The Blog

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Kitchen Science- From Seed to Shelf

People who have known me for some time know that I was raised in a family of grocers and my amazing Uncle Smitty was a pioneer of the superstore concept. What a lot of people don’t know about my family is that they were Iowa sharecroppers. My life has been a mix of hearing stories…

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Home Learning – How do I find the best resources?

It seems like everyone is starting to feel the pain of home learning and maneuvering through the world of curriculum, digital resources and daily routines. Trying to find quality resources to support assigned lessons or trying to create lessons if your district hasn’t provided them can be overwhelming. Content about how to support digital learning…

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Kitchen Science – Using Science, Innovation and Entrepreneurship to Create a New Flavor of Ice Cream!

With distance learning going into full effect around the country, we need to take a step back from our digital learning tools and get a bit more creative. The kitchen has always been a go-to place for me when working on fun science lessons. Not only is the kitchen the heart of the home, but…

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Spark Creativity and Calm Fears While Learning More About Viruses

Anxiety and fear around COVID-19 (Coronavirus) continue to heighten and our everyday lives are becoming more impacted with each report. While all the noise of what to do (or not to do) is going on, little (and bigger) ears are listening. I can only imagine what is going through the minds of our children and…

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My Plumber is a Frickin’ Scientist!

There is nothing worse than the anxiety you feel when your plumbing begins to gurgle! The other day our kitchen sink stopped draining and no matter what we tried to do to fix it, nothing worked. So today we set out to look for a plumber. With a shortage of plumbers we were dreading how…

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Science Demonstrations Make Learning Fun

Jimmy Kimmel’s done it. Kelly, Ryan and Ellen have done it. Even Miss America has done it. The “IT” I’m referring to is a science demonstration called Elephant Toothpaste. The internet is filled with content on how to make Elephant Toothpaste, videos of world records and cute littles amazed by this crazy chemical reaction. So…

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She Did It! Miss America 2.0

Miss Science was my way of winning a competition with myself. Unlike Camille Schrier the newly crowned Miss America, I was not confident enough to pursue Science as a career. It wasn’t until becoming a teacher and then developing my career as a Science Educator that I gained my confidence. Miss Science became my platform…

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Going Beyond Game-Based Learning: The Benefits of Becoming a Game Creator

Games are a part of American culture – all cultures really. Historically, games were invented prior to written language and have been used as ways to compete, complete tasks, teach and incorporate ideals and morality. In 2013, I created a STEM and Entrepreneurship curriculum that focused on the science of toys and games. I’ve been…

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America Recycles Day

On November 15, millions of people across the United States took part in America Recycles Day. This day’s purpose is to promote and raise awareness about the benefits of recycling and purchasing recycled products. It was started by the National Recycling Coalition in 1997 and since 2009 has been a part of the Keep America…

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Miss Science shares the science of cotton candy

Miss Science, Sherri Smith-Dodgson shared how to do spider crafting when it comes to cotton candy.