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Plastic-Eating Bacteria Discovered!  March 14th, 2016

A SMILE Teacher sent us an article to share with all – scientists have discovered a species of bacteria that can slowly digest polyethylene terephalate (PET), a common plastic that is in polyester fabrics and water bottles. It was previously believed that this material was not biodegradable and no microbes could break it down. This may be an important breakthrough in reducing pollution and cleaning up our oceans.

Check out the full article here!


Middle School Challenge is Coming Up!  March 4th, 2016

Our Middle School Challenge is rapidly approaching, so here is the next video from our Mechanical Engineering team. Please share with your students prior to the Challenge!

 


Gel Beads at Warm Springs!  February 5th, 2016

Warm Springs Elementary School took our Gel Beads activity for a spin last week after we shared it at our Winter Teacher’s Workshop. The students sure looked like they had fun and learned lots! Check it out below:

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Strengthening Communication for a Supportive SMILE Community  February 4th, 2016

From our January Teachers’ Workshop:

We have compiled the activities that we facilitated during the workshop as well as a few others from the Teaching Tolerance resources (http://www.tolerance.org/). We hope that you incorporate one or more of these activities into your club meetings as a way of preparing for the upcoming Challenge events!

Strengthening Communication Activities – This is an overview of the activities we did during the workshop and a few more you might be interested in.

Happening Handshake Activity Slips – These are the slips for the first activity.

Communication Activity Handout Slips – These are the slips for the nonverbal communication activity.


It All Comes Down to Glucose!  February 4th, 2016

From our January Teachers’ Workshop:

Thanks to Brain Hartman from the College of Education for sharing this bioenergy activity with us at the workshop.

2000px-Beta-D-Glucose.svgIt All Comes Down to Glucose Lesson Plan

It’s All About Glucose Powerpoint Presentation

 


Our Changing Oceans: Ocean Acidification Across Geologic Timescales  February 4th, 2016

From our January Teachers’ Workshop:

Thanks to Assistant Professor Dr. George Waldbusser and Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Annaliese Hettinger,  from the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences for partnering with SMILE and sharing the following activity with teachers at the workshop:

Ocean Acidification Lesson Plan

 

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Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering  February 4th, 2016

From our January Teacher’s Workshop:

Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering Powerpoint PresentationFactory_Automation_Robotics_Palettizing_Bread


Wave Power Generators  February 4th, 2016

From our January Teachers’ Workshop:

Here are the Wave Power Lesson Plan, Wave Energy Engineering powerpoint presentation, and Wave Energy Converter Diagram from the Wave Power Generators session at the workshop. Thanks to Kyle and Emily from Precollege Programs!

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Wave Energy Lesson Plan

Wave Energy Engineering Presentation

Wave Energy Converter Diagram