Skip to main content

Trending Question This Week: Does RAFT carry eclipse-viewing glasses?

RAFT does not carry these glasses, but you do not need to look at the sun to enjoy the experience of a solar eclipse. As you may know the Bay Area will see about 75% of the eclipse on Monday, August 21. The eclipse will be at its fullest at approximately 10:15 that morning. We are hoping there will not be any cloud cover! Even if there are overcast skies, students will be able to observe the darkening effect in the sky. If the sun is shining, you can do activities with your students such as observing the rays cast by the sun on a plain surface, holding up a piece of peg board, a colander, or anything with round holes in it. Students will see tiny images of the eclipsed sun without having to look up into the sky. They can also observe other shadows and images of the sun’s rays coming through leaves on a tree or shrub, or even used their own hands, fingers splayed and over-crossed, to observe these images.
If possible, have your students do the same activities at the same time of day before or after the eclipse so that they can observe the differences. The next solar eclipse occurring in North America will not be until 2024.
It is important to remember never to look at the sun without NASA rated glasses.
For more on information and activities on the solar eclipse check the following links:
By Sandra Woodard, RAFT Greenroom & Membership Associate

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Science fairs: Nurturing the 21st century thinker

3D Tessellation model A bespectacled 6th grader enthusiastically explains ‘efficiency of 3D space tessellations’ with myriad equations and handmade tessellation patterns to address the needs of the packaging, storing, shipping and construction industry. Another middle school student, was inspired by his little brother’s telescope and built a simple vacuum chamber using a PVC pipe with a microphone and a speaker on both ends to find out how sound travels on Mars! This 8th grader from Granada Islamic School used an oscilloscope his mother found at an auction to measure the sounds. “I poke around and find junk to build my projects. It’s fun.” Science projects today have become fun for many students as they use more hands on activities to experiment and understand concepts. These two middle school students were among 996 participants at the recent Synopsys Silicon Valley Science and Technology Championship , where RAFT was one of the special judges. Moenes Iskarous, President, S...
18 comments
Read more

Thank Goodness for Moms!

Mother’s Day is a great time to recognize one of the most important educators in a student’s life—Mom! I’m so grateful for my own mother (now 91 years old) and all that she’s done for me over the years! She’s the one who gave me the courage to go to college (I’m the first in my family)! Though a mom myself and now a Yiayia (Greek for “grandma”), I often think about the lessons I learned from my mother and her generous love for family and friends. I say it’s truly fitting to celebrate all mothers! Throughout the world, people celebrate Mother’s Day on different days and in various forms. This year in the United States we honor mothers on Sunday, May 13 th . So just how did Mother’s Day begin? The American version of this holiday was created by Anna Jarvis in 1908 and became an official U.S. holiday in 1914. Later on, Anna denounced the commercialization of Mother’s Day and spent a good portion of her later life trying to get it revoked, but it has stayed. Today we cont...
1 comment
Read more

How does math relate to real life?

By Jeanne Lazzarini, Math Master Educator/R&D Specialist, RAFT How does math relate to real life?   One way is to take a look at the shape of a cloud, a mountain, a coastline, or a tree!   You might be surprised to find that many patterns in nature, called fractals, including growth patterns, have very peculiar mathematical properties ---   even though these natural shapes are not perfect spheres, circles, cones, triangles, or even straight lines!  3D Fractals For Inspiration   So, what is a fractal?   Benoit Mandelbrot (November 20, 1924 – October 14, 2010) is commonly called the father of fractals. He created the term “fractal” to describe curves, surfaces and objects that have some very peculiar properties. A fractal is a geometric shape which is both self-similar and has fractional dimension.    Daydreaming fractals Ok, so what does that mean?   Well, “self-similar” means that when you magnify an object, each of...
Post a Comment
Read more