Hey science teachers! Do I have a deal for you!!! Seriously, we have some great programs going on here at NMU. For all K-12 science teachers, there are two classes offered during July for 2 weeks only - 4 credits in 2 weeks in the beautiful Upper Peninsula of Michigan. What a wonderful time and place for a family vacation! One is entitled "The Effective Teaching of Science" and I promise it will be fun and exciting. The other is "Exploring your Environment". E-mail me or visit http://www-instruct.nmu.edu/education/clowe for more information.
For K-8 teachers of all types (ESPECIALLY those who don't know much about science) there is an all-online course in the fall, "The Living World" which is a 4 credit laboratory based life science course. The good thing is that you DO NOT have to know any science or anything about online classes to take it. I will walk you through every step. See the link above or contact me directly for information.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Seriously Big Bugs
Just some catching up. When I was in St. Louis for the National Science Teachers Association, I had the opportunity to handle some seriously big bugs. Both of them are types of walking sticks. These are well-camouflaged insect-eating insects. I am not sure but I wouldn't be surprised if these wouldn't eat a small lizard or other animal. The hands in the picture are not mine although I did get to hold them. I couldn't hold and take a picture at the same time. One of the pictures appeared below as well but I wanted to speak of them again. We talk a lot about how there were huge insects in older times. Well, some of the insects today aren't all that small. There are also very large spiders (tarantulas) and huge centipedes (I once saw one about 13 inches long, about 3/4 inch wide black centipede with orange legs while at girls camp in southern Oklahoma). Goliath beetles can be 4 1/2 inches long, about as long as these bugs, but much heavier thanks to their heavy bodies. There are the Io moths and some butterflies that can have wingspans of almost a foot. So, while most "bugs" are little, some are really pretty big. By the way, there is a such thing as a true bug. A true bug is an insect with a sucking mouth part and wings that make an X on their backs. Stink bugs and weevils are true bugs. And, yes, stink bugs really do stink.Saturday, April 07, 2007
More Birds and Snow
Oh please - not more birds. As my son Curt says, "Why would you want to take pictures of birds? Other people do that and you can just get the ones they took." I suppose so but still - I like taking pictures of birds....MY birds!
Our snowstorm is up to 4 feet - probably a bit more. There was one station with 52 inches of snow this week. That is a record since snow depths were recorded for April in the UP. It is still snowing but is supposed to diminish this evening after dumping another 2-4 inches.
To the right is a female purple finch in flight. Besides the purple and gold finches, and chickadees and nuthatches, we have had juncos, hairy woodpeckers, downy woodpeckers (on our suet), and a blue jay or two.
Our snowstorm is up to 4 feet - probably a bit more. There was one station with 52 inches of snow this week. That is a record since snow depths were recorded for April in the UP. It is still snowing but is supposed to diminish this evening after dumping another 2-4 inches. 
Above is a picture of snow on our oak branches and a fir in the background. To the right are icicles outside my home office window.
Now for the birds. As I mentioned before, there have been sometimes up to 20 birds on our porch and bird feeders. As a result much competition exists. The chickadees and nuthatches seem to lose out the most. I got this humourous picture of birds competing for a spot. The two reddish birds are purple finches and the yellow birds are American goldfinches. My captions, from RIGHT to LEFT, are: "MOVE!" "NO!" "If you're going to fight I'm outta here!" and finally "These guys really annoy me." To the right is a picture of a female purple finch in flight.
To the right is a female purple finch in flight. Besides the purple and gold finches, and chickadees and nuthatches, we have had juncos, hairy woodpeckers, downy woodpeckers (on our suet), and a blue jay or two.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
SNOW?????
Well, today is April 4, 2007 and we are in the midst of a blizzard. Yep, not unheard of but not common either. The record for this area was 25 ½ inches in Negaunee in 1977. We are a ways from that but we have at least a foot outside. The snow was nearly completely gone yesterday with only spots in the woods or where the plow had piled it up. It was a “snow day” at school today (which is a pretty rare occasion) and it remains to be seen whether we will have classes tomorrow. Pretty amazing for April I think.This storm is pretty cool. It is a classic mid-latitude cyclone in which we are sitting in the “comma” and much of the moisture is being brought up from the Gulf of Mexico as you can see in the water vapor satellite image. In addition, the moisture is being augmented water vapor brought in by high winds blowing over Lake Superior.
Many birds have begun arriving from the south and are not adapted to this weather. It is, however, not that cold with current temperatures around 18 degrees F. We have filled both bird feeders in the past 24 hours and one is already empty. In addition, I have been throwing seed out on the ground for the juncos (snow birds). I have seen a white throated sparrow, several purple finches, a lot of gold finches and juncos and, of course, my regular customers, the chickadees and nuthatches. 
Traveling Show
I was only home for 13 days in the month of March. I left for Oklahoma on March 1 and returned on March 11 – our “winter” break (there really is no spring here). I went to visit my Mom, three sons, two daughters-in-law, and, most of all, my two grandkids, one of whom was just born in January. But enough of the personal stuff. For more of that you can go to my family blog http://hownowlowe.blogspot.com/.
While in Oklahoma I visited the egret rookery (shared with a few herons) that I visited last summer. The birds were not yet back from their winter vacation down south but I noticed that the land was for sale. I was concerned so I contacted the Nature Conservancy, my favorite conservation organization. They told me that they do not work with urban land but to contact the Audubon society. I did and they said they would monitor it but likely couldn’t do anything to prevent the sale. However, they said that the birds would likely find the nearest available appropriate area and move there. If I can’s find them next summer when I return, I will contact the Audubon Society to see if they know where they have moved.
I was back in the UP for three days then left for the Michigan Science Teachers Association Convention in Grand Rapids. While there I stayed at the very plush Amway Grand Hotel. I made four presentations, one on Project Globe with my NMU colleagues Mitch Klett and Greg Coverdale, and one on ways to incorporate active participation in lecture settings. The other presentation I made was about teaching vocabulary in science (“What Does ‘Vocabulary’ Mean; Better Ways to Teach Terminology”). This session was scheduled twice and, amazing to me, was completely full both times. In fact, the first time I presented the room was full with standing-room only and some had to leave. I guess a lot of people need this help. If you are interested in the presentation, it is available on my NMU Instruct Server account: http://www-instruct.nmu.edu/education/clowe.
While in Oklahoma I visited the egret rookery (shared with a few herons) that I visited last summer. The birds were not yet back from their winter vacation down south but I noticed that the land was for sale. I was concerned so I contacted the Nature Conservancy, my favorite conservation organization. They told me that they do not work with urban land but to contact the Audubon society. I did and they said they would monitor it but likely couldn’t do anything to prevent the sale. However, they said that the birds would likely find the nearest available appropriate area and move there. If I can’s find them next summer when I return, I will contact the Audubon Society to see if they know where they have moved.
I was back in the UP for three days then left for the Michigan Science Teachers Association Convention in Grand Rapids. While there I stayed at the very plush Amway Grand Hotel. I made four presentations, one on Project Globe with my NMU colleagues Mitch Klett and Greg Coverdale, and one on ways to incorporate active participation in lecture settings. The other presentation I made was about teaching vocabulary in science (“What Does ‘Vocabulary’ Mean; Better Ways to Teach Terminology”). This session was scheduled twice and, amazing to me, was completely full both times. In fact, the first time I presented the room was full with standing-room only and some had to leave. I guess a lot of people need this help. If you are interested in the presentation, it is available on my NMU Instruct Server account: http://www-instruct.nmu.edu/education/clowe.
Back home for 10 days and then off again to the National Science Teachers Association Convention in St. Louis, MO. I was part of the NASA team presenting a full-day seminar for NSTA on “Living and Working in Space: Habitat”. The current NSTA website (how long it will remain I don’t know) is http://institute.nsta.org/stlouis/habitat/symposium.asp and there are upcoming webinars (web seminars) scheduled. Participants built habitats to take home including seeds, plants, and (unexpectedly) “bugs” which were found in the plants.
I also had the opportunity to hear Susan Solomon of NOAA – one of the world’s specialists in climate change. She originally focused on Ozone and was instrumental in working toward the elimination of CFC production globally. Her research now is in the area of global warming and atmospheric changes leading to it. She was pretty convincing that CO2 is, in fact, the primary anthropogenic contributor to global warming, something I have had issues with. However, she seemed very much entrenched in her own views and, as Kuhn said in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, that could prevent her from seeing or acknowledging truths. Something to be studied and seen in the future. Regardless, we need to find alternatives to fossil fuels for a variety of reasons.
I asked the question about wavelength absorption. She indicated that it is true that many of the infrared wavelengths that carbon dioxide could absorb are already absorbed and that other molecules such as methane, and particularly SF6 (a byproduct of catalytic converters) had more “bang for the buck”, that is that they absorbed more infrared radiation than carbon dioxide per atom. However there are much fewer of these molecules in the atmosphere. Her comment was that there is still a big enough wavelength window that carbon dioxide is, in fact, the forcing mechanism. However, she became somewhat irate at my question and commented that this was an argument nay-sayers use which makes me wonder. Hmmmm.
I asked the question about wavelength absorption. She indicated that it is true that many of the infrared wavelengths that carbon dioxide could absorb are already absorbed and that other molecules such as methane, and particularly SF6 (a byproduct of catalytic converters) had more “bang for the buck”, that is that they absorbed more infrared radiation than carbon dioxide per atom. However there are much fewer of these molecules in the atmosphere. Her comment was that there is still a big enough wavelength window that carbon dioxide is, in fact, the forcing mechanism. However, she became somewhat irate at my question and commented that this was an argument nay-sayers use which makes me wonder. Hmmmm.
While in St. Louis, I was able to go about in short sleeves, eat outside, hold some seriously big insects (walking sticks) and visit with a couple of penguins. I am exhausted from all the travel – I’m not twenty something any more – but it was a lot of fun. 
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