Tangling With Twisters Program

This morning's Born to Do Science program at the Stillwater library went very well. We had about 33 people, which is a great turnout for the season opener!

Dr. Caleb Lack

Our guest scientist was Dr. Caleb Lack, a clinical psychologist from the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond. He spoke about his research into why some kids have a harder time than others recovering from the psychological effects of being in a natural disaster such as a tornado.

Getting Ready to Sing "Psychology"

I started off as always with a new song. I took a light approach with this one. The singer thinks maybe there's something wrong with him but I'm sure you can figure out what's going on...

Psychology

song lyrics by Monty Harper

Psychology, can you tell me what’s wrong with me?

I see eyes looking at me and I get distressed
I feel uptight and anxious, mad and depressed
I hear voices behind me that whisper and mock
No one smiles when I smile; no one listens when I talk
I don’t sleep well at all cause I think of my job
And I dream I’m attacked by an unruly mob
Is there some kind of name for the trouble I’ve got?
Can science explain? Am I crazy or what?

Psychology, can you tell me what’s wrong with me?
Psychology, can you tell me what’s wrong with me?

I’ve been looking in books for some self-diagnosis
I’ve read about phobias, fears, and neurosis
Obsession, repression, fixation, and trauma
Was it nature or nurture that caused all this drama?
I set out to measure the person I am
And I filled out a long psychometric exam
I wanna understand but I’m losing my nerve
I’m afraid I won’t land on the bell of the curve

Oh, yes the human mind is acutely arcane
Couched in the convoluted human brain
It comes without a manual or a guarantee
So we study that puzzle with Psychology

Psychology, can you tell me what’s wrong with me?
Psychology, can you tell me what’s wrong with me?

Gotta go now - my day is about to begin
My seventh grade students are jostling in
I see eyes looking at me and I get distressed
I feel uptight and anxious, mad and depressed
I hear voices behind me that whisper and mock
No one smiles when I smile; no one listens when I talk
I’ll be teaching all day with this chalk in my hand
And tonight two more lessons will need to be planned
But with every spare moment I happen to find
I will ponder the question that’s still on my mind

Psychology, can you tell me what’s wrong with me?

Because Dr. Lack studies what's happening in kids' minds, it was a bit of a challenge to come up with visuals and "hands-on" activities to keep everyone engaged. We can't exactly put our hands on a mind, or experience a tornado in the classroom to see what happens. But we did get to fill out actual "measures," or psychometric exams, that Dr. Lack's research subjects fill out.

Filling Out Measures

We talked about three variables that might have something to do with which kids develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after a tornado and which don't: How much exposure they had to the tornado, how they coped with it afterwards, and attributions, which means how they explained it to themselves.

Thinking About Variables

It turns out all three are important, but attributions are the most important by far. Those kids who say the tornado is just something that happened - no reason - fared the best. Those who blamed themselves fared the worst.

Dr. Lack's Results
Attributions correlate strongest with PTSD

I'm working on a more detailed write-up of Dr. Lack's presentation, and I'll post it here in a day or two for those who missed the program, or for those who were there, but might want to shore up their understanding.

Next month: "Mysterious Algae of the Great Salt Plains!" with Dr. Bill Henley of the OSU Botany Department. That's on February 19, 10:00 AM at the Stillwater Public Library. See you then!!

Chatting Afterwards

Tangling With Twisters

Born to Do Science is starting up again for the Spring semester! Our first program is "Tangling With Twisters" with Dr. Caleb Lack.

Why do some children recover from a natural disaster in good shape while others suffer ongoing anxiety? Clinical psychologist Dr. Caleb Lack from the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond will present his research connecting emotional resilience with explanatory style.

We'll meet on Saturday January 15, 10:00 AM at the Stillwater Public Library, room 119.

I spoke with Dr. Lack last night about his research and he'll have some pretty surprising findings to share. He works with kids the same age as our audience, so we'll get to find out what it's like to be a subject in a scientific study!

Kids in 3rd - 6th grade and parents are invited to attend. See you then!!

P.S. Here's a poster; feel free to download, print, and post this anywhere in Stillwater you think kids might see it! (Click to load in the hi-res version, then drag that to your desktop.)

Mark Your Calendar!

I'm putting together a new season of Born to Do Science! Starting in January, we'll be meeting mostly on third Saturdays at 10:00 AM at the Stillwater Public Library in Room 119 (same as before).

These are the dates:

Jan 15, Feb 19, Mar 19, Apr 23, May 21

I do not have specific speakers lined up yet, though I'm working on that, and I'll let you know soon...

(If you are a scientist and would like to talk about your research with kids, please let me know!)

Songs From the Science Frontier is Here!

The new CD is now available! Songs From the Science Frontier contains 12 songs for learners age 8 and up. Most of the songs are based on research of the scientists who have been "Born to Do Science" guest speakers. If you've attended the program, then you've heard me perform them, but you haven't heard them like this! I worked with producer Chris Wiser of the Sugar Free Allstars, and he helped make the songs sound fantastic!

You can sample the songs and purchase CDs and/or downloads via these links:


iTunes
CD Baby
Order a signed copy

Happy listening!

Pre-Order Songs From the Science Frontier

Now taking pre-orders for the new Songs From the Science Frontier CD at www.montyharper.com!

CDs will ship in November. We're working hard on the recording process right now, and the songs are sounding fantastic!

We Did It! Songs From the Science Frontier is In Production!

Many thanks to all my backers and supporters! We passed the $9,000 funding goal on kickstarter.com early Friday morning - a day and a half before the deadline! The last $1K or so just seemed to melt away overnight!

So now I have a CD of science songs to record! Our first studio date is a week from today.

I spent Saturday celebrating with friends and supporters via a live video feed online! It was also my birthday, and as promised, I got a chocolate cake smooshed in my face! I know you are anxious to see that, so here you go...

Songs From the Science Frontier

Howdy, BTDS Friends!

Can you take a few minutes to help me out?

Remember those songs I started each program with over the past two years? I've been polishing them up, and I've got enough to make a really great science CD!

I'm excited about this because it will help bring the science and scientists that you've been enjoying in the live program to many thousands more kids.

I'm planning to record with producer Chris Wiser of the Sugar Free Allstars! He'll help me get a fantastic sound in a pro studio with amazing musicians. We plan to make a CD that families will want to hear over and over again.

All I need is the funding to make it happen!

Please support my fundraiser on Kickstarter.com. You can pledge any amount from $5 on up. (No money changes hands unless and until I reach my goal.) For a pledge of $20 you can pre-order a signed CD, and know that you helped connect more kids with science. Other amounts will get you various other rewards.

If I reach my goal by August 21, which is also my birthday, I'll throw a live online video party for all my backers, at which my wife, Lisa, has promised to smoosh a chocolate cake in my face!

Please check out my three-minute pitch video on kickstarter.com, then consider pledging to support my project.

Please also help spread the word. Below the video are buttons for facebook, twitter, and email that make it easy.

Thanks!!

P.S. Stay tuned for news about the next season of "Born to Do Science!"

P.P.S. Check out this "Born to Do Science" theme song (while available) and let me know what you think!

Super Wheat Follow-Up

Remember our first session this past season, "Super Wheat" with USDA wheat geneticist, Cheryl Baker? Remember she brought little vials of wheat for us to look at and taste? 

I got an email from the Slavens family a while back. They said, "Thank you for giving us the wheat. We planted it and look how much it has grown! Thank you lots! :)"

Recently I received this update: "We have harvested the wheat and hope to get it cleaned, the old fashioned way, with a sheet and some breeze. Our goal is to eventually make some bread! Wish us luck!"

Is that cool, or what? Good luck to you, and let us know how it goes with the bread!

Luminescence Dating

It's way late, but I'm finally posting my report and photos from our last session of the season!

Dr. Regina DeWitt was our guest, and she showed us how luminescence dating works. (See my previous post)

I sang a new song called "Grain of Sand" which explains the process from the sand's point of view. Just to set the mood, and to let our eyes adjust, I sang it in the dark.

Then we all headed into the closet. That's right! See what kind of shenanigans you've been missing? 

There's a large closet in the back of the room. It was the only available space we could make dark enough to see the demonstration Dr. DeWitt had prepared.

So everyone crowded into the closet, and that's when we realized that Dr. DeWitt's hot plate wasn't working and needed to be plugged into a different outlet. I had to scramble around in the dark to figure that one out. Turns out the outlet was near the top of the wall! 

Meanwhile it was getting pretty dicey with all those warm bodies crowded into a small dark space! But we got past it.

Dr. DeWitt heated up some dosimeters on the hot plate. They look like little white pills in the light. In the dark, as they warmed up, we could see them start to glow a nice pale green.

They work the same way as the sand grains Dr. DeWitt uses to date archeological digs. The dosimeter accumulates radiation damage, which basically means electrons are knocked loose and get trapped in flaws in the crystalline structure. (She had irradiated them ahead of time.)

When heated, the trapped electrons gain enough energy to escape and travel back to where they belong. Moving electrons emit light, and that's where the glow comes from.

Once we were all out of the closet, we had plenty to think and talk about. It was a pretty lively group. I'm thinking of starting every BTDS in the closet!

Dr. DeWitt brought a geiger counter in order to show us that many common things are slightly radioactive, such as bananas and nuts.

The kids had fun both during and after the presentation, testing different objects for radioactivity.

Watch for an announcement soon about our planning meeting for the next season of BTDS! If you are a researcher in or near Stillwater, OK, we'd love to have you as our guest scientist. Please write!

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.

Our 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.