Upon getting information about an upcoming school science fair and the need to consider a topic of interest, many students will typically have no idea where to get started. While the science fair is typically a common occurrence in any school at any grade level, there are different types of topics that should be taken a look at depending on the age of the student. After first taking a look at the many different categories of science projects, you will be able to locate a suitable choice of topic to take to the next level.There is a wide variety of categories that fall under the types of science projects that can be chosen for a school science fair. These include biology, chemistry, physics, microbiology, biochemistry, medicine, environmental, mathematics, engineering, and earth science. While you may not have yet learned very much in any of these categories, don’t be afraid to see what each one entails. Taking a good look at your interests will allow you to focus on the right direction to take.Many resources are also available for those who are unsure as to the topic they are wanting to use to create their science projects. If you take a look at the topics that fall under the biology category, you will likely notice that there are topics that deal with plants, animals, and humans. For those who are in 2nd grade or 3rd grade, an interesting topic may be to determine if ants are picky over what type of food they eat. While this topic might not be of interest to an 8th grader, it is certainly something in the biology category that an elementary school student would enjoy.Along with the biology category, a high school student may want to take a look at diffusion and osmosis in animal cells as this would be a more appropriate topic for the grade level. A student in 6th grade would be more advanced than an elementary school student, but not as advanced as a high school student. At this middle school grade level, a topic of how pH levels effect the lifespan of a tadpole may be of interest.Whichever resource is used to locate a topic for science projects, it is always a good idea to consider the grade level of the student prior to making a selection. It is always assumed to be best to have a project at an appropriate level in order to keep the attention of the student and provide a fun and enjoyable learning experience.
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Opening An Art Studio in Second Life
Location, Location, Location is the same theme in Second Life as it is in First Life. When you find a location in a Second Life, in a mall or village shops, sometimes asking for an exclusive contract for your business if it is not clothing or clothing related is a good thing. Elven Enchantment Museum and Art Gallery are exclusive sponsors of Digital Knight Scripted Art Studio and so contracted for an exclusive contract at Magical Dreams Mall that we are the only people allowed to sell art in the mall.The second order of the day is an advertising campaign. There are many avenues of advertising in Second Life, billboards at the Edge are very popular, smaller advertising billboards at malls and clubs for people to click on and obtain a Landmark (LM). Other avenues are Second Life ads (SLads), writing articles for the Second Life Newspaper, and Enquirer. Just like in First Life writing to the editors to see if they are interested in an article is also a good practice and if you are fortunate, then your article will be accepted.Elven Enchantment Museum and Art Gallery used its group to remind members of the opening and also advertised on the Art and Artiste’s Network bringing in people who are interested in Second Life Art.The next item to do is to fill the studio full of art and plan your opening night. The former was done over the month of September and Mr. Montague decided to give away one copy of “Tall Ship” to the first person who could correctly guess the name of the ship.Then the last thing you do is write up a note card, fill in the information on the opening and drop it to all your friends on your friends list and ask them to bring a friend.After all the hard work and stress of organizing the artwork and planning the opening night, enjoying the fun on opening night was satisfying along with the payments for artwork purchased coming into your account.The competition for Tall Ship began right away and all of the guesses were fantastic and some of the guesses for the name of the French tall ships were Dora, Le Napoleon, the Royal Louis, and Cutter Sark to name a few. Some not so serious guesses of Unroyal Louis and H.M.S. Fig Newton were a few of my favorites.It was Atlantis Jewell who was the first to identify the name of the tall ship, but since the Museum were the Exclusive Sponsors of the event, was not qualified to win the artwork.Mr. Montague threw out helpful hints such as: It’s flying a French Flag! Napoleonic War and It’s a special ship as I had to find a picture of it to make it into “Tall Ship”. Spanish ships Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria made an appearance in the guessing line up as did the H.M.S. Victory and Surprise.The win went to Second Life Resident Tressie Jetaime with: “Acheron”. H.M.S. Surprise was the British ship that was commissioned to arrest the Acheron. The picture of this fabulous tall ship can be found in the movie, “Master and Commander.”
Electronic Gadgets and Interpersonal Behavior
Are children spending too much time with their cell phones, electronic games and computers? Is this just part of growing up in our world of electronic gadgets? Do these devices help build good relationships or do they hinder interpersonal skills nurturing?Driving through the city, I saw two children walking together. One texted on a cell phone and the other played a Game Boy or some device. They were walking together, but not talking together. Later in the day, I heard a teen yell to another, “Don’t come over, send me an e-mail or text me.”Before the invention of these electronic gadgets, children communicated and occupied their time differently. My friends and I were always looking for some type of physical activities or table games when I was growing up. During the colder months, we had sled riding and other winter activities. Some might even say that the exercise helped prevent the childhood obesity problems faced by some present day electronic gadget children. A well-developed finger muscle, acquired by playing an electronic game, is not a great physical workout!We did talk on the landline phone, but we had face-to-face conversations most of the time. All of these activities inadvertently taught us some interpersonal skills. Some of the activities, like football, taught us that you could be a star by yourself, but working as a team won the game.People can use electronic gadgets to communicate with other people. This does provide interaction, even if the other people are not physically present. Gamers will contend that a teaming effort is required to win some of the activities, and that involves interpersonal skills.Is electronic participation as good as being there? That is a matter of opinion. We all see our world through our own lens or life experience. It is possible to learn interpersonal skills in many different ways. Developing these interpersonal skills makes us aware of human behavior–good and bad.Critics say that electronic gadgets have given criminals a new way to interact. They perpetrate crimes with prepaid cell phones and enable criminal activities involving children over the Internet. Others counter by saying the safety factor gained in having a cell phone is worth any peripheral problems. Internet safeguards and supervision can protect children from those who want to harm them. In addition, law enforcement uses many electronic gadgets to apprehend the criminals.One might conclude that with electronic gadgets, you are never out of touch. People who live in remote areas can communicate with others for pleasure or emergencies. Children can attend a cyber school instead of a traditional school, getting their schooling over the Internet. Both involve some interpersonal skills, but does an image through the computer or voice over the cell phone permit the same degree of interpersonal skill development? Again, it depends on the individual viewpoint.Electronic gadgets affect adults as well. For some, texting and e-mailing have become a way of dealing with people, i.e., the norm. It provides a stealthy way of communicating for some people. Sending an e-mail or text message means there are no emotions, no waste of time, and can be one-way–not open to immediate questions or criticism. In addition, sometimes someone will say things on the phone or in writing that they cannot say face-to-face.There is no doubt that electronics and technology have changed our lives. The progress we have made has saved many lives, and has made life easier and safer for us all. How electronic gadgets affect interpersonal skill development is open to debate. I suppose it depends upon the goals of the participants.All Rights ReservedCopyright 2010John A. Invernizzi, Ph.D.