Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian readers!
It strikes me as a better day for the holiday. I grew up close to the border and spent time with family friends in Lethbridge, so there's an excuse to celebrate two Thanksgivings in my family. The Canadians we knew use the three day weekend for being in the mountains and finished with a semi-traditional meal on Monday night. There was also story-telling and projects for the kids and some of the adults. Most art, but I tried to offer a little science project. I still do that on occasion.It made me think of a friend.
I've mention Dianna Cowern aka.Physics Girl before. She has a BS in physics from MIT and got into explaining bits of physics on YouTube. Her long form videos are seriously better in terms of education, content and enthusiasm than anything on TV. 1 A bit more than two years ago she came down with Covid shortly after getting married. She's been dealing with an extreme from of long Covid since to the point of not being able to get out of bed, having constant nausea and brain fog and almost no energy. Talking with someone for more than a few minutes is too much and her system has responded by making her allergic to many foods. There's a Patreon to help offset the costs so her husband can take care of her full time. I'm sure any level is appreciated and you'll get roughly monthly updates and a look into long Covid from medical experts. She's a worthy cause.
Back to Thanksgiving... here are a few simple demonstrations you and your kids can do for the holiday - either now or the American one or some other day if you live somewhere else.
and one with no explanations.. but it shows the remarkable energy she had.. this is how I remember her. I keep hoping she recovers. She's an amazing resource and an example for kids - particularly girls.
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1 It's funny how out of the classroom education and inspiration for sciency kids has changed over time. In my day it was The Amateur Scientist and Mathematical Games columns in Scientific American and Sky and Telescope magazine. Later on it was Cosmos with Carl Sagan, the Quirks and Quarks radio show (still around and still great!) and some books aimed at curious teens and adults. Now there are a few excellent YouTubers: Physics Girl, Three Blue One Brown, Veritasium, and Numberphile. It's still best to work things out for yourself, but these can light up curiosity.
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