Dance Like Honey Bees

The Austrian ethologist Karl von Frisch was the first scientist to decode the "waggle dance" of honey bees, which informed their hive mates of the location of food sources. A description of the bee dance can be seen here.

The Advanced Bio class had to come up with their own dances using the bees as inspiration to find their candy "caches" hidden around campus. The results can be seen in the video below....

What Does DNA replication sound like? Musical Homework

In response to a homework challenge to formulate a creative interpretation of DNA replication, a couple of students went the extra mile and wrote musical compositions - the first one featured here is by by Vignesh (CO 2011).
Here, in Vignesh's own words, is a quick rundown on what it represents...

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The rigid drum rhythm represents the nigh-mechanical nature of the DNA
replication process.
The two piano melodies at the beginning together represent the spiraling
double helix of DNA.
The harsh, distorted part represents the helicase breaking up the double
strand.
Afterward, the organ chords represent the the RNA primer.
The legato layered piano represents the leading strand from 5' to 3'.
Then, the staccato piano and the slower, somewhat arrhythmic drum beat
represent the "fragmented" lagging strand from 3' to 5'. This part is
more repetitive as the process is more repetitive.
The two piano melodies come back, but in stereo and with different
timbres, to represent two DNA helices, the products of semiconservative
DNA replication.

The second piece, submitted by Paul (CO 2011) is described as follows:

At the beginning, nothing is happening to the DNA. Then helicase separates it with staccato dissonance. Binding proteins are a sustained, rising melody. (We modulate down 1 half step to E flat. E natural represents completed DNA. Primase gets everything started on the leading strand with 3 sharp chords, and then polymerase 3 makes some chords as the rapid notes are the new strand of DNA forming. An E natural chord indicates that the strand of DNA has formed. Primase then starts the lagging strand (same 3 chords) and Okazaki fragments are formed as polymerase 3 makes more chords (back to E flat here). Ligase smoothly joins the Okazaki fragments with arpeggios. At the end, it resolves on E because the DNA has finished replicating.

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Thanks to Veronica for sending me this for submission.

Engineering at Catlin Gabel.....

15 intripid Winterimers attempted to build go karts in 4 days from bits of plywood, 2x4 and 6.5 hp motors. Aided by go kart expert Dick Shoemaker (former Catlin 6th grade teacher) and parent Jeff Maier, the boys did amazingly well, with 3 getting finished and 2 just needing the engine to be attached. One group managed to build and wreck their go kart in those 4 days, crashing in to the Modern Languages building.
The slideshow below documents the process from start to (almost) finish - I'll add more photos and a movie of the project when we get back from Spring Break (as long as Matthew has got it done by then)

Chemistry Magic Show

Today the Advanced Chemistry class prepared a chemistry show for Chris's 8th grade scientists. About 30 middle schoolers were entertained with a variety of chemical reactions, most of which involved setting fire to something. A short highlights reel is featured below.
Thanks to the seniors involved, to Becky and Chris for organizing this and to Nathaniel for stepping in to supervise the rehearsals whilst Becky hikes through the Himalayas.

Water Pollution (Part II) : Heavy Metals

In the second Environmental Science project to be featured on The Coverslip, Erica and Christine (and their environmental crusader Danger Ranger) address the issues surrounding heavy metal pollution in water in the podcast below. The audio is a bit quiet for the first few seconds, but is great when Erica and Christine start talking. Click here for the first project published on The Coverslip, which is a video on domestic water pollution.

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Science In the Sunshine

Not so much a news story or an insightful comment on teaching and learning, rather an uplifting picture of the coming of spring. As inevitable as night following day, the appearance of the sunshine after a long Oregon winter invariably brings out the question "Can we have class outside?". Yesterday, the answer was yes - we needed the extra space to build the longest protein model we could in a block period, then combined the efforts of two BPC III classes. Those of you with good eyesight can check that they are indeed all structurally correct with impeccable peptide bonds linking each amino acid. I'll be particularly impressed if anyone can tell me which amino acid is on the far right of the chain........

Geothermal Energy - what's it all about?

Sitting as we do on a number of volcanoes and hot springs, the potential for geothermal energy in Oregon seems to be pretty high. The map on the left shows the potential for harvesting geothermal energy in the U.S.A. Klamath Falls, for example, uses geothermal energy for heating buildings, de-icing roads and heating swimming pools. As part of their Environmental Science and Policy class, groups had to prepare presentations on various forms of alternative renewable energy sources. Zanny and Ingrid drew geothermal energy, and thought they would see what a cross-section of the Catlin Gabel community knew about the topic. The results were mixed.....

Baking Soda Projects

Never underestimate the utility of letting students design and execute open ended baking soda labs. Not only are they fun and can result in a batch of cookies or bang, but students learn how to ask an empirical question, design an experiment and they learn how to evaluate their data in relation to their initial question. Today, students presented their weekend projects to the class. What I learned today, is that there is an inherent desire to compare. Students created a "control" without having been instructed. There were some great projects and some great experiments. Below is an example of an answer to the question, how high can I get this thing into the air.

I love 8th Grade Science!

Great start to 2010 for Catlin Gabel Science

2010 has already been a remarkable year for Catlin Gabel science students already. Two of our seniors have been named finalists in the Intel Science Talent Search - this is the first time in the history of the school for us to have one finalist, let alone two. They are the only students from Oregon and two of only 40 nationwide. This achievement was covered by several local news outlets, and links to all the stories can be found here A list of distinguished alumni of this competition (Nobel prize winners, Fields Medal winners) can be found here



Yesterday, a team of students took second place in the Regional Science Bowl. This is the best ever performance by a Catlin team, beating 59 other teams from Oregon and SW Washington for a place in the final. Details of their fantastic performance can be found here

Reducing Catlin Gabel's environmental impact

The word "sustainable" has become one of the most frequently used words in the last few years, and it seems that in many cases it can be used in any context to give a green tinge to whatever is being presented - it has become a favorite of many a corporation trying to improve their environmental image.

At Catlin Gabel,however, we are definitely trying to "walk the walk" (or is it walk the talk? I never get that right....). Led by the efforts of the Facilities Director, Eric Shawn, there are a whole host of initiatives to reduce and even eliminate the environmental impact of our activities on campus. The ideas of reducing consumption, minimizing waste and pollution and conserving energy (which are central to the true definition of sustainability: meeting the needs of the present without compromising the future) are taught in several different classes from K-12. Eric has put together a Moodle site on InsideCatlin that summarizes what the school is doing at every level. You need an InsideCatlin login to access this page, but all students can access this page and I believe that you can get a username and password if you are a parent or alum. Click here to access the page. It is also available on the school website here.

As a shameless promotional plug for the Environmental Science and Policy class, there will be two wonderful pieces of writing on sustainability from a couple of our incredibly talented Seniors featured on this site that are well worth a read.