We’re nearly packed and ready to go! We’re on our way to 10,000 people in Brea, Ca, armed with exploding pumpkins, glowing slime samples, and much more! After this, I’ll be in Long Beach for a week, then fly up to Sacramento for a two-day science video shoot (more on that later), and then finally home in mid-November.

I’ll try to write as I go along… see you soon!

Aurora

Guy Ottewell’s famous Astronomical Calendar for 2009 is now coming available. By far, this is no ordinary calendar, but at large-format booklet packed full of a ton of astronomical information and technical stats for 2009. I highly recommend this book for anyone having a telescope. It is a must-have for beginner to serious astronomers. At approximately $25, this is an outstanding item for holiday gift giving or receiving.

Celestial Products
http://www.celestialproducts.com/Products/AC.asp

Sky & Telescope
http://www.shopatsky.com/productdetail/AC2009.htm

Scope City
http://www.scopecity.com/detail.cfm?ProductID=2950

Astronomical Society of the Pacific
http://www.astrosociety.org/cgi-local/SoftCart.exe/online-store/scstore/p-BO429.html?L+scstore+qxhr9033ff4c6a4c+1227002355

We’re in NYC (New York City) right now, and it’s been quite the whirlwind trip! But instead of writing about my adventures in the big apple, I thought I’d share a few tips on picking out the best holiday gifts that kids love to get and parents love to give… ones that are inspirational, educational, and empowering.

Although it’s not even Halloween yet, I noticed here in NYC how the Holiday shopping stuff is starting to creep in. Crazy, isn’t it? Well, I thought I’d catch you before you put a hole in your pocketbook… and give you a holiday gift I hope will be of value to you and your family!

So… what are the best educational gifts out there?

Well, that depends on what you’re looking for. The best gifts you can give a kid are the gifts of inspiration, empowerment, and creativity. If you want to go beyond refrigerator boxes and duct tape (which are fantastic, by the way), how do you choose?

Scientific equipment is still one of the best deals on the market, not only because they’re usually high-quality crafted and extremely useful, but kids can still use them in years to come. So which are the best to pick from?

At the low-cost end of the spectrum, scientific journals and magazines are a great way to keep the gift new and interesting throughout the entire year. Here at Supercharged Science, we’ve got company subscriptions to Astronomy, Sky & Telescope, Popular Mechanics, Nuts & Volts, Popular Science, and Make Magazine.

If your kid is crazy for Astronomy, and a telescope is out of your price range, then get your hands on a $25 copy of Guy Ottewell’s Astronomical Calendar. You won’t find a better, more complete book of astronomy anywhere. (In fact, most sources use Ottewell’s information in their publications.)

If a telescope IS within your budget, here are a few recommendations:

Best beginner’s telescope for kids ($300): 8″ Dob by Orion

Best telescope for kids that finds objects for you ($500): 8″ GO-TO Dob

Best telescope for intermediate users ($650): 8″ Reflector

Best eyepieces on the market ($129 each): Widefield Stratus Make sure you get at least one when you purchase your telescope. (The eyepieces included with the telescope aren’t worth much.) If you’re only getting one, make it a 17mm… this one’s best for close-up planetary and lunar viewing as well as deep sky viewing. If you’re wanting to do a lot of lunar viewing, pick up a $35 1.25″ polarizing filter (they’re like sunglasses for your telescope, as the moon is very bright compared with everything else!)

Okay, so maybe your kid’s not that into Astronomy, but bugs and insects… maybe even gross stuff. A microscope is the way to go. Just get one with a mechanical stage, a small set of slides and cover slips, and you’re all set.

If you’ve already got a telescope and a microscope, what else can you get them? A toolbox full of tools. Craftsman tools have a lifetime warranty (no kidding) and are sold at Sears and other places. Get a tape measure, level, hammer, pliers, vice grips, phillips and flathead screwdriver (get one with replaceable tips on the end), crescent wrench, needle-nosed pliers, wire strippers, wire cutters, hacksaw, and electrical tape. Pack it all inside a sturdy toolbox case and don’t forget to toss in a pair of scissors and duct tape. Wrap and add bow. Stuff blocks of scrap wood (usually free from lumber yards) into the stocking along with a box of screws and nails.

For older kids into robots and electricity, pick up a $50 soldering iron from Weller. This is a tool we use here in the lab nearly every day. Don’t forget to pick up a roll of solder and a set of helping hands and a solder sucker are great additions. If you don’t already have wire strippers, needle nose pliers, and wire cutters… get those, too.

Hope this helps! Enjoy your holiday shopping!

Aurora

TRUE STORY: When a theoretical physicist walked up to me after I finished a science class and pointed out an error (an omission, really) I made when teaching to the students… and he asked how I could call myself a scientist, let alone a rocket scientist, when I couldn’t even get the ‘facts straight’. I simply listened as he continued to elaborate about his own work, the stuff he’d designed and developed, using words I had not only never heard of, but no idea how to begin to pronounce.

Then an incredible thought hit me.

Here standing before me was no doubt a very highly educated individual who had spent years honing his skill and talent in the world of theoretical physics, been to the finest schools, taught by the most brilliant minds of the century, and worked on the most cutting-edge projects that would probably remain top-secret until the next century.

Yet I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.

It has never been my goal to be the intelligent person in the world, in the scientific field, or even in the classroom… nor have I ever claimed to be. I have claimed to be a ‘rocket scientist’, which for some reason, means the same thing as the word ‘genuis’ to most people on the planet. I am, to put it simply, a scientist who enjoys working on rockets. This fellow assumed I meant otherwise.

He also had no acuity. He continued to talk without stopping for breath for thirteen minutes.

So here we have a highly-intelligent human being that has no sense whatsoever that he’s bored his audience (me). And furthermore, he’s has not made it clear to his listener whatever it is he wanted to convey. (I still had no idea what he was describing – some sort of lasing device, but any further information was barred by complicated terms and abstract descriptions.)

So if my goal has never been to be the smartest person in the world… what has my goal been?

My goal has always been to be the bridge between the scientific community and the real world I take big ideas and break them down into small steps that my audience can understand… and I change my approach mid-stroke if I sense that something I’m doing isn’t working. I use all my senses and abilities to get feedback and information from my audience so I can figure out the best way to deliver the right information in the right way so it makes the biggest impact on their learning long-term. I find new ways to get students to say, “Oh, NOW I get it!” To do whatever it takes to get kids wildly excited about learning science by focusing on wonder, discovery, and exploration. I know enough science so I have something of value to offer my students.

Are my students sometimes smarter than me? You bet!

Do I mind? No way. Because I want my students to stand on the shoulders of giants, just like I did.

So – when this theoretical physicist (who had a daughter in the class I just taught) finally drew a breath, I piped up: “Thank you for noticing and taking the time to let me know your thoughts, because I’m definitely a work-in-progress, and I can always use insights from people. You’re right – next time I should mention the particle-wave duality principle when we introduce the basics of light and lasers like we did in class, but I’ll have to think how the best way to deliver it to first graders. Let me know if you have any ideas – I would appreciate any help. Thanks again…”