Montessori Muddle – Page 191 – Middle and High School … from a Montessori Point of View

A sailing game that explores the trans-Atlantic triangular trade

Wind patterns over the North Atlantic Ocean had a huge effect on the colonization and history of the Americas because, after all, all they had were sailing ships. The circular, clockwise winds meant that it was easiest to sail south and west from Europe, and when you did, the first place you arrived at in the New World was the Caribbean or the northern edge of South America. This helps explains the first settlements of the Portuguese and Spanish, and why the latecomers, like the British, ended up further north up the coast of North America.

Using wind data from the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) and Google Maps I created an online sailing game I call Mariner AO. The game is pretty simple (basic instructions are here), you tell your ship which direction to go, starting off near Lisbon in Portugal and sail the Atlantic. What makes it interesting is that you can go wherever you like and make your own objectives. All that limits where you can go is the fact that you can only sail within 90 degrees of the wind. It’s very Montessori in that you have choice within limits.

The game is most interesting, I think, if you set objectives like trying to sail the triangular trade route, Europe (Portugal) to Africa (Dakar) to America (Charleston) and back to Europe again. The general clockwise wind pattern is persistent throughout the year, but sometimes you need to wait until the wind changes to be able to reach your objective.

Alistair Boddy-Evans has a nice article on the triangular trade of European manufactured goods to Africa, African slaves to the Americas, and plantation crops back to Europe.

I really like this game because it integrates so much. Atmospheric circulation, slavery, colonization, and even the physics of sailing if you can and want to get into it. In fact, I think it’s enough to base an entire cycle of work around. I’m still taking comments about how to improve the game.

Clouds on Mars

Discover Magazine blogger Phil Plait has a great post showing clouds formed by air rising over the volcanic mountains on Mars (orographic clouds). The simple animation is fascinating to see, but what’s even more interesting is how they were made. The images were taken by Emil Kraaikamp who uses a telescope in what appears to be his backyard. Each image in the series that makes up the animation is a composite from images taken with red, blue and green filters. Plait has a very good explanation of the process:

I love this, because it shows how using filters tells you a lot about what you’re seeing. Note that in the red Mars is fairly smooth, with some dark spots. The red dust covers the planet, so it smooths out features (though the ice caps are obvious). In the green you’re just starting to see a hint of clouds, and then in the blue the clouds pop right out.

Combine them, and you have Mars. Another world, seen through what most people would consider a small telescope here on Earth.

Photography is a wonderful medium for combining science and art as you manage the exposure to create interesting effects. If you understand a little about how cameras work, the page on the equipment used to take the pictures is quite fascinating.

Gravity wells

Gravity, as we know, is proportional to the mass of an object. The above graph shows the amount of space affected by the major bodies (planets and moons) in the solar system. The gravity well is a measure of how far you would have to go to be able to escape the gravity of a planet.

The things you can do with vinegar and baking soda

vinegar-baking_soda — Acetic acid and sodium bicarbonate

I like to do as much science as I can using everyday materials. When it comes to basic chemistry the vinegar and baking soda reaction is one of the easiest, safest and useful you can come across. Wayne from www.apple-cider-vinegar-benefits.com has a great page on simple experiments from basic volcano building, to stoichiometry (using a balloon) and demonstrating endothermic reactions (but you’ll need an accurate and fast thermometer).

Mass, acceleration and Christmas trees

Combining math, science and culture. Christmas tree rocketry.

Auto-Tune and the trajectory of fads

This intelligently done history of Auto-Tune is wonderful for several reasons. First, it has a simple, elegantly executed story arc, where it describes the trajectory of a fad from introduction to over-exposure to parody/remix and finally to a new equilibrium. And it discusses these concepts in a clear and entertaining way.

Know Your Meme: Auto Tune (featuring “Weird Al” Yankovic) from Rocketboom on Vimeo.

Second, Auto-Tune is a great example of something that was created for one purpose but finds a new life in a completely different discipline. The technology was created for analyzing seismic signals in petroleum exploration before being applied to music. It is amazing what can come from working with people of diverse backgrounds, and having a broad appreciation of the world. Group work is important.

Third, in touching on parody, it brings up an issue that adolescents, in particular need to understand; parody is not just a cheap joke, it has something important to say. It uses humor to address significant issues:

While making fun of something is easy [mockery], parody requires a study of both technique and form, before creating its own recontextualization.

Third, the overexposure stage of fads and memes is something everyone should be aware of. The meme infiltrates so many aspects of the culture that it becomes irritating. As a Middle School teacher I see it primarily in the language my students use. By introducing this concept to my student, we now have a common language for talking about at least one type issues in the classroom.

Finally, equilibrium. An important concept in natural and social science, the concept is neatly encapsulated in how the fad starts off small, overshoots and gets smaller but does not disappear as there remains some lower level of use.