Is this fence weaker than it was last year? (STEM is everywhere)

I was driving from Dressel to Sappington and back again today. I happened to glance over at the Grant's Farm fence and noticed a bit of rust on it. As I drove I saw lots of rust running on the chain link running from one end of the property to the other.

It reminded me a lot of the USS Fredrick. I lived on the Fast Freddy for six long months. What was that like you ask? Kinda like living in your classroom for six months only not as nice. While on ship I noticed the Navy was constantly scraping and painting to stop the always advancing rust. Rust that was slowly eating away any metal surface.

USS Fredrick, LST 1184 Mombasa,Kenya

This metal eating rust has me worried about the fence. It also make me think about the wonderful STEM connections I saw. Here are the questions I started coming up with as I drove by the farm. They are random, maybe impossible but they all could start a conversation. Some I know the answer to and some I may never know.

How much strength is lost when the fence rusts?
What might be some ways to remove the rust?
Are the animals so used to staying within the farm that the fence isn't even needed anymore?
What would it cost to replace the fence?
Are there metals that don't rust?
How can we build an invisible fence that doesn't involve electricity? Could it be a force field?
Could the fence, new or old, withstand a charging buffalo?

Many of these questions could be STEMified. They might not be a clear answer but by posing such questions, or wonderings, we can help our kids think beyond what is right in front of our faces.

Comments

Who is emailing me? The Blue Man Group??? (Add an image to your Google account.)

WHY It is always nice to put a face with a name. Sometimes we need a tiny little reminder of what someone looks like because we don't see them very often. Follow these steps to add/change the image associated with your Google account. HOW Open your email. Click your image. It might just be a blue circle if you have not added something already. Click Change . Find an image you like. Your amazing new image will appear. From now on everyone can put a name to a face!

Annotate PDF? How might I do that?

So I have a PDF and I need to edit it. Here is one method that works pretty well for me. Open Word. Click File . 1. Click Open . 2. Click Browse . 3. Find the PDF you want to annotate. 4. Click Open . Click OK when you see this box. Bam! Your PDF now opens in Word. Note: you maybe have to click Enable Editing at the top of the screen. Finished editing and want to turn it back into a PDF? Click File . 1. Click Save As . 2. Click This PC . 3. Pick a location. I usually save things to my desktop. 4. Click Save as type - and choose PDF. 5. Click Save .

Canvas + iOS = Submitting an assignment

In this post, we will detail how to open, submit and resubmit assignments in Canvas using an iOS device. It is wickly important to make sure the app is up to date. Please open the app store and double-check to make sure you have the latest update. Open the Canvas app on your Apple device. 1. Find and click on your assignment. 2. Click the huge green button at the bottom of your screen. It says Launch External Tool . If you see the big green button again, click it. You might see the login screen if this is your first time using the external tool, Google Docs. You will also see this screen if you are using a new device, like a phone. Scroll down and click on the Authorize button. If you need to authorize, or reauthorize, the Google sign-in will appear. Sign in with your school Google account. Click the big blue button. Google Docs should now launch. Type what you would like to say. Click the blue Submit button in the upper right corne...

Learning in the Lou

Search This Blog