So, what’s the deal with Pluto? You probably know it’s not a planet anymore. This I learned from my oldest daughter when she was in kindergarten a few years ago. And that was as much as I could tell you about it…until we took a field trip to the Udvar-Hazy Center of the National Air and […]
THE BRAIN CHASE BLOG
Can You Dig It? #Funfindfriday
Until Max and Mae Merriweather hit the scene, Harrison Ford’s depiction of heart-throb archaeologist Indiana Jones was pretty much the coolest (or only) archaeologist in pop culture. I think it’s worth mentioning, though, that Archaeology is so much more than a costumed celebrity. Yes, the inquisitive heroes of history may wear a khaki top now […]
An Hour (or More) of Code
When I arrived as a freshman at my college dorm in 1993, I brought with me a thrift store shower caddy, an assortment of mismatched towels and sheets from home, and a computer, a hand-me-down monstrosity from my Dad, who had upgraded. It took me three trips to lug all the components up to my […]
Five Mindsets to Change About How Schooling Must Be
History is full of examples of people who thought that how things were was how they always must be. Consider these fixed mindsets from the past: “There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” – Ken Olson, president, chairman, and founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, 1977 “Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible.” […]
How Things Are Made
Have you ever wondered how potato chips are made? Sure, you slice a potato and fry it. That’s an easy one. But how about pretzels? Or tea? Guitars? Motorcycles? Crayons? Baseball bats? They’re all made the same way: in a factory. Last year one of my friends took her family on a factory-and-museum road trip up the east coast. […]
Brain Foolery #FunFindFriday
As a dedicated prankster in my youth, I made sure to plan my April Fools’ pranks weeks in advance. Setting my siblings’ alarms for 3:30 AM? Totally. Flour in the hairdryer? Old hat. Wearing…clothing backwards? Yep, I was that kid. Eventually, I grew out of the dime-store pranks and settled into online trickery for my […]
The Kid Should See This
Every once in a while, I’m stopped in my tracks while working or surfing online and I say to myself, “My kids have got to see this.” Something about the wonder of a video, the mind-blowing beauty of an image or sound, or the sheer coolness of a fact or graphic drives me to want […]
“Go Build Something”
When one of my children comes to me with the inevitable, “Mom, I’m booored”, one of my go-to suggestions is, “Go build something.” When I say this, I’m thinking inside the box: blocks. Or Legos. Tower…maybe a house. This is as far as my multi-tasking mom brain goes. But when a child hears “build”, to […]
Everything Is Interesting #FunFindFriday
Sometimes we all need a jump start. A leap into the right direction, or any direction at all. That’s just where I was when I came across a mystical little book enticingly titled “How to Be an Explorer of the World.” Big promises, right? I was skeptical myself…and then I looked inside. The word “book” […]
Chutes and Ladders – Are Your Kids Climbing Up Or Sliding Back Down
Last weekend, my six year old and eight year old both wanted to play a board game with me. In our house, the three of us playing a board game is kind of a conundrum because my oldest desires to play more sophisticated games like Clue or Stratego while my younger daughter would rather play […]