Explore the world. Nearly everything is interesting if you go into it deeply enough. –Richard Feynman
Welcome!
Welcome to my Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) blog! If you’re interested in what is going on in STEM, this blog may be a place for you. I’m a science teacher writing on what I learn about STEM and how STEM impacts our world.
How the world works and why it works as it does captivates me. Science challenges me to dig deeper to understand how the Lego blocks of atoms, quarks, and photons fit together and make the universe run. Technology for me first meant computers and how these incredible machines functioned and what they could do. I later learned that the gearing of my 10-speed bike, so puzzling at first, is also an important technological advance. Now I think of technology and engineering as using our discoveries and know-how to solve human problems and create a better world. And math, of course, is the language that binds them all.
Sharing what I’ve learned and learning from others drew me to teaching and now to this blog.
What to Expect Here
STEM Stories
What are the stories of people who create and discover more about our world and our universe? For example, how did the loss of a dear family friend lead Jack Andraka to discover a new cure for pancreatic cancer? What questions and curiosities lead people to make amazing discoveries? What is their thinking process? What motivated them? How did they overcome the inevitable obstacles? What were their “Aha!” moments?
STEM Discoveries
What are the most important STEM discoveries and inventions, old and new? What problems led Tim Berners-Lee to develop the World-Wide Web? What is happening right now in the world of STEM at the very edges of our knowledge? How do the people making these discoveries arrive at the frontier, at the edges, and the interfaces? How does a multiplicity of viewpoints and a diversity of people, cultures, and experiences lead to a deeper understanding of our world? How do great inventors and discoverers do what they do?
Science Projects
You learn STEM by doing STEM, so I’ll post cool STEM projects and investigations and how to do them. These are projects with inexpensive materials and readily available tools so you can do them at home. I’ll post my flops and what I learned as well as my wins. Mistakes are gifts that help us improve.
Science of the Brain
How do our brains work? What happens in our brains when we think? How can our brains work better? Is thinking about science different from thinking about other things? What are neuro-scientists discovering about the brain that can help us to learn STEM and solve STEM problems? What can we learn from and benefit from neurodiversity?
Design Thinking, Ingenious Inventions, and Appropriate Technology
How can we apply Design Thinking to solve global problems? What is Appropriate Technology, and how can it solve local problems like pure drinking water and clean energy? Can we teach creativity and ingenuity? How does human-centered design change the products and services we use?
What We Know
What an amazing universe we inhabit! What is a neutron star or a gravity wave? How can a crystal be a liquid? How does AI work and where might it lead us? How do you edit a gene? What is number sense?
What We Don’t Know
What are the big unknowns in STEM right now? What are the puzzles and riddles that are now just beyond our reach? Where are the frontiers of our knowledge? What will we know soon? What might we never know, such as what was the universe like before the Big Bang? What do we “know that ain’t so”, just as most people once believed the earth was flat or that bleeding someone could cure an illness?
Invitation
Wow! Thinking about all these questions seems so daunting and so vast. Richard Feynman began his quote above by saying, “Nobody ever figures out what life is all about, and it doesn’t matter.” The fun is in the exploring and learning, in the journey. I hope this blog provides ideas and connections for people fascinated by STEM. And I hope people fascinated by STEM will share their ideas and connections with me.
Let’s learn together!
STEM & Creative Change 