wouldn’t taste as sweet? Did you know that originally, watermelons were white-fleshed, hard and not nearly as delicious as what we’re used to? At the opposite end of the spectrum, the juicy, red watermelon that we all enjoy contains so much sugar that it’s off limits to most of the nation’s 20 million people with [...]
Archive for July, 2009
A melon of another color…
Friday, July 31st, 2009Lizard in Snake’s Clothing?
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009Even though Komodo dragons live far away in Indonesia, they’re pretty famous. They’re the largest lizard in the world and are not exactly as harmless as your average chameleon. Komodo dragons are carnivores, which means they like to eat meat. Really any sort of meat will do — anything from animals to other Komodo dragons [...]
Even Space Embraces Diversity
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009Ten years ago today, Colonel Eileen Collins led a shuttle mission to deploy a $1.5 Billion x-ray telescope called the Chandra observatory into space. Missions to space happen all the time, so why is this particular instance so important? Well, Colonel Collins was the first female commander to lead a space mission. She is a [...]
Highest of high tides
Tuesday, July 21st, 2009The changing of the tides isn’t anything special for anyone living here in Maryland, or for anyone who is familiar with the water. High tide, low tide…in and out…repeat. So, what makes today so special? The Perigean Spring Tides happen today. Sounds fancy, yes…but the Perigean Spring Tides are the highest possible tides and they [...]
Bubbles Bubbles Everywhere
Friday, July 17th, 2009Did you know that the “sport” of bubble blowing didn’t materialize until the 19th century? Bubbles have been around forever but it wasn’t until soap became a common household product that people began to see the fun side of bubbles. The Pears Soap Company in England is largely responsible for introducing the concept that made [...]
Feeling spacy and it’s only going to get worse!
Thursday, July 16th, 2009We love experiments here at the Science Center. We like to push the limits and see what is and isn’t possible. Such was the mentality of NASA scientists 40 years ago when they sent human beings rocketing into space with the intention of landing on the moon. The rocket traveled at a staggering 35,000 feet [...]
What’s little, green, and emission-free?
Monday, July 13th, 2009No, not a leprechaun on a skateboard…it’s altcar! Or more specifically, the Maya 300, manufactured by electrovaya and featuring battery technology enhanced by ExxonMobil. This little guy is totally electric-powered and gives off zero emissions. The small 5-door/hatchback design is ideal for zipping around the city to run errands, get to work, save a bit [...]
The better to see you with…
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009400 years and telescopes are still out of this world!
Stem Cell Research – Controversy today, miracles tomorrow?
Tuesday, July 7th, 2009Taking effect today, President Obama lifted a ban on federal funding (through, for example, the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation, major sources of federal scientific grants) on embryonic stem cell research for lines of stem cells not yet developed. If you remember the debates on this issue eight years ago, George W. [...]
Carnival Science was a Success!
Wednesday, July 1st, 2009On Saturday, we decided to try something new! We were thinking about how much we love games and how much we love science, so what better way to combine the two than have a Carnival Science Day?? Carnival activities are a favorite pastime for most of our guests, but it’s likely that few have thought [...]