Education

One of our goals at the Stoneburner Gardens is to educate people of all ages and inspire STEM education. To help achieve this, experiments, demonstrations and information will be scattered throughout the gardens, buildings, and even the parking area.  These experiments and demonstrations are to be designed to teach all ages simple to complex information of how the world works from a non biased view. 

Each experiment will show:

  1. Information (if available) explaining it and how it works
  2. Different educational levels: These different educational complexities each designed to force people to learn (or relearn) beyond their level.
    • Child – Elementary school to Middle School
    • Teen- High school Level
    • College Student – level of Undergraduate college student in same field
    • Graduate Student – Master to doctorate level in same field
    • Expert – New Information for continuing education of Graduates and experts
  3. Supporting info and any (scientific) counterpoints or incomplete data. Possible applications with science. 
  4. Online “to learn more” web page that is accessible through our websites. Some education will be more in depth than others.

Example Signage: Telescope: (Beside a telescope is set up to see distant parts of the gardens and sky). There will be warnings of not looking into the sun posted though the telescope would be angled to made this difficult.

  • Educational signage
    1. Child – What are telescopes?  An instrument or tool that uses lenses and sometimes mirrors to make distant objects appear larger.
    2. Teen – There are many different types of telescopes. The two main types of telescopes are reflecting and refracting. The reflecting telescope single or a combination of curved mirrors that reflect light and form an image. The refracting telescope uses curved lenses to bend light and form an image
    3. Undergraduate – The math/physics explaining how lens and mirrors convex/concave light to focal points with each color
    4. Graduate student – Designs and applications on different wavelengths other than visible light including radio and gamma, Diagrams and how they work including math well.  Ways to improve them by compounding design, computers, and tricks like gravitational lensing and how that works.
    5. Expert (not always available): Discussing Newest designs such as James Webb, What wavelengths they measure and their new discoveries
    6. Bonus: Explaining the drawbacks of the main types of telescopes as well as applied science applications known with cameras, satellites, military etc. With online resources.

Educational Topics

  1. Young Scientists

    1. How to research

      1. Scientific Method, How to Start, How to publish, How to research, Hands on experiences Create and buildRadios Circuits  Simple machines – Machines/levers/pulleys  Tensegrity structures

    2. Experiments

      1. Lariat chain, Foucault pendulum, Cavendish’s torsion-bar experiment, Galileo’s experiments with rolling balls

        1. Different Slopes/hills, Solid vs hollow objects, Light versus heavy

      2. Eratosthenes’ measurement of earth’s circumference, Discovery of infrared Density – Tungsten, Iron, Magnesium cubes

    3. History 

      1. Discuss scientists their field and accomplishments to it and humanity Examples

        1. Tesla, Edison, Curie, Hamilton, Rosalind,  Franklin, Galileo, DaVinci, Archimedes, Haytham, Zhang, Heng, Newton, Boyle, Mendel, Carver

  2. Science in plants

    1. Krebs cycle – obtaining energy growth, Reproduction, Defenses

      1. poisons, irritants, medicines, antidotes

    2. How plants grow, Plant structures, Receptors

      1. plants sense light, temperature, humidity, chemical substances, chemical gradients, reorientation, magnetic fields, infections, chemistry of burning/fire, tissue damage and mechanical pressure.

  3. Water

    1. Chemistry

      1. Why ice floats Density Dissolving materialsChemical reactions with water

    2. Reactions to waves

      1. Frequency of water: 23-25 Hz Waves in waterSlit/double slit screenLaminate vs turbulent 

    3. Other effects

      1. Water cycle Osmosis Capillary effectHydrostaticsHydrodynamicsHydraulic jump Pythagoras cupHeron’s Fountain

  4. Light 

    1. EM Spectrum – Radio waves to gamma waves explained

      1. Polarized light experiments Ultraviolet and infrared camerasRadar and radio explained 

    2. Colors/pigments – color wheel

      1. Addition, Subtraction, and Structural Colorization

        1. Imaginary/Impossible/chimeric colors

          1. Yellow/blue, Reddish green,Stygian blue,Self-luminous red, and Hyperbolic orange

      2. Colors other animals can see

        1. Tetrachromacy, ultraviolet

    3. Other Light

      1. Fluorescence, Phosphorescence Bioluminescence, Chemiluminescent, Iridescence

    4. Light Affects/eyes

      1. Color Blindness

        1. Deuteranopia, Protanopia, Tritanopia, Achromatopsia

    5. Prisms/Mirrors/lens/lasers 

      1. Young’s light interference experimentPolar lightBrewster angleRayleigh ScatteringTotal InternalReflectionDispersive RefractionNewton’s decomposition of sunlight with a prismSpectrophotometer

    6. Dichromatic

      1. Pumpkin seed Oil

    7. Optical Illusions

      1. Benham’s DiskTwo color projectionDelboeuf illusionJastrow IllusionPonzo IllusionNewton’s Disk

  5. Pressure 

    1. Interactions between Pressure/Temperature/Volume Wind Flags weighted (fly at different wind speeds)BarometerAplications

      1. Flight/hot air balloons/planes/rocketsHydraulics/Pascal’s law/fluid and gas lawsFluid dynamicsTesla ValveAnemometerHygrometerTrompeArchimedes screw

  6. Sound 

    1. Chladni plateAcoustic tweezers Rubens tubeMusical Instruments Wave experiments/science Sound dampening walls

  7. Electricity 

    1. Van de Graaff generatorTesla Coil Faraday cageAmmeter

  8. Magnets 

    1. Fields and effects Copper/magnetsCompassOerstedDiscovered ElectromagnetismRailgun/Bullet train

  9. Mechanical 

    1. Simple Machines 

      1. Pulleys

        1. FixedMoveableCompound

      2. inclined planes Levers

        1. Classic I – rampClassic II – leversClassic III – balance

      3. Wheel and axial

        1. gears

      4. WedgeScrew

        1. Lead and pitchLeft vs right handedness (clockwise vs anticlockwise)

          1. E.i. The left hand pedal vs right on a bicycle

    2. Complex machinesOther

      1. Mass DamperSisyphus table (kinetic table)

  10. Accuracy and Precision

    1. Sir Whitworth 

      1. Three plate method

  11. Mathematics 

    1. shapes/hexagons and energy Concentric circles/tree rings fractals in nature Fibonacci spiral 

      1. Golden ratio/spiral; silver ratio/spiral, etc

    2. Trigonometry

  12. Density

    1. Ice/alcohol; lead and aluminum Buoyancy, water Weight/mass/density differences Hydrometer

  13. Astronomy

    1. Scale accurate solar system

      1. I.e soccer ball size earth with pea size earth several acres away.

    2. Telescope/observatory, Sundial/Obelisk

      1. Use a building/tower, Have little sundial

    3. Navigation

      1. Global satellite positioning Celestial

        1. Sextant

      2. Orienteering

        1. Compass

    4. Spectra of Stars/Absorption lines (combine with light), Solar days

  14. Gravity

    1. Relativity Center of Mass 9.8m/s2Vacuum feather and ball

  15. Energy

    1. Movement  InertiaPotential and kineticForce/work/power 

  16. Basic Chemistry

    1. Acid/baseOrganic/inorganicHydrophilic/hydrophobic

  17. Animal Science

    1. Animals/insects common in the gardens Senses not in humans: echolocation, electroreception, hygroreception, infrared sensing, pressure, water current detection, polarized light, slit sensilla

  18. Human Science

    1. Senses of the body and how they work

      1. Main: Sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing Other: Thermoception, proprioception, nociception, equilibrioception, mechanoreception

    2. How the body works