Scenes from Monday

We hit the ground running today after the long holiday weekend. Here's a quick look at a hectic and productive Monday: 

Danny has been tasked with a math problem: What is the most efficient way to package these golf balls, using the least amount of packaging possible?

This afternoon was devoted to a full rehearsal of our play, which took over the lunchroom and the middle school commons. 

Those not in the play spent the afternoon working with Dr. George on the greenhouse project. Today was spent preparing and starting work on the compost furnace that will heat the greenhouse in the winter. 

Installing the ground cover involved an honest-to-goodness story problem straight out of a Singapore Math book.  

Measure twice, cut once. 

Installing the liner...

Back indoors, Evan was recruited to construct assorted props for the play. 

Finally, though the Gaga pit has been stored away for the season, some kids weren't quite ready to let go: 

Dr. George and IGNITE Ann Arbor

Dr. George came by our class this afternoon and shared his five-minute presentation on the Guatemalan windmill project that he recently delivered at Ignite Ann Arbor. 

Ignite is a really cool event with a simple idea: Speakers are allowed five minutes of stage time, and twenty slides. There are no pauses, breaks, questions, or do-overs, and the slides advance automatically. Once the slideshow begins, you've got five minutes to give your presentation. 

Dr. George's topic was the windmill project that kids have been working on. Check out George's blog for photos of students hard at work in Science Club, stripping old microwaves for parts to construct generators. 

George also brought a version of the generator for the kids to try out: 

Lee gives the generator a crank. Despite quite a lot of spinning on his part, it doesn't do much with a halogen bulb (visible on the wooden platform right by Lee's knee.) 

An LED, on the other hand, provides a much more powerful punch, and with less work. 

These generators can be created from salvaged parts from otherwise discarded items. Eventually, they'll be connected to windmills in Guatemala, allowing people to efficient, virtually-free electricity. (George also has plans to build one at S-K that will be attached to a stationary bike, allowing us to charge laptops while exercising!) 

Greenhouse work with Dr. George

Dr. George came in this afternoon to talk to us about the S-K greenhouse project. We focused on heat loss today, which will be a major concern as we try to grow vegetables this winter. We tackled some heady concepts, in a very challenging piece of text. For some students, this was their first exposure to the concept of variables in a mathematic expression. (And I'm fairly certain that it was the first time that any of us had heard the term 'heat transmission coefficient'.)

Be sure to check out Dr. George's blog, which is full of information about the greenhouse, as well as other cool projects that he has cooking. 

Dr. George talks about the greenhouse and compost furnace

Dr. George recently took us on a tour of the innovative S-K greenhouse project, explaining the physics of the building, our plans for the winter, and our partnerships with local restaurants to provide fuel for our compost furnace.