What’s Average?

Numbers can be informative – or misleading. Learn how to make sense of groups of numbers and other types of data. You’ll discover a new meaning for mean – and more -- through these un-average activities.

CONNECT:

• What is data? How many kinds of data are there? See examples at https://www.mathsisfun.com/data/data.html
• What are statistics? And why are they useful? Watch the answers at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_GBJhu65asTedEd
• Map is a map more than a map? When it shows data that you can compare with similar maps: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/08/07/upshot/music-fandom-maps.html
• What are some some of the amazing statistics about your world? See them – and maybe your future  -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGGYIw_pIj8

CREATE:

• Become an M&M data expert doing these activities: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bring-science-home-statistical-candy/ (NOTE: You can’t have your data and eat it too)
• How often do you see snake eyes? Learn about probabilities by playing with dice: https://www.education.com/activity/article/probability-dice-game/
• Play these data handling games at https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/5-7-years/data-handling
• Use data to improve your baseball performance: https://www.education.com/activity/article/pitch_and_hit_data_second/

CARE:

• You can help the environment through data: see examples at http://kids.nceas.ucsb.edu/DataandScience/index.html
• Save the day with data at https://ca.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/kids-lab-oos-afterschool-operation-data-saves-day/operation-data-saves-the-day-activity-plan-pbs-kids-afterschool-adventure/
• Here’s another way to look at the spread of poverty and wealth: by visualizing the data: https://www.gapminder.org/dollar-street/matrix
• Some people lie with statistical graphs. Learn how to not get fooled by them at https://www.frontporchmath.com/topics/probability-statistics/graphs/misleading-graphs/

CAREERS:

There’s a large number of careers that deal with data and statistics: scientist, engineer, economist, marketer, poll taker, reporter, code-breaker.  You can count on a high probability of finding a good job in this area.

https://www.cnbc.com/2014/05/30/why-your-kids-will-want-to-be-data-scientists.html

https://www.ma.utexas.edu/users/mks/statund/careers.html

https://www.learnhowtobecome.org/careers-for-numbers-people/

https://www.careers.govt.nz/resources/tools-and-activities/maths-statistics/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/metabrown/2017/08/28/20-data-analytics-careers-that-arent-data-scientists/#75054c455771

Father's Day Every Day

Fathers come in all sizes and shapes, and serve in different roles: from founders of our country to spiritual advisors. It’s not just biology that makes a father; it’s how one acts and how others perceive a father. Discover the variety – and the universality -- of fathers in these activities.

CONNECT:

• Read the stories of America’s Founding Fathers: http://colonialhall.com/
• Did you know that Father’s Day started in Spokane in 1910? Sonora Smart Dodd wanted to honor her father, who was a civil war veteran who singlehanded raised his six children. (Trivia fact: Ms. Dodd was this blogger’s Sunday School teacher.) It took 62 years for Father’s Day to become a national holiday. Get the details from the History Channel: http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/fathers-day
• What’s the word for “father” in different languages? Pick out some name at http://www.loveyoufather.com/father-in-different-languages.html, and use them with a father you know.
• See the animal kingdom’s top ten dads at http://www.animalplanet.com/wild-animals/10-animal-dads/

CREATE:

• Learn how to write a poem from Father Goose (aka Charles Ghigna): an American children’s poet: http://www.charlesghigna.com/poemhowto.html
• Try these activities and resources for the celebration of Father's Day, including games, clip art, stories, and  crafts: http://www.dltk-holidays.com/dad/
• Make some fun father’s day food: http://kidsactivitiesblog.com/53963/fun-fathers-day-food
• Here’s Father’s Day by the numbers; try creating a game from them: http://www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2016/cb16-ff11.html

CARE:

• Here are 29 Father’s Day gifts that kids can make for someone’s dad: https://www.care.com/a/29-fathers-day-gifts-kids-can-make-1305280622
• Father Flanagan founded Boys Town, a place for at-risk children. Find out about this caring person and service at http://www.boystown.org.
• “Father” is a name often given to Catholic priests. Find out  how they became fathers: http://bustedhalo.com/questionbox/when-did-the-use-of-father-become-a-practice-in-the-catholic-church-for-ordained-priests
• This national initiative helps men be better fathers: http://www.fatherhood.org/

CAREERS:

Being a father is a career in itself. This article points how how fathers can affect one’s career: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kathycaprino/2013/12/23/7-ways-your-father-affected-your-career/#6efc08cb7537

Sand: The Gritty Reality

You see sand in lots of places: the beach, on the playground, in gardens, as part of buildings. We even talk about sand in our eyes. But what about sand in windows and computers? Did you know that sand is the second most common element on earth (oxygen is first).  Sand is likely to be more important than you ever dreamed of.

CONNECT:

Not all sand is created equal; did you know that the best beaches are ranked by 50 criteria?  Take a look how sand is rated: http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/optics/olympusmicd/galleries/oblique/seasand1.html.

Trace how sand becomes a circuit at http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/history/museum-making-silicon.html

Watch how glass is made – from sand: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Glass

How does an hourglass measure time? The Library of Congress knows: http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/hourglass.html

CREATE:

Search “sand” at http://kinderart.com/. You’ll find lots of sand-based art activities to do: sand painting, sand jars, even dinosaur treasure eggs.

Learn how to do sand sculpting at http://www.virtualnjshore.com/tbsandcastles.html

Practice being a sand scientist at http://faculty.pasadena.edu/dndouglass/sand/SandExrc.htm

There are a surprising number of statistics about sand. Try a Google image search on “sand statistics.’ Any surprises?

CARE:

You can contribute to the global virtual sand collection: http://faculty.pasadena.edu/dndouglass/sand/sandmap.htm

Have fun and be eco-friendly by make recycled sand and water toys: http://www.inhabitots.com/how-to-make-recycled-sand-and-water-toys/

Help save sand dunes at http://www.envirolink.org/resource.html?itemid=799&catid=5

Find out about the importance of reefs, including sand ones, and how you can help protect them: http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/reef/?ar_a=1

CAREERS:

Sand is used in manufacturing, whether to sand down items or build them. Sand is used in energy, such as the oil industry. Sand is used in science: archeology, chemistry, physics, oceanography, and so on. Sand is part of the tourist industry too. The jobs associated with sand may be as numerous as the grains of sand on the beach!

http://www.madehow.com/Volume-3/Sand.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBPqWa1vDTM

Really? Manufacturing sand? Here’s why: http://www.metso.com/miningandconstruction/mm_sepa.nsf/WebWID/WTB-120530-2256F-72E1B/$File/Why%20manufactured%20sand.pdf

http://www.sand.org/

BTW: Sand in your eyes isn’t really sand; it’s rheum – dried mucus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rheum)

Maps: We Get Around

Interested in maps? You need them when you travel or try to navigate around. Maps are visual representations that show relationships among the mapped items, be they cities or ideas. Atlases are collections of maps. Consider that even websites have site maps. Explore the variety of maps, and how to make them. It’s a fun way to get around.

CONNECT:

• What are maps for? Find your way around maps at http://www.k-8visual.info/maps.html, http://www.myteacherpages.com/webpages/ttravis/social_studies_class.cfm?subpage=648434, and http://msnucleus.org/membership/html/jh/earth/mapstype/lesson1/mapstypes01a.html
• How do you take a 3D globe and make it into a 2D map? Think about taking an orange peel, and making it flat. How does it impact how you perceive that orange’s shape? Different world map projections can also impact your world view, literally and culturally (Africa is bigger or smaller depending on the map’s projection). Find out details at http://www.progonos.com/furuti/MapProj/Normal/TOC/. For another perspective, look at the world upside down:  http://flourish.org/upsidedownmap/.  Does it alter your view about each continent’s importance?
• How have geography regions changed over time? The U.S. Geological Survey has produced topographic (land mass) maps for more than 125. See how your region has changed by searching the agency’s historical map collection online at http://nationalmap.gov/historical/.
• Do you what “mappa mundi” means? Is any European map of the world. Take a look at at ancient maps at http://ancientworldmaps.blogspot.com/
• Find out how to read weather maps by using Discovery Education’s lesson plan, which contains several kinds of weather maps: http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/weather-maps.cfm.
• How about mapping the sky? A brain? What kinds of legends or keys would you use? Here are some examples to explore: http://kidshealth.org/kid/htbw/brain.html, http://www.skymaponline.net/, http://healthland.time.com/2012/10/22/time-explains-genome-sequencing/, http://arctic.fws.gov/birdworldmig.htm.

CREATE:

• Personalize your journeys, be they your family’s history or a fantasy trip. It might be your family’s immigration journey. Go to Google Earth (http://earth.google.com/‎), and download it for free. Follow their directions about adding features to the map.
• Going on a family car trip – or wish to? Choose a destination across the country, and see how it’s tracked by car on http://maps.yahoo.com. Figure out reasonable stopping times and places. Then use the site to find lodging, dining spots, and local sites. You can use a spreadsheet to calculate the cost of the trip (don’t forget the cost of gas!). Each family member might make their own choices, and then compare the results, or it can be done as a family project.
• Try your hand at creating an imaginary map. http://www.fantasticmaps.com/ provides great tips and examples.
• You can map any area, even the moon – or an imaginary place! You can make a map from several types of image documents (jpg, png, gif) by using UMapper (http://www.umapper.com/). You can make a journey through the body, for instance, such as the blood’s journey from the heart, or food from the mouth on down.This application also allows you to create your own geography game.

CARE:

• Create a neighborhood or school map for visually impaired. It might be a raised map, or a podcast that can serve as an audio tour. You can start by printing out a digital map from http://maps.google.com or http://maps.yahoo.com, or you can create your own using digital or traditional drawing tools.
• Travel ecologically. Visualize different ways to get to a family destination by using http://maps.google.com. It enables you to map your path by car, public transportation, bicycle, and foot. See how far you can get by using only public transportation.
• Is there a park in the area? You can create a nature walk, and map it. Get ideas for projects at http://www.stormthecastle.com/nature-walk-ideas-and-projects.htm.
• Create maps from data using UN statistics (http://hdr.undp.org/en/data/map/) or Harvard University’s data sets (http://hdr.undp.org/en/data/map/). See if you can see issues arising as a result of visualizing the statistics.

CAREER:

Like maps? You can become a cartographer: a map maker. You are also likely to use a map for many jobs: city planning, pilots, shippers, engineers, GIS programmers, scientists, performers, even writers. Here are some career leads that involve mapping skills.

http://www.cccarto.com/gisjobs/gisjobs.html

http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/why-maps-and-related-promising-careers.html

http://www.distancelearningplan.com/cartographers-surveyors-and-other-map-related-professions.html

http://www.aag.org/careers

http://www.superscholar.org/careers/technology/mapping-engineer/