Judging a regional science fair year ago I noticed two types of kids. Most were on a pre-professional/get into a good college track. Many were interning in real labs. Great experience, but very few had any depth. Then there were the kids who were working on projects of their own. This was a regional science fair and most of the low quality entrants had been weeded out. Some of these homebrew types reminded me of C.L. Strong's Amateur Scientist Scientific American column that ran during the 50s and 60s. These were seriously motivated kids.
The project that grabbed my attention was more technology and experimental apparatus than science experiment. Somehow his assigned mentor signed him off as 'safe'. I was charged with the final safety inspections the first morning of the fair. His homemade electron microscope had severely dangerous wiring - it would be fairly easy to kill yourself. I asked him how he would bring it to ground and watched him demonstrate placing a large screwdriver blade across two exposed contacts less than an inch apart. yikes! But at the same time it was beautiful. He had solved a number of engineering and design challenges - the vacuum system was clever and showed a good practical working knowledge. Except for the high voltage electronics I would have been impressed had he been a grad student.
During my ten years of judging I only had to disqualify two out of perhaps five or six hundred projects. But he was displaying passion and something had to be done. I brought over two judges from Bell Labs and got him to power it up (under supervision!) for a demo. The damn thing worked and produced beautiful images. The next week the 11th grader was contacted by professors at MIT, CMU and Berkeley with offers to come and visit. He accepted an offer to MIT during his visit there and was spared the hassle of applying. Later I learned he went on from there and is now a researcher building atomic fountain clocks at NIST. His is an extreme example, but you have to love people who are visited with the motivation to build rather than buy.
A reader wanted a digital microscope recommendation for his 11 year old daughter. I love the idea of kids and microscopes. Playing in and with Nature is great. Play where you remove some of the constraints our senses impose makes for an even richer experience. While there are many cheap digital microscopes on the market, I'd recommend something that attaches to a smartphone as you can take and analyze photos using what is an excellent camera with part of a good optical train. There are a few you can buy, but why not start by making your own?
I'm answering in the form of a post as it might be interesting to others who know kids or may happen to be one. It is possible to use a simple lens and project onto a smartphone lens. All you need to do is figure out some way to hold it and the sample at the right distances. You could do this with an ice lens, but that is better left to starting fires. Glass beads work - a few years ago I built one for an iPhone that produced remarkably clear images - I had to go through a half dozen glass beads to find a good one, but still... It wasn't very user friendly, but that may be inspiration for making one that is.
Here's a very simple 'scope making use of the lens in a laser pointer - you have to love the lens holder.
and a 3d printed glass bead holder/smartphone adapter from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory - the file is free. You can print it at your school, some public libraries or just send the file to a printing company - I can't say I'd recommend buying your own printer at this point unless you are seriously into design and prototyping.
Once they've learned about microscopy perhaps they'll get excited... at that point perhaps something more robust with better optics makes sense. I've borrowed a Bodelin adapter that was great for walking into the woods to see Nature at a different scale. Then again perhaps she could design her own..
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Recipe Corner
a few weeks ago Gregg V asked for my chili recipe. For what its worth this one isn't bad and, like many chili recipes, is very tolerant to variation..
rather than type it in, I'll add what I sent to Gregg:
Here’s the base recipe I use for the chili … someone sent it to me years ago and I only follow it roughly. In the Winter sticking to canned veggies usually wins .. particularly for tomatoes. I also used canned beans for this as it is thrown together on snowy days.. all cans are the 12-15 oz size here. On beans just throw in whatever you want. I usually go mostly black and pinto, but pick one, all or off the list… On the peppers usually do two red and one green,, the author was going for color. It is way better if you stew plum tomatoes down into a sauce unless you have a great store bought sauce - I haven’t found a good plain one, but in a pinch its ok. The masa/cornmeal addition is the trick. I also usually go for 2 c of broth and 1 of beer (Sukie has the rest:-) Of course the chili powder section is where you may want to go wilder, but this is a good basic filling chili
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 4 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 whole Large Onion, Diced
• 1 whole Red Bell Pepper diced
• 1 whole Yellow Bell Pepper diced
• 1 whole Green Bell Pepper diced
• 2 whole Carrots, Peeled And Diced
• 2 stalks Celery, Diced
• 1 whole Jalapeno, seeded and Finely Diced
• 3 cups Vegetable Broth
• 1 can Plain Tomato Sauce
• 3 oz Tomato Sauce Paste
• 1 can diced Tomatoes + Chiles
• salt
• 1 teaspoon Ground Oregano
• 1 Tablespoon Ground Cumin
• 2 Tablespoons Chili Powder
• 1 can Kidney Beans, Drained And Rinsed
• 1 can Pinto Beans, Drained And Rinsed
• 1 can Garbanzo Beans, Drained And Rinsed
• 1 can Black Beans, Drained And Rinsed
• 1/4 cup Masa or Regular Cornmeal
• 1/2 cup Warm Water
In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion, 3 colors of bell pepper, carrots, celery, and jalapeno, then cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften. Add the oregano, cumin, chili powder, and salt. Stir and cook for a few more minutes.
Pour in the broth, tomato sauce, and tomato + chiles. Stir, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the beans, stir, then cover and simmer for 30 more minutes.
Mix the masa with the warm water and stir it into the pot. Simmer for 15 more minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Serve with cilantro. Non vegans go for cheese or yogurt
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