STEM(in) with Steph

  Yes, there's only a few shopping days left until Christmas - BUT the best gifts are handmade, and when you can create it at home with your kids, that make's it even more special!  This year, my boys and I decided that cookies (not covering that here, sorry!) and Peppermint Bath Salts would make an excellent Co-Ed gift package.   Bath salts are not only a great gift that can be enjoyed by women (and face it guys, sometimes you need some pampering too!) for scent and relaxation.  Something we all need a little of during the holidays!  Peppermint is said to help relieve stress and may have antibacterial properties. It is also reported to help relieve pain from cracking and dryness. This scrub can be made in 2 different colors and may be layered in the jar to resemble a peppermint stick or can be colored all red. In order to layer the colors, cut the ingredients in half and mix separately in 2 bowls adding 1–2 drops of red food coloring to one batch. You mig...

  Hey There!  Yes, it's been awhile and it's time to get back into the swing of things! Wildfires - We have seen a lot of wildfires this past summer; Turner Gulch, Lee Fire, South Rim Fire, Etc.... and those are just the one's that made the news in our state.  Nationally, there were fires going on in just about every state in the west this past summer.  But what happens after a fire goes through the land?  Does everything just start over and regrow?  Actually, it's not that simple.  Below are recent photos from the Black Canyon of the Gunnison 2025 South Rim Fire burn scar. South Rim Fire Burn Scar When a Wildfire goes through the area, the heat created at the base of the burn can be so intense, it causes the soil to develop Hydrophobic Properties.  Watch this video link to learn more. When the temperature rises at the base of the burn, it also kills all the organics that help keep that soil healthy.  The leaves, roots, grasses, are all turne...

Apollo 17 - Return Landing   Many a youth has been asked the probing question "What would you like to be when you grow up?" Although there were many answers (i.e. Vet, Police, Fireman, Doctor...) one that always put a smile on my face was when a little called out ASTRONUT!  Yes, even some of us adults still ponder what it would be like to have climbed NASA's stairs to the capsule, entered the control module, and waited to hear the countdown for takeoff and a chance to see the stars, moon, and earth from a completely new angle! Although very few of us have ever had (or will have) the opportunity to do a space walk, for a youth interested in STEM Careers, the space program (past and future) has created numerous avenues for creative and innovative career pathways that are STEM approved and still give space seekers a chance to 'Shoot for the Stars" with their career pathway. History of the Command Module Parachutes! Parachutes were first imagined in the 14th century....

Simple Sugar Glucose This month, I got to teach a class on cellular respiration, or how cells make energy.  Cellular respiration is the process of breaking down sugars into ATP (Adenosine triphosphate), what we call energy.  Cells can use Aerobic or Anaerobic pathways for breaking down sugars into energy.  Aerobic means 'with oxygen' while Anaerobic means 'without/lacking oxygen'.  Although a cell can use both pathways to produce energy, the efficiency of ATP production is greatly affected in a non-oxygen environment compared to when oxygen is present for the process.  For comparison, a single glucose (sugar) molecule will produce only 2 ATP in the fast paced and wasteful anaerobic process, while the aerobic process can produce 34-38 ATP from the same, single sugar molecule.   The complicated process of how a cell makes energy Our class experimented with yeast to see how the process works in real time.  We couldn't, of course, see the cellula...

Original Story from History.com April Fools’ Day, occurring on April 1 each year, has been celebrated for several centuries by different cultures, though its exact origins remain a mystery. April Fools' Day traditions include playing hoaxes or practical jokes on others, often yelling “April Fools!” at the end to clue in the subject of the April Fools' Day prank. While its exact history is shrouded in mystery, the embrace of April Fools' Day jokes by the media and major brands has ensured the unofficial holiday’s long life. Example of the Julian Calendar Some historians speculate that April Fools ’ Day dates back to 1582, when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, as called for by the council of Trent in 1563. In the Julian calendar, as in the Hindu calendar, the New Year began with the spring equinox around April 1.  People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the new year had moved to January 1 and continued ...

Forensic Science  - Fingerprints! Continuing on with our Forensic Science theme, this month's blog is all about Fingerprints!  Fingerprints are another source of evidence that crime scene tech's collect on site to later review in hope's of connecting a suspect to the crime scene.   Fingerprints are the ridges that cover our finger pads, but we also have ridges on our palms, feet, and toes too!  All these prints are collectable forms of evidence when found at crime scenes, because all prints are unique to the owner.  Even Identical Twins will have their own set of unique prints between them.   However most prints are more than just a ridge smudge left behind by your body.  Our skin is covered in pores that produce varying amounts of oils.  Our pads (hands/feet) produce a high amount of oil which covers print ridges.  When we touch a surface, the ridge marks are transferred to the surface via the oil exchange.  Our oils wil...

  DNA is the building blocks to all life Deoxyribonucleic-Acid, or DNA for short, is the genetic material that forms the basis of all life.  Without DNA, you would basically be a rock (i.e. rocks are not living and therefore don't have DNA).  Another way to think of DNA is to compare it to a building's blueprint; it is the instruction manual for constructing life.   DNA lives in the nucleolus of every living cell.  It takes the form of a double helix structure, usually depicted in a counter-clockwise rotation (upwards).  Some might refer to its unwound shape as a ladder, with two sugar phosphate 'sides' and rungs made of 4 nucleotide bases joined 1:1: Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine, Guanine.  Unique is also the fact that if you look at the 'rungs' of DNA, Adenine will only pair with Thymine, and Cytosine will only pair with Guanine.  If you really want to get minuet, the whole of DNA is purposefully designed based upon the use of the 5 ...