Creative Learning

Professional Development, Conferences and Resources

2023-06-29T22:37:35-06:00

(The author standing in the flame-trench of Pad 39-B at the Kennedy Space Center. Directly behind me is the flame-deflector which diverts the exhaust from the SLS rocket's  four RS-25 engines and two solid-rocket boosters, equally to each side of the deflector. In the foreground on the left side of the image, stacked on the ground, are the steel panels that have been removed from the flame-deflector. These were damaged by the greater than anticipated energy from the November 2022 launch of Artemis 1. These will all be replaced with new and stronger panels before the launch of Artemis II, currently scheduled for the end [...]

Professional Development, Conferences and Resources2023-06-29T22:37:35-06:00

Bringing Space To Your Space

2023-05-31T15:12:23-06:00

(Patrons attending a NASA James Webb Space Telescope Community event in Hudson, WI. Photo by Christopher Mick)   It all started in 2014, with an idea to put together a STEM presentation for a local school that my son was attending at the time. The thinking was I would combine several interesting  STEM experiences I had had as a kid growing up in Northern California. I had been lucky enough to attend the United States Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama (www.rocketcenter.com/SpaceCamp) during back to back Summers in the mid-eighties. My father was a retired pilot and gave me occasional flying lessons when [...]

Bringing Space To Your Space2023-05-31T15:12:23-06:00

Creating a Perpetual Nature Journal: A Sketchbook With a Twist

2021-05-30T09:10:51-06:00

I've read about artists, especially botanical artists, that take years to finish a work of art, not because they were just super slow, but because they had to wait.  What did they have to wait for?  Nature. These artists would focus on a particular plant while it was in bloom or its fruit was ripe, or it was at some other particular stage in its yearly cycle that they wanted to portray.  Then, when the blooms faded, the fruit was gone, or the plant had moved on to another stage, that painting and its associated sketches were put away until the [...]

Creating a Perpetual Nature Journal: A Sketchbook With a Twist2021-05-30T09:10:51-06:00

Nature Journaling – Art, Science, Observation, and Fun!

2021-05-28T22:05:55-06:00

Folks know what Nature is. Folks know what a journal is. But Nature can't write... no thumbs, among other things. Sooo. . . what is a nature journal? That depends. If you are an adult, a nature journal is a fantastic way to get away from the hustle, bustle, and rush, and practice patience, observational skills, and art.  It can be an opportunity to get out and have an outdoor adventure.  Keeping a nature journal is a way to become acquainted or reacquainted with the natural world.  It can become the place where an artist or future artist takes notes and [...]

Nature Journaling – Art, Science, Observation, and Fun!2021-05-28T22:05:55-06:00

Designing the Perfect Paper Airplane

2021-06-01T08:11:55-06:00

One of my most popular programs is also the least expensive and easiest to set up.  All I need are a pile of regular copier paper, a pile of copier paper cut into squares, 2 - 4 large pieces of bulletin board paper with giant targets drawn/painted on them, and the books we'll be using on display in the "engineering and design area," ready to be thumbed through, studied, and used.  A roll of masking tape comes in really handy, too.  Having a paper recycling receptacle for the fallen, crashed, and stepped upon makes clean up go a lot faster.  Just [...]

Designing the Perfect Paper Airplane2021-06-01T08:11:55-06:00

Storytelling With a National Geographic Explorer

2021-05-29T07:59:39-06:00

Have you ever looked through a National Geographic magazine and wondered what it would be like to be a National Geographic explorer?  Well now you can have a chance to find out!  The National Geographic Society has added 3 new courses to its offerings. The introduction to the series is here. These are the courses: 'Storytelling for Impact: Photography' 'Storytelling for Impact: Audio' 'Storytelling for Impact: Video' These courses are different from all the ones already available in a number of ways. - First of all, they are offered as a series collected under the title 'Storytelling for Impact.'  Other National [...]

Storytelling With a National Geographic Explorer2021-05-29T07:59:39-06:00

All the Many Observatories in Space! Build Your Own Space Fleet

2021-05-28T21:43:22-06:00

Today is the first Friday in May.  That means it is National Space Day! What better way to celebrate the day is there than by building your own fleet of model space observatories? On the NASA website there are printable models of a number of spacecraft.  Links to all of the models can be found on the Universe Spacecraft Paper Models page.  There you can download and print: The Great Observatories: Hubble Space Telescope (First of the Great Observatories) Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (Second of the Great Observatories) Chandra X-Ray Telescope (Third of the Great Telescopes) Fermi Gravity Probe B James [...]

All the Many Observatories in Space! Build Your Own Space Fleet2021-05-28T21:43:22-06:00

World Origami Days are Here! 20 Days of Workshops and Tutorials

2021-01-27T16:29:22-07:00

Like so many conferences, festivals, and other events, World Origami Days has gone virtual this year. Beginning on October 24, the birthday of Lillian Oppenheimer (1898-1992), who founded the first origami group in the USA and was one of the founders of OrigamiUSA and the British Origami Society, this event will host workshops and tutorials daily through November 11, which is Origami Day in Japan. Everyone who registers will receive links to the videos of the daily tutorials in November, so don't worry if you miss one or a few. There is a page of templates for folding a flapping bird [...]

World Origami Days are Here! 20 Days of Workshops and Tutorials2021-01-27T16:29:22-07:00

A Chill in the Air and Color in the Trees

2021-01-27T16:42:42-07:00

There's been a bit of a chill in the air the last week or so, a frequent thumping on the roof of pecans falling out of the tree in the yard, and a sense of frantic feasting radiating from the hummingbirds who frequent the feeders on my porch.  Autumn is here. One of my favorite things to do as the seasons slip away from summer and toward winter is to walk through wooded areas and collect brightly colored leaves.  This is something my mother did with me as a very young child on my great grandparents' farm.  I still have the [...]

A Chill in the Air and Color in the Trees2021-01-27T16:42:42-07:00

10, 9, 8, 7….3, 2, 1, Launch America!!!

2020-05-26T22:12:05-06:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful, safe, and socially distanced Memorial Day Holiday! Now to prepare for the historic event tomorrow that will mark the first launch of American astronauts into space in an American rocket from an American launchpad since the shuttle program was retired in 2011. The crew for this mission are Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley:                   They will be launching from Launch Complex 39A in a SpaceX Crew Dragon carried into orbit by a Falcon 9 rocket.  The lift-off is scheduled for 4:33 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, May 27. For special access to additional information, [...]

10, 9, 8, 7….3, 2, 1, Launch America!!!2020-05-26T22:12:05-06:00
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