Mad Science of Greater Kalamazoo

12/31/2013

Registration is now open for winter classes! Find out more at https://kalamazoo.madscience.org

11/12/2013

Can you name four materials, considered almost as valuable as gems, and frequently used as jewelry, that come from plants and animals?

11/12/2013

The Experience

Does your child have a birthday coming up soon? Check out a Mad Science birthday party.
http://kalamazoo.madscience.org/birthdayparties.aspx

The Experience

11/05/2013

Did you know? Although Polar Bears have white, fluffy fur, their skin is actually black.

11/05/2013

Did you know? Born in 1809, Charles Darwin was an English naturalist who developed the idea of natural selection and changed the way we think about evolution.

11/05/2013

The answer to yesterday's trivia question: Earth is located in the MILKY WAY galaxy.

11/04/2013

It's trivia time!

Earth is located in which galaxy?

Post your answers and check back tomorrow for the answer!

11/04/2013

Did you know? Because of the unusual shape of their legs, kangaroos and emus struggle to walk backwards.

11/04/2013

Did you know? Humans get a little taller in space because there is no gravity pulling down on them.

11/04/2013

Trivia question: What is the name of the element with the chemical symbol 'He'?

Answer: Helium

10/30/2013

And lastly: It's trivia time!

What is the name of the element with the chemical symbol ‘He’?

Check back tomorrow for the answer!

10/30/2013

Did you know?

Nuclear power provides around 14% of the world’s electricity.

10/30/2013

Did you know?

Rabbits and parrots can see behind themselves without even moving their heads!

10/15/2013

Did you know? Scientifically speaking, pumpkins are a fruit (they contain seeds) but when it comes to cooking, they are often referred to as vegetables.

10/15/2013

The answer to yesterday's trivia question: A proton has a POSITIVE charge.

10/14/2013

A proton has what type of charge?

A. Sometimes positive, Sometimes negative
B. Positive
C. Neutral
D. Negative

Post your guesses in the Comments! Come back tomorrow for the answer.

10/08/2013

Did you know? Often formed under intense pressure over time, a crystal is made up of molecules or atoms that are repeated in a three dimensional repeating pattern. Quartz is a well known example of a crystal.

09/26/2013

It's trivia time!! True or False: Ammonia is an acid. Post your guesses in the comments and come back tomorrow for the answer!

09/25/2013

Born on this day in 1832 was American civil engineer and architect William Le Baron Jenney, whose technical innovations were of primary importance during the development of the skyscraper. During the Civil War, Jenney served as an engineering officer. By 1868, he was a practicing architect. Jenney also made a name for himself as a town planner. His greatest fame, however, came from his commercial buildings. The Home Insurance Building he designed in Chicago was one of the first to use a metal skeleton for support, which later became the standard for American skyscraper design.

09/25/2013

The answer to yesterday's trivia question: The country with the most tornadoes is the US. This is mostly due to geography and the size of the country.

09/24/2013

Which country experiences the most tornadoes? Post your guesses and come back tomorrow for the answer.

09/20/2013

Did you know? Snowflakes get smaller as the temperature drops.

09/20/2013

The answer to yesterday's trivia question: Sharks have zero bones. Their skeletons are made of cartilage.

09/19/2013

How many bones do sharks have in their bodies? Post your guesses in the comments and come back tomorrow for the answer!

09/18/2013

Born on this day in 1843, was British-born entomologist Charles Valentine Riley, who pioneered the scientific study of insects for their economic impact on agriculture. Riley was a keen observer or relationships in nature and enhanced his written observations with drawings. After studying the cottony cushion scale, an insect that was destroying citrus crops in California, Riley introduced, in 1888, a natural enemy of the scale, the Vedalia cardinalis beetle, brought over from Australia. The effectiveness of this Australian beetle in reducing populations of the cottony cushion scale prompted others to study the biological control of pests. Riley also helped establish the Division of Entomology in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

09/18/2013

The answer to yesterday's trivia: The two main metals in the Earth's core are iron and nickel.

09/17/2013

Have you registered your child for After School classes yet? Visit kalamazoo.madscience.org for more information or call us at 269-978-8543!

09/17/2013

What are the two main metals in the Earth's core? Post you guesses in the comments and come back tomorrow for the answer!

09/16/2013

Did you know? It's possible for a shark to detect a fish's heartbeat before it attacks.

09/13/2013

Born on this day in 1857 was American manufacturer Milton Hershey, who founded the Hershey Chocolate Corporation. As a young man, Hershey was apprenticed to a confectioner until 1876 when he opened his own candy shop in Philadelphia, PA. That venture was ultimately unsuccessful, but a few years later he innovated the production of caramel by using fresh milk, to great success. In the 1890s, he expanded into chocolate and in 1903 started building what became the world's largest chocolate manufacturing plant. This site became the town of Hershey, PA. Both before and after his death in 1945, Hershey put his vast fortune to use philanthropically.

09/11/2013

Born on this day in 1847 was American astronomer, Mary Watson Whitney, who served as professor and director of the Vassar College Observatory. As her mentor, Maria Mitchell, had done before her, Whitney championed science education and the advancement of professional opportunities for women. During her tenure at Vassar College, she made great strides in advancing the astronomy department including offering some of the first classes in astrophysics anywhere in the world.

09/11/2013

The answer to yesterday's trivia question: In terms of computing, CPU stands for Central Processing Unit.

09/10/2013

In terms of computing, what does CPU stand for? Post your guesses in the comments and come back tomorrow for the answer!

09/09/2013

On this day in 1963, the first ever live birth in captivity of a giant panda took place at the Beijing Zoo in China. The male cub Ming Ming was born to mother Li Li. Attempts to breed pandas in captivity had begun in China in 1955.

09/06/2013

Born on this day in 1876 was Scottish physiologist and educator, John James Rickard Macleod, who spent his career researching carbohydrate metabolism and diabetes. Macleod is responsible for coining the name of the hormone, insulin. In 1923, he shared the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, with Sir Frederick Banting, for the discovery of insulin and its role in the metabolism of sugar in the human body.

09/05/2013

Born on this day in 1875 was electrical engineer Frank Baldwin Jewett who directed research as the first president of the Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc. Jewett ran the Bel Laboratories from 1925 until 1940. He believed the best science and technology result from bringing together and nurturing the best minds. Under his tenure, Bell Labs laid the foundation for a new scientific discipline, radio astronomy, and transformed movies by synchronizing sound to pictures. Bell Labs was the first to transmit television over a long distance in the US and designed the first electrical digital computer.

09/05/2013

The answer to yesterday's trivia question: Sound does travel faster through water than air. Sound waves travel by moving from molecule to molecule, so the closer together the molecules, the faster the sound wave will travel. Therefore, sound waves will travel faster through a solid than a liquid. It is also why you would not be able to hear sounds in space - the molecules in the atmosphere of space are too far apart for sound waves to travel.

09/04/2013

True or False - Sound travels faster through water than air. Post your guesses in the comments and come back tomorrow for the answer!

09/03/2013

Mad Science

Registration for Mad Science after-school programs is now officially open! Visit http://kalamazoo.madscience.org for more information! If you do not see your child's school listed, give us a call at 269-978-8543.

Mad Science

09/03/2013

This day in 1752 never happened in Britain or its American colonies. The next ten dates did not occur either. The Roman-era Julian calendar had become 11 days out of step with the solar cycle, so Britain adopted the Gregorian calendar which changed this day's date from September 3 to September 14. People rioted in the streets with complaints that the government had stolen 11 days of their lives. First instituted by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582, the Gregorian calendar has 365 days with an extra day every four years (the leap year). Thus, the calendar year has an average of 365.2422 days. Some other countries, like Russia, did not make the change to the Gregorian calendar until the 20th century.

08/30/2013

On this day in 1885, the first motorcycle was patented by Gottlieb Daimler in Germany.

08/30/2013

The answer to yesterday's trivia question: A magnifying glass is an example of a convex lens.

08/29/2013

Is a magnifying glass a convex lens or a concave lens? Post your guesses in the comments and come back tomorrow for the answer!

08/28/2013

Did you know? Newborn babies are color-blind.

08/28/2013

The answer to yesterday's trivia question: The wire inside an incandescent light bulb is known as a filament.