The Perseverance rover, launched July 30, 2020, has a special mission on the surface of Mars. The rover, along with its aerial sidekick the Ingenuity helicopter, have the assignment to study the geology of Mars. This includes seeking signs of ancient microbial life and collecting samples of rock and soil. Part of the mission was also to demonstrate the technology of the Ingenuity helicopter. So what has Perseverance discovered so far? The most exciting finds have to do with the Jezero crater. Previous orbital images of the crater discovered the crater and suggested that there used to be a lake of water there. Perseverance has been able to get a lot more information from the surface of the planet. For instance, on the floor of the crater, the rover discovered igneous rocks. These suggest the possibility that the lake may have been filled with lava before it was filled with water. When water flowed in and covered the igneous rocks, it would have created salty mudflats that would likely have been good habitats for any martian life that may have existed. Perseverance has also found evidence that there used to be winding rivers on the surface of Mars. All of these discoveries are important because they show us that Mars used to be very different than the planet we know today. When the rocks that Perseverance is studying were formed, Mars was full of activity-there were volcanoes, flowing rivers, lakes, and even, possibly, life. Today it is cold, dry, and quiet. Perseverance may give us some clues as to what happened to change the planet so drastically!
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International Women's Day is on Friday, March 8th. We thought we would celebrate a few days early by highlighting some amazing women in STEM! These five inspiring women have contributed significantly to their various STEM fields across the world. Artemis II is projected to launch in September of 2025. While NASA solves some last minute problems to ensure the safety of the crew going to the moon, learn about the crew's commander, NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman. Gregory Reid Wiseman, born November 11, 1975, earned a degree in computer and systems engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a master's degree in systems engineering from Johns Hopkins University. Before becoming an astronaut, he was a Naval Aviator and served multiple deployments to the Middle East. In 2004, he was assigned to be a Test Pilot for the Navy. He is a highly decorated Naval Captain. Wiseman was deployed to the Middle East when he was selected as an astronaut candidate. As an astronaut, he has been to space as Flight Engineer aboard the International Space Station for Expedition 41 from May through November of 2014. During his mission, Wiseman and his crewmates completed over 300 scientific experiments. On December 18, 2020, Wiseman was selected to be the chief of the Astronaut Office. He served in that position for two years before stepping down in order to return to active flight rotation. On April 3, 2023, he was selected to be the commander for the Artemis II mission. Wiseman's wife Carroll passed away in 2020. He has two teenage daughters and is a go-cart driver. When people say snowflake, they often mean snow crystal. A snow crystal is a single crystal of ice within which the water molecules are lined up in a hexagonal array. That's probably the image you think of when you are thinking of a snowflake. However, the term snowflake is actually a lot more general than that. It can refer to a snow crystal, but it can also refer to almost anything that falls from winter clouds. You may have heard that every snowflake is unique, but why is that? Well, every snow crystal starts when an extremely cold water droplet freezes onto a pollen or dust particle in the sky, forming a small hexagonal plate.. Branches sprout from the corners as it grows larger. As a snow crystal tumbles through the clouds, it experiences different temperatures and humidities, which affect the growth of the snowflake's branches in unique ways. No two snowflakes are the same because no two snowflakes have had the exact same journey through the atmosphere! Contrary to popular belief, most snowflakes are not perfectly symmetrical. The branches will look similar because they have all been through the same changes as they moved through the atmosphere, but irregular snowflakes are much more common than the near-perfect kind. Now that we know a little bit about snowflake science, here's an experiment you can try at home to make your own "snowflake". Borax Snowflake What you'll need:
*As featured on Fox 13's The Place What you'll need: Balloon Marker Bottle with narrow neck Funnel Baking soda Vinegar Red food dye (optional) Here's how you do it: 1. Draw a heart on the balloon. 2. (Optional step) Use the red food coloring to dye about a cup of vinegar red. 3. Pour vinegar into the bottle. 4. Using the funnel, put a tablespoon or two of baking soda into the balloon. 5. Being careful not to dump any baking soda into the vinegar, stretch the neck of the balloon around the neck of the bottle. 6. Dump the baking soda into the vinegar and watch your heart grow! As we celebrate Black History Month, meet some of the amazing heroes whose contributions advanced space travel! *As featured on KSL Studio 5 Model Heart What you'll need: Mason jar Water Balloons-one large and one small Scissors Rubber bands Two bendy straws Here's how you do it: 1. Fill the mason jar about half full with water. 2. Cut off the neck of the large balloon. Stretch the balloon over the top of the mason jar, securing with rubber bands. 3. Put two small holes in the top of the balloon. 4. Secure the small balloon to the top of one of the straws using a rubber band. 5. Put the straws through the small holes you made in the balloon. 6. Press down on the top of the balloon. Water will come out of the straw that doesn't have a balloon secured on top of it.
Love Potion What you'll need: Baking soda Vinegar Red food coloring (optional) Water Clear bowl Here's how you do it: 1. Using a little water, shape your baking soda into hearts. If you want to, you can put a drop of food coloring in the center of the hearts. 2. Put vinegar in a clear bowl. (Leave some room for the chemical reaction.) 3. Drop your baking soda hearts into the vinegar and watch your love potion bubble!
Dissolving Heart What you'll need: Skittles Warm water Pie plate Here's how you do it: 1. Arrange your skittles into a heart shape on your pie plate. 2. Carefully pour warm water over the skittles and observe as they dissolve.
*As featured on KUTV2 Fresh Living What you'll need: Paper Lemon juice Q-tips A heat source Here's how you do it: 1. Put a small amount of lemon juice into a cup. 2. Dip your Q-tip into the lemon juice. 3. Draw or write a message to your sweetie using the lemon juice on the end of your Q-tip. 4. Allow your love note to dry for at least 20 minutes. 5. Apply heat. On the show, our director Annika used a heat gun, but you can try any heat source! See if it works better in the oven, next to a candle, or with the high setting on your hair dryer! Let us know how it works for you. We are delighted to announce that we have an unprecedented number of scholarships for this year's summer camps! Thanks to generous donations from Ann and Winston Brundige, Northrop Grumman, Utah STEM Action Center, and Bank of Utah, we have 30 scholarships available spread across all of this year's camps. Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about scholarships. If you have other questions, please reach out to us by commenting here or by emailing us at info@douglassciencecenter.org.
How do I apply? To apply for a scholarship, simply navigate to the STAR Camp section of this webpage or click here. On that page, you will see a button for STAR Camp Scholarships. From there, you will find a description of the available scholarships as well as the application. There is one application form for all scholarships. Please indicate which scholarships you are interested in on the application. Who fills out the application? The essay questions must be filled out by the scholar planning to attend camp, not their parents. Parents may assist, but the essay responses should be in your child's own words. Parents may help Junior Astronauts, but please allow your child to dictate their responses to you. When is the deadline? Applications are due by April 12th. Scholarships will be awarded no later than April 19th. Who is eligible? All students may apply for a camp scholarship. Please make sure that the scholarship you are applying for matches the camp you are registering for. How many scholarships can one camper get? Each camper may only receive one scholarship per camp season. Please note: Remaining tuition balance after scholarships are awarded must be paid in full by May 24th. Scholars will write thank you letters to donors while they are at camp. Women have always been involved in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, though historically their contributions have not always been highlighted. Read on to learn about some amazing women in STEM that you may not have heard of!
Ana Roqué de Duprey was a botanist and educator born in Puerto Rico in 1853. She started a school in her home at the age of 13, where she taught from a geography textbook that she had written herself. Her textbook was later adopted by the Department of Education in Puerto Rico. She founded several girls-only schools as well as the College of Mayagüez. She wrote the Botany of the Antilles, which was the most comprehensive study of flora in the Caribbean at the beginning of the 20th century. She also founded the first women's suffrage organization in Puerto Rico in 1917! Ruth Rogan Benerito was a chemist and pioneer in bioproducts. She is credited with saving the cotton industry in post-WWII America through her discovery of a process to produce wrinkle-free, stain-free, and flame-resistant cotton fabrics. She also developed a way to deliver fat intravenously to patients who were too sick to eat. This is the foundation of the system we use today in hospitals! Grace Hopper was a computer pioneer and naval officer. She is considered one of the first three modern "programmers". She completed her PhD in mathematics at Yale University in 1934. In 1943, she enlisted in the Navy, where she helped program one of the earliest electromechanical computers, the Mark I. One crowning achievement of her decades long career in programming was the creation of the computer language COBOL, which is still in use today. Rachel Carson was a marine biologist and nature writer. Her book Silent Spring is credited as being the catalyst for the modern environmental movement. Outlining the dangers of chemical pesticides, her book sparked a national movement that led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin was a British-born American astrophysicist and astronomer. In 1925, she proposed in her doctoral thesis that stars were composed of mainly hydrogen and helium-- a groundbreaking discovery. She is the first person--male or female--to gain a doctorate in astronomy from Harvard University. Despite working in academia for the entirety of her career, because of her gender, she wasn't recognized as a full professor until 1956. She was the first woman granted full professorship at Harvard University, and went on to become the first female chair of the Astronomy Department there. So many incredible women have contributed to STEM fields! Who is your favorite woman in STEM? |
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