It's astronomical.....how big our universe is!

This weekend I had the pleasure of visiting the nations largest telescope open for public viewing.  I spent from 5pm-2am Friday delighting in some of the spectacular sights our universe has to offer.  I saw globular clusters, nebulae, comets and planets! Here are some photographs of the 60" telescope on Mt. Wilson.

6,000 ft up on Mt. Wilson
The tiny cluster of buildings in the middle of the photo is Downtown Los Angeles!

The 60" telescope

Famous astronomers have lockers too!

Looking through the telescope at some amazing celestial objects

First Day of School

Hi everyone! I am really excited to be teaching at Larchmont Charter School LaFayette Park this school year! I will be posting many exciting things in the coming months and look forward to hearing from you! Take a look at my new website where I will be hosting all of the science content from now on, just click on the hyperlink!

End of the Year Book Exchange

Long time no update I know, but I have some really exciting news! We are having John Muir Middle School's first ever Book Exchange!

What is the book exchange and what can I do?

1. Students are asked to bring any unwanted books, magazines, videos or games from home and donate them to me in room 301.  Of course ask your family first and make sure they are appropriate for all ages.

2. I will organize them by topic and display them in the library June 3 and June 4.

3. Have your teacher sign up to visit the book exchange and come take some summer reading home for free!

Look at some of the books that have already been donated! There is some excellent reading here.

The Native Plant Garden

First day back from spring break and we are already on the move.  With so few school days left we have to be! Here are the students planning the California native plant garden and the finished product.  I know it may not look like much now but just imagine with a little water, sunlight and carbon dioxide what these babies will do.  And since they are native, we aren't using a lot of water but are providing vital habitat, food and shelter for California native wildlife species.  These 7th graders are super heros of the environment! What have you done for your planet today?

Self Pollination Vs Cross Pollination

The battle still wages on, what is better: Self Pollination or Cross Pollination? Watch this short video to learn more and then you decide!

(This is a youtube video so it will not work at school, sorry kiddos)

Flower Power

Mr. Orique's students did an amazing job creating flowers with all of the anatomical parts and then they created a short movie to explain the process of pollination too! Here are some stills from a particularly impressive short film.  

The Case of the Missing Bees!

We are focusing a lot on pollinators/pollination and really need to address an important issue facing us today, Colony Collapse Disorder.  In our Do Now today I asked the students what a world would be like without bees.  As shocking as this world sounded, it may be a close reality.  Read the following article and write a summary paragraph to earn 5 POINTS EXTRA CREDIT.

Where Have All the Bees Gone?

More than one-fourth of the honeybees in the United States have disappeared since last fall, and scientists are trying to figure out why.

By Jennifer Cutraro / June 4, 2007

http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2007/06/where-have-all-the-bees-gone-3/

(condensed from original article  to fit the page)

Inspecting a honeycomb from a healthy hive (above), beekeeper Dan Geer finds bees densely packed. A honeycomb from a hive whose colony is collapsing (below) has far fewer bees

     Entomologists—scientists who study insects—have a real mystery on their hands. All across the country, honeybees are leaving their hives and never returning.

     It doesn’t take long before a hive is nearly empty. Researchers call this phenomenon colony-collapse disorder. According to surveys of beekeepers across the country, 25 to 40 percent of the honeybees in the United States have vanished from their hives since last fall. So far, no one can explain why.

     Colony collapse is a serious concern because bees play an important role in the production of about one-third of the foods we eat, including apples, watermelons, and almonds. As they feed, honeybees spread pollen from flower to flower. Without this process, called pollination, a plant can’t produce seeds or fruits.

     Now, a group of scientists and beekeepers has teamed up to try to figure out what’s causing the alarming collapse of so many colonies. By sharing their expertise in honeybee behavior, health, and nutrition, team members hope to find out what’s contributing to the decline and to prevent bee disappearances in the future.

Sick bees?

     It could be that disease is causing the disappearance of the bees. To explore that possibility, Jay Evans, a research entomologist at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Bee Research Laboratory, examines bees taken from colonies that are collapsing. “We know what a healthy bee should look like on the inside, and we can look for physical signs of disease,” he says.

     And bees from collapsing colonies don’t look very healthy. “Their stomachs are worn down, compared to the stomachs of healthy bees,” Evans says. It may be that a parasite is damaging the bees’ digestive organs. The bees’ inability to ward off such parasites suggests that their immune systems may not be working as they should.

     The honeybees have other signs of troubled immune systems, such as high levels of bacteria and fungi inside their bodies, says Dewey Caron, an entomologist at the University of Delaware. He’s one of the leaders of the colony-collapse research team.

     But why would parasites, bacteria, or fungi in the body cause bees to leave their hives. Caron says that some of these disease-causing agents may lead to disturbances in bee behavior. “It may be that sick bees are not processing information correctly and learning where home is,” he says.

     If enough of the bees in a colony can’t find their way home, he says, it’s just a matter of time before the colony collapses. Being social insects, even healthy bees are unable to live long on their own. And once the bees vanish, the crops that they usually pollinate are in trouble.

Environmental clues

     Another cause of colony-collapse disorder may be certain chemicals that farmers apply to kill unwanted insects on crops, says Jerry Hayes, chief bee inspector for the Florida Department of Agriculture. Some studies, he says, suggest that a certain type of insecticide affects the honeybee’s nervous system (which includes the brain) and memory. “It seems like honeybees are going out and getting confused about where to go and what to do,” he says.

     Adding to the mystery, Hayes says, is an observation about moths and other insects that frequently use empty beehives to raise their own young.

     “Usually, they move right into an empty hive,” he says, “but now they’re waiting several weeks before they do.”

Looking at bee genes

     If it turns out that a disease is contributing to colony collapse, bees’ genes could explain why some colonies have collapsed and others have not. In any group of bees—or other animals, including people—there are many different kinds of genes, because each individual has a slightly different unique set of genes. The more different genes a group has, the higher the group’s genetic diversity. And genetic diversity is a plus as far as survival is concerned.

     Some scientists are now studying genetic diversity in honeybee colonies to see if it has an effect on colony collapse disorder.

“If a colony is genetically diverse, it’s less likely the colony will be wiped out completely from a sweeping infection or disease,” says David Tarpy, a University of North Carolina entomologist. That’s because at least some bees in a genetically diverse group are likely to have genes that help them resist any specific disease that gets into the colony, he says. He and his colleagues at the USDA bee lab are currently running genetic tests on bees from collapsing colonies. Their goal is to find out whether there are genetic differences between the bees that vanish and those that remain in their hives.

     Scientists are working hard to figure out the causes of colony collapse. Meanwhile, bees continue to disappear. Can anything be done to help them survive?

     Tarpy suggests that more people could raise bees to help restore their numbers. “Given this decline in honeybees, if you want to get active in helping to promote pollination, the best thing to do is to become a beekeeper and keep your own bees,” he says.

Don’t be put off by the possibility of a sting, says Dan Geer, who raises bees in North Smithfield, Rhode Island. First of all, beekeepers can wear protective gear. And bees, he says, have a bad rep. “You’d be surprised by how gentle they are,” he says.