Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Luminescence Dating! Thursday May 20!

Don't miss our last "Born to Do Science" program of the season, this Thursday, May 20, 6:00 PM at the Stillwater Public Library.

No, it's not about amorous fireflies.

Luminescence dating is a way of finding out the age of a geological structure (such as a sand dune or river bed) or an archeological site. It works because grains of minerals in the soil accumulate radiation damage at a steady rate over time. If we hit them with a bit of energy, the damage is repaired, and the grains glow, or luminesce. The amount of light they give off indicates the amount of damage accumulated, which tells us how long they've been buried.

ImageOur guest scientist, Dr. Regina DeWitt, is working on a device that dates sediment in this way, and will be small enough to fit in a shoe box. Why does it need to fit in a shoe box? Because NASA is funding the development of this instrument so that one day it might become part of a Mars Rover! Instruments on the Mars Rovers need to be small so that they can be launched into space and carted around on the surface of Mars.

This is going to be a really cool program! We'll get to play with a geiger counter, see an example of luminescence, talk about Mars, and as always, hear a brand new song.

I hope to see you there!

P. S. If you want to get a head start, here is Dr. Dewitt's webpage on the General Principals of Luminescence Dating.

USA Science and Engineering Festival Theme Song update

A quick update, since many folks have been asking about the USASEF Jingle competition.

Thanks so much to everyone who voted for my song! I heard from a lot of you that you were rooting for me, and I really appreciate it!

Well, all the finalists were deserving, and unfortunately mine did not win.
But congratulations to the winners:
USASEF Jingle Competition Results

I will be performing at the festival, October 23 & 24 in Washington D.C.
Maybe I'll see you there!!

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

USA Science and Engineering Festival Theme Song

I'm really excited about this, and I wanted to share it with my BTDS friends...

I submitted a song to the USA Science and Engineering Festival theme song competition, and it has been selected as one of seven finalists out of nearly 100 entries!! 

The USASEF is asking people to vote for their favorite finalists online. 

Could you click here, take a few minutes to listen, and if you like my song best, give it your vote? Thanks!!

P.S.
I will be performing at this festival in October, and I'll be singing many of the very songs you got to hear first at BTDS! See the countdown clock at the top right corner of this page? Can you tell I'm excited?

P.P.S.
Don't forget our last meeting of the Spring is May 20! We'll take a break over the Summer and resume sessions in the Fall.

See you soon!