystery birds to date.
tags: Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Dusky Kinglet, Ruby-Crown, Regulus calendula, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz [Mystery bird] Ruby-crowned Kinglet, also known as the Dusky Kinglet or as the Ruby-Crown, Regulus calendula, photographed at Brazos Bend State Park, Needville, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours] Image: Joseph Kennedy, 27 December 2009 [larger view]. Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/500s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400. Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification. Review all mystery birds to date.
tags: Corn: The Dynamic Genome, corn, agriculture, genomics, food science, technology, streaming video This is a beautifully written and produced science video about corn: where it came from, what it originally looked like, the technology we are using to learn the functions of individual corn genes, and future directions for research into corn genetics. Plant genome research is already revolutionizing the field of biology. Currently, scientists are unlocking the secrets of some of the most important plants in our lives, including corn, cotton and potatoes. Secrets of Plant Genomes: Revealed…
tags: Double-Crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax auritus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz [Mystery bird] Double-Crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax auritus, photographed at Hermann Park, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours] Image: Joseph Kennedy, 23 December 2009 [larger view]. Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/500s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400. Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification. Review all mystery birds to date.
tags: How It's Made: Bread, baking, agriculture, chemistry, food science, technology, streaming video This interesting video shows how bread is made in large, mechanized factories: from mixing the ingredients to shipping it out for consumption.