Results tagged “kids” from 60 Second Science

Almost everyone — even the scientists among us — have likely had a brush with a lame science project of our own. I'll own up to copping out with the ubiquitous and ultra-lame "see what light grows plants best" experiment, and I seem to remember presenting a science project that had something to do with popcorn cooking times. Not my brightest moment.

But it takes real ingenuity to come up with a science project this great:

Check some more after the jump:

Continue reading 'Gallery: Most hilarious kids' science projects EVER' >

Ever since my folks moved to the foothill mountains of Colorado, they've been unable to shake a preternatural fear of predators and wilderness. My dad used to have a situation room dedicated to cougar sightings, and both parents worried that bears lurked on every corner, ready to raid fridges and steal babies. (Never mind that you'll see more Audi SUVs than apex predators in the foothills).They've gotten a little better, but not much — every time they step off a paved road, it's an opportunity for wilderness to swallow you whole. I've always thought a little time spent camping in the wild might help cure them of their phobias, but they've never gone.

But it turns out they're not alone: Recent research shows that backpacking and national park attendance has been steadily on the wane since 1987, and David Biello, of our better-dressed older brother Scientific American, wonders if fear might cause Americans to shy away from recreation in the natural world. When compounded with work and school pressures, the rising cost of park visits and the preponderance of electronic entertainment, the desire to enter and experience the wild falls of sharply.

Patricia Zaradic, of the Environmental Leadership Program and co-author of the report published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, estimates that it would take 80 million park visits this year to bring per-capita attendance numbers to 1987 levels. Zaradic and University of Illinois at Chicago researcher Oliver Pergams analyzed trends in visits to national parks and forests, state parks, surveys on camping and the number of hunting or fishing licenses to determine the extent of the decline. Every single outdoor pursuit they analyzed peaked between 1981 and 1991 and has declined roughly 1 percent per year since for an overall decline of around 25 percent.

Continue reading 'Big bro asks: Are Americans afraid of the outdoors, or just too invested in TV and 'those damn video games?'' >

Now I feel cheated that I didn't get high every time I swallowed my Legos. An Australian craft toy called Bindeez has been recalled because the easily-ingestible pieces contain chemicals that turn into the famed date-rape drug GHB when eaten. Whoah! "Don't cry, little Jimmy -- the shaking means you're just gettin' used to ridin' the grape dragon!"

A popular children's toy found to contain a chemical that the human body turns into the party drug "fantasy", or "GHB", has been banned in three states and is being recalled by its Melbourne creator.

Three children, two in (New South Wales) and one in Queensland, have been admitted to hospital in the past 10 days after ingesting the toy's beads. The toy is produced by Melbourne company Moose and won this year's toy of the year award at the Melbourne Toy and Hobby Fair. Bindeez consists of colourful craft beads that are joined together to create designs. They are sprayed with water to fix them.

Continue reading 'Best recall ever: Australian toy turns into DRUGS' >