RAFT Hands-On Education

Time to get ready fer Pi Day at RAFT me hearties!   Set yer compasses an’ sails fer FREE Pi Day activities on March 8 th between 3:30 to 5:30 on th’ main poop deck (aye-aye in th’ “Kit Area”) at SJ RAFT! RAFT’s very own notorious wench, Jeanne Lazzarini (RAFT Math Master Educator), prepared a boatload of Pi Day activities to share with yer classes fer Pi Day (celebrated on March 14 th every year)! Pi , (also written as π ; th’ ratio of th’ circumference of a circle to its diameter) be an irrational number that goes on forever without any repeating digits, starting with 3.14159… π is illustriously celebrated over land an’ high seas March 14 th (get it? On 3.14…!).    Discover great “make-an’-take” Pi day activities that prepare ye fer real Pi day!  Here’s a RAFT idea sheet fer Pi Day you can use now: Pi Day Pin . Make sure X marks th’ spot on ye calendars this March 8 th , or walk th’ plank me scallywags!   Shiver me timbers an’ yo-ho-ho! ...

Ten third graders and twelve fourth graders in Kathleen Gould’s class at Orchard School District know to turn to RAFT when making creative design solutions! They’ve been on a 17-day Design Challenge journey studying how wind turbines kill hundreds of thousands of birds each year in North America—making turbines the most menacing form of green energy! Using cardboard tubes, paper pinwheel blades, clay, tape, stickers, cotton balls, bubble wrap, and other RAFT materials, student teams were able to think about and design clever models of wind turbines that might be safer for birds to fly around or nest upon! It started when representatives from the WildLIFE Associates brought into the class rehabilitated falcons, owls, eagles, and other birds damaged by wind turbines. “We learned about Luna the owl, who is now blind in one eye, and Liberty, the bald eagle, who broke its wing from flying into a turbine,” says Gould. Seeing these beautiful wild creatures up close helped the students ...

In honor of Black History Month, each week RAFT would like to pay tribute to African-American inventors, scientists, and engineers. The list of African Americans who have invented a multitude of items in the course of their lives is endless! These inventions range from practical everyday devices to applications in diverse fields, including physics, biology, and mathematics. Just a few of these inventors and inventions include: INVENTOR INVENTION Leonard C. Bailey Folding bed Janet Bashen First African-American woman to receive a patent for software Earl Bell Chair with sliding skin and the quantitative display apparatus Miriam Benjamin Second African-American woman to obtain a patent for the “Gong and Signal Chair” for hotels Henry Blair Seed/cotton planter; second African-American inventor to receive a patent Sarah Boone Ironing board allowing sleeves to be ironed more easily Otis Boykin Artificial heart pacemaker control unit Charl...