Minecraft Build Challenge: Photosynthesis and Respiration

I have found that Minecraft, as an educational tool, is very effective in helping students understand science concepts. When students are tasked with a “Minecraft Build Challenge” in my classroom, they are required to demonstrate modeling skills, solve problems, practice engineering principles, and have fun. Though the ‘fun’ part is what the students see first, […]

The science behind a video game character: Super Mario’s Piranha Plant

In a land filled with a vast underground network of pipes and Bowser-busting plumbers, it can be hard for a plant to lay down roots. Especially when fireballs periodically scorch the landscape. But the Piranha plant has developed special adaptations to not only survive, but to become one of the most dominant plants in the […]

“Feed Me Seymour!”

Despite the nightmares that we all experience as we recall the man-eating plant that Seymour grew in the hit horror musical “Little Shop of Horrors,” natural selection has not yet yielded a species of plant that feeds on humans. But as humans, we sure do like to imagine the possibilities! Ever since carnivorous plants were […]

Periodic Players: Oxygen

The periodic table of elements… if you are still reading this I am pleasantly surprised! Ever since high school chemistry, the periodic table of elements has become taboo mixed with unpleasant recollections of memorizing each element along with its (sometimes perplexing) atomic symbol. Well, now that I have the worst part out of the way, […]

Rock + Plant + Animal = Coral?

As a junior high science teacher, I teach a wide variety of scientific subjects. This year, we have already covered plants, animals, and rocks. When we learned about plants and their unique ability to perform photosynthesis (a process that converts Carbon Dioxide and water into food for the plant using sunlight as its energy source), […]