Upload
annmarie-ppl
View
92
Download
2
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Hands-on Science and Engineering at Pasadena Public Library
Curiosity Machine
August 25, 2016
What I thought of science when I was a
kid:
There’s so much memorization…
This is boring…
My experiments never come out
right…I’ll never be a scientist or engineer because I don’t like math.
What I know NOW:It’s OK to try and fail. Sometimes great scientific discoveries, theories, or inventions happen when you don’t get the results you were expecting.
Examples:*Robert Wilson and Arno Penzias (The Big
Bang Theory)*Alexander Fleming (Penicillin)*Harry Coover (Super Glue)*Roy Plunkett (Teflon)*Charles Robert Richet (Allergies)
How to be a scientist:
Today’s project:Build a balanced dinosaur!
Your inspiration:
T-Rex PostureContrary to popular belief and cultural images of T-Rex, T-Rex did NOT stand like this:
http://www.getcoloringpages.com/coloring/27996
http://dinotoyblog.com/2009/10/23/tyrannosaurus-rex-papo/
T-Rex PostureHe probably walked something more like this:
Created byKent Stevens for The Carnegie Museum of Natural History:http://ix.cs.uoregon.edu/~kent/paleontology/museums/CMNH/index.html
Apatosaurus PostureAnd Apatosaurus never dragged its tail
around like this:
http://www.copyrightexpired.com/earlyimage/prehistoriclifebeforekt/n2m_brontosaurus.html
Pearson Scott Foresman: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dinosaur_-_brontosaurus_(PSF).png
Apatosaurus PostureIn fact, now that we
know more about why dinosaurs needed such long, strong tails, museums around the world had to change their skeleton displays from this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brontosaurus
Apatosaurus PostureTo this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brontosaurus
But…how do we know what a dinosaur’s gait or
posture was?
Dr. Phil Manning, a paleontologist who digs up dinosaur mummies and writes
books about them!
We learn from scientists like:
https://blog.geolsoc.org.uk/2014/10/09/ask-a-geologist-live/
Dr. Kent Stevens, who helps paleontologists understand dinosaur movement by creating computer animations for them. He studies dinosaur skeletons and determines how they would have shifted their weight and used their limbs to walk, stand or sit.
And:
http://ix.cs.uoregon.edu/~kent/paleontology/museums/index.html
Archimedes of Syracuse (c. 287 BC – c. 212 BC), the ancient Greek scientist who
introduced the world to the concept of center of mass
And:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_of_masshttp://www.keyword-suggestions.com/c3lyYWN1c2UgYXJjaGltZWRlcw/https://www.sciencetopia.net/sites/default/files/twofig.png
Center of gravity for animals and dinosaurs
Created by Kent Stevens for The Carnegie Museum of Natural History:http://ix.cs.uoregon.edu/~kent/paleontology/museums/CMNH/index.html
Dinosaurs with heavy skulls and long necks would have needed long tails to keep their center of gravity in their torso/hip region.
Walking with Dinosaurs: A Natural History by Tim Haines, published by Dorling Kindersley, 2000
(Eyewitness) Dinosaur by David Lambert, Published by Dorling Kindersley 2010
Tendons (bind muscle to bone)
Ligaments (bind bone to bone)
Diplodocus would have walked with its tail held
straight out.
Diplodocus’s tail was built like a suspension bridge.
Walking with Dinosaurs: A Natural History by Tim Haines, published by Dorling Kindersley, 2000
Scientists learn from past mistakes and adjust their
theories when they get new evidence!
Walking with Dinosaurs: A Natural History by Tim Haines, published by Dorling Kindersley, 2000
WD Matthew, 1905. This was the image that people consulted for decades!
http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/03/11/drawing-tyrannosaurus-youre-probably-doing-it-wrong/
http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/03/11/drawing-tyrannosaurus-youre-probably-doing-it-wrong/
Watch this funny video of T. Rex standing up!
Mike Jacobsen, http://www.neatoshop.com/product/Science-Ruined-Dinosaurs
What do you think?
Let’s learn more about center of
gravity.
With this device, you will never fail to hang a picture
straight again!Balance It by Howard E. Smith, Jr. with photographs by George Ancona. Published in 1982 by Four Winds Press.
Now we will try our own!
I shared my design process on Curiositymachine.org.
I answered questions about my design and how I could change it.
And I added my picture to the Inspiration Gallery!
When you get home, you can submit photos or videos of your project to
the Curiosity Machine website. You’ll get feedback from scientists and engineers and you can share your
ideas with other kids!
Want to read more about dinosaurs? Check out these great
books from Pasadena Public Library:
Thanks for coming, and keep on tinkering!