February 27, 2010: Joint ACS/SLAPT "Make-n-take" Workshop
When: February 27, 8am-11:30am
Where: John Burroughs School, Science Building
The joint ACS/SLAPT "make-n-take" workshop next month will be on February 27 at John Burroughs School from 8:30 to about 11:30 (social hour from 8:00-8:30). Hal Harris will be helping us to construct the DVD Periscope Spectrometer that was in his Cost-Effective Teacher feature of the Journal of Chemical Education in June, 2008: J. Chem. Educ., 2008, 85 (6) p. 849. This amazing origami device uses ordinary construction paper or manila folders cut and folded to create a hand-held spectroscope that can be used to illustrate atomic emission lines, the difference between incandescent, fluorescent, or halogen lights, and the Fraunhoffer lines in the sun. Combined with a digital camera and freely-available software on a PC or Mac computer, it becomes a spectrometer that can capture and print remarkably high-quality spectra. Materials other than the digital camera will be provided. If you want to do that part, bring your own or share with another. It would be nice if we had a few laptop computers in the group, but it is not necessary that everyone bring one.
March 26-27, 2010: Joint Meeting with the Illinois Section
March 26-27 Joint Meeting with IsAAPT
See the web page for details http://helios.augustana.edu/isaapt/s10/isaapt.html
Members are encouraged to do a “Take 5” or a 15 min presentation (or even longer).
West Point Bridge Design Contest
The St. Louis Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is holding a local contest in conjunction with the national West Point Bridge Design contest. Information including deadlines and how to access FREE software is available here: 2010 West Point Bridge Design Contest. You could also contact Niel Palmer at nielsennegr@charter.net
January 23, 2010: Energy Sources with Emphasis on Nuclear Energy
What: Energy Sources with Emphasis on Nuclear Energy
When: Saturday, January 23, 2010 9-12 (Bagels at 8:30)
Where: TBA
This presentation will be by Linda Kralina who attended a weeklong session at Idaho National Laboratory this past summer. She will share information presented and tell us about her experience at this historic and world class research facility. Plus she has two Geiger counters to give away to two lucky attendees!! She will have books and other items to give away also. We will have a follow-up email in January but mark your calendars now.
November 21, 2009: Uniform Circular Motion Apparatus Make and Take
When: November 21, 2009, 8:30 am to 12:30 pm
Hosts: Mike Johns mjohns@chaminade-stl.com and Rex Rice RiceR@clayton.k12.mo.us
Place: Chaminade College Prep; 425 S. Lindbergh Blvd; St. Louis -- room 301; (½ mile north of Hwy 40 on Lindbergh – 3rd floor of main brick building – park in front)
What: If you missed the 2003 make and take that Rex Rice did with this device – you will be happy to note it’s back on the agenda.
The uniform circular motion apparatus can be used to quantitatively investigate the effects of changing speed, mass, and radius on the net radial (centripetal) force required to keep an object moving in a circular path. The apparatus includes a motor driven spinning track that holds a small cart in a circular path. The apparatus can be used in a high tech mode with a force probe and a photogate, or in a low tech mode using a spring scale and a stopwatch. In addition to the apparatus that will be built, teachers would need a variable dc power supply with an output of at least 12 V, a mass set and various lab clamps and rods. Teachers would also need a force probe, photogate, lab interface and appropriate software (in the high tech mode) or a 10-N spring scale and a stopwatch (in the low tech mode.) Specifics for the use of this device with both Vernier’s Wireless Dynamics Sensor System and Pasco’s Airlink Interface will also be provided. Click HERE to review some online photos of the apparatus (full URL at bottom). Attenders will be provided a cd with various files including lab handouts, detailed construction procedures, and other information regarding Uniform Circular Motion. We will have the opportunity to perform the lab during the workshop.
Teachers who would like to attend the workshop without building the apparatus, and would like to learn more about the apparatus and the experiments that can be done with it, will be welcomed to the workshop for no cost. Whether you will build the apparatus or not, we need to know who will be attending by October 27. Last minute registration cannot be accommodated for this workshop.
Costs and Deadlines: Please fill in the online form linked below to register your attendance by October 27, plus send check made out to Mike Johns for $50 per unit if you need the blue cart, or $41 per unit if you don’t need the blue cart. (see the online photo gallery for info on the blue cart)
To reserve your apparatus, click HERE for the online form.
Send check to:
Mike Johns
Chaminade College Prep
425 S. Lindbergh Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63131
Email Mike Johns or Rex Rice if you have questions (addresses above.)
Here’s the online photo gallery for photos of the apparatus.
October 24, 2009: MAPT-SLAPT Joint Meeting
The fall meeting of MAPT and October meeting of SLAPT will be a joint meeting Saturday, October 24, at Washington University.
We will have time in our joint MAPT-SLAPT meeting for a few talks of 12 to 20 minutes duration. If you wish to give a talk, please get an abstract to Pat Gibbons, pcg@wuphys.wustl.edu, by Monday, October 20, 5 PM ABSOLUTE DEADLINE.
The meeting will begin with a continental breakfast at 8:30 AM. The location will be the Department of Physics at Washington University, Crow and Compton Halls. (Download a Campus Map) The Physics buildings are numbered 26 and 27. Parking is available in YELLOW spaces in the lot at the northeast corner of the campus. Please enter the south door of Crow and go up a few steps to the level 2 hallway, where you will find signs for the meeting.
After a morning of talks and discussions, we will continue our conversations over a sandwich lunch. We hope the conversations will touch on what preparation college physics teachers hope their students have, what students who took high-school physics will likely expect in college physics courses, and how colleges use AP physics scores now
The talks will include a plenary presentation of a description of Washington University's popular alternative general physics course, based on the textbook Six Ideas that Shaped Physics, that is much more an active-learning course than general physics usually is. Assistant Dean Victoria May will welcome the group to Washington University. She is the Director of Science Outreach, and will describe their work on professional development for science teachers across all grade levels K-16. Jack Wiegers and I will describe changes coming in the AP physics exams, timescale 7 years. I may offer a make-n-take of an under $5 Kepler telescope using lenses probably found in your kitchen or office.
Pat Gibbons
September 22, 2009 (Tuesday): PTRA Workshop - Beats
What: PTRA Workshop – “Beats”
When: Tuesday September 22, 2009 4-7PM
Where: Parkway Central High School, 369 N. Woods Mill Rd., Chesterfield 63040
Cost: $15 PTRA Continuation Fund, $6 Make ‘N Take
Come spend some time at Central High making a device designed by Tom Senior that demonstrates the concept of beats very visually. Bring a Phillips head screw driver and some patience. We will further spend time doing labs with pendulums and keyboards to demonstrate ideas about beats as well as model the behavior on a graphing calculator. I will provide a snack to help the lagging blood sugar level. There are a limited number of kits to build so call or email Val Michael to reserve your spot. Phone 636-458-9498 or email vlfmich@gmail.com. See you Tuesday the 22nd.
October 3, 2009: Six Flags Workshop for Teachers
Time: 9:30 am
Location and Host: Six Flags St. Louis
Cost: Free for you and one guest!
RSVP to Leanne Creek: lCreek@sftp.com with "Physics Workshop" in the subject line and you and your guest's name in the body of the note.
Presenters: Rex Rice, Bill Brinkhorst, Mark Schober
Physics Day at Six Flags is better than ever! Six Flags has supported SLAPT’s development of a comprehensive educational component for Physics Day and has now made Physics Day separate from Math and Science Day, giving students more time on the rides and reducing lines. In fact, the staff at Six Flags St. Louis received recognition from their corporate office for their exemplary promotion and management of Physics Day. Mark your calendar now for Physics Day 2010, scheduled for April 30.
To learn more about how to include amusement park physics into your classroom, join us (and bring a guest) for a free workshop at Six Flags on October 3rd. We'll begin with a behind-the-scenes tour of the engineering that makes the rides work. Next, we'll provide an overview of the resources available to use with students in preparation for Physics Day and to use at Physics Day. (You'll also get a CD of the materials.) Finally, we'll strap on our wireless data collection devices and ride, ride, ride!
RSVP to Leanne Creek, LCreek@sftp.com with "Physics Workshop" in the subject line and you and your guest's name in the body of the note.
September 12, 2009: High Speed Video Clips and Curriculum Sharing
We had a great workshop with lots of great video shot. Getting the videos burned to discs will take a bit more time than we could manage before people left on Saturday, but we'll send out a note soon that lets you know how to get the videos.
When: September 12, 2009, 8:30 am to 1 pm
Hosts: Jim Cibulka jacibulka@gmail.com & Joe Bartin bartinj@gw.kirkwood.k12.mo.us
Place: Kirkwood High School
Part 1: Building a Video Clip Library using high-speed cameras and an infrared camera. We will share some ideas and provide a CD of video clips for you to take home. This is a "working meeting" and anyone interested can email suggestions and/or bring equipment and demos to be filmed. Generally, we’ll have lots of fun with some really neat toys! For those interested, one-on-one tutorials on basic video analysis will be available. Also note that our December workshop is dedicated to video analysis techniques.
Part 2: Lunch, Curriculum Sharing, and Book Giveaway. Over a picnic style lunch, participants can discuss curriculum ideas further with individual teachers. Everyone is invited to bring a beginning of the year activity or handout (bring copies) or share some physics books to help build a colleague’s resource library. Teachers new to teaching physics are highly encouraged to attend! We will also present our annual Gene Fuchs Award.
2009-2010 SLAPT President's Welcome
Gail Haynes, haynesgail@rockwood.k12.mo.us, President – Saint Louis Area Physics Teachers
Welcome to the St. Louis Area Physics Teachers Association. SLAPT started about 20 years ago with meetings on Saturday mornings. I was the physics teacher at Hazelwood West, and although certified to teach physics, I was overwhelmed with a room full of equipment, a book that was terrible, and no one to be a mentor. Then I joined SLAPT. Thanks to dedicated teachers like Val Michael, Bill Brinkhorst, David Bross… my confidence grew.
In the following years, five of which I moved out of town and chose to be a stay at home mom, the association grew. The core of our organization is still Saturday workshops but we offer so much more. The Gene Fuchs Award was established to recognize outstanding physics teaching. We became supporters of annual events like Six Flags Physics Day and the SIUE Physics Contest. This year marks the 25th anniversary of that contest. The SLAPT web site provides information shared by St. Louis area teachers and links to national resources. We have enjoyed a “field trip” to Chicago and now have annual joint meetings with the local American Chemical Society Teachers.
For the 2009-10 school year, we look forward to many new events. As a new section of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) we will meet with the Missouri Section (MAPT) this fall. Workshops on Video Analysis, Six Flags Day, Circular Motion Make and Take, Spectroscope Make and Take, and more are planned. Next summer a three week long Modeling Workshop in Mechanics is seeking funding.
New or experienced; physical science, physics first, or traditional physics; big or small school; public or private—no matter what your background—your time spent with us will give you practical help and increase your confidence in physics teaching.
News from the National AAPT Meeting in Chicago
Valentine's day was a sweet day for the St. Louis Area Physics Teachers. At the national AAPT meeting in Chicago, the council approved our request for section status! SLAPT was well represented by Val Michael, Gary Taylor, Jen Goldsberry, Jim Borgwald (also representing MAPT) Igor Proleiko (with family!) Tom Foster, and Mark Schober.
As a new AAPT section, I highly encourage you to become a member of the American Association of Physics Teachers.
For a short time, AAPT is offering FREE one-year memberships to new members! Take advantage of this fantastic deal, and encourage your colleagues to do the same. Renewing or lapsed members can also use the form below.
Download and print the form:
http://www.aapt.org/Membership/upload/Section-Application-2009-Free.pdf
Fill it out.
Mail it to AAPT. (Okay, it will cost you a stamp.)
Why should you become a member?
There are nice tangible benefits: you will receive both Physics Today and either the Physics Teacher or the American Journal of Physics (your choice) in addition to online access to the magazines. AAPT sponsors contests, awards, pre-college and college teacher training programs, programs for physics students, two national meetings each year, facilitates collaborations between all sorts of physics teachers, and provides grants to sections.
Perhaps more importantly, though less tangibly, is that AAPT is our professional organization, and that membership is a professional responsibility. AAPT supports what we do, recruits and trains new teachers, voices our concerns to legislators, and boosts the prestige of our profession.
Additionally, our new AAPT section status gives SLAPT greater visibility and recognition in the national physics teacher community. Our involvement in AAPT through membership and participation in national meetings will further boost the strength and quality of service SLAPT provides to our members.
