As we dip our toes into 2023, here at hBARSCI, we’re looking back on last year’s blog posts. In the following, we touch on some of our favorites across 2022. So come along! Learn something new, snag an at-home science experiment to share with your kids, and join us in celebrating a year of science.
We started off 2022 by celebrating Isaac Newton’s birthday on January 4, then explored how snow was made, why matter matters (spoiler alert: it’s because everything in our world is made of it!), and finally, we reviewed a few popular kinds of puzzles, including the Rubik’s Cube, jigsaw puzzles, crosswords, and tangrams.
February kicked off with our first of many sets of at-home experiments for kids, all centered around wintery themes. We celebrated National Periodic Table Day (February 7), National Engineers Week, and some of the most influential Black scientists who have impacted the fields of computer science, aerospace engineering, physics, mathematics, and psychology
As we eased into spring, we learned more about how and why we have seasons on Earth and celebrated influential women in science, Pi day (3/14 of course!), as well as the vernal equinox, during which the sun’s rays strike the planet exactly perpendicular to the Earth’s surface at the equator.
In April, many people honor Earth Day and Arbor Day by thinking about what they can do to help a world struggling with the effects of phenomena such as climate change. To point you in an impactful direction, we shared how to get involved in citizen science—or research conducted by amateur or nonprofessional scientists.
We celebrated National Robotics Week, or RoboWeek, which took place April 2–10, shared four of our favorite spring-themed at-home science experiments, and called out five scientists of AAPI descent who have played or are playing an important role in shaping the future of the scientific community and beyond.
Every May in the scientific community gets rolling with May the Fourth; to celebrate, we explored the science of the lightsaber. As a nod to the contributions of Bertrand Russell (born May 18, 1872) to the fields of mathematics and philosophy, we took a look at the barber paradox (A barber states that he shaves all who do not shave themselves. So who shaves the barber? Any answer to this question contradicts the barber's statement. Check out this video for an animated description of the paradox.)
May also featured the International Day for Biological Diversity (May 22), so we explored what biodiversity is and why it’s important. We rounded out the month on a lighthearted note by acknowledging a lesser-known holiday: National Paper Airplane Day! It should come as no surprise that paper airplanes are not just toys but can provide a lesson in engineering.
In June, we celebrated four LGBTQIA+ STEM innovators, highlighting their contribution to their fields, World Oceans Day (June 8), and finally, we looked at lightning—National Lightning Safety Awareness Week is observed every year in the third week of June. Did you know that an estimated 1,000 people get struck by lightning each year in the US alone?
In July, we focused on sets of at-home science experiments you can do—experiments to keep the July 4 Independence Day celebrations going, and experiments designed to reinforce skills and knowledge kids at the elementary level are developing.
We also looked at the difference between astronomy and astrology: Though the practice of astrology and the science of astronomy have common roots, their distinction is important when it comes to what you hope to learn when you peer through the lens of a telescope.
The heat of summer took us to a much cooler place: the moon. In this post, we discussed the Apollo 11 moon landing, which happened on July 20, 1969. And bringing you back down to Earth, we suggested four of our favorite at-home experiments that target middle grades learners before they head back to school.
As always, September geared up with a review of some back to school basics in the laboratory, where we point you to additional resources across our blog. Mid-September features three independent yet intertwined events:National Pollution Prevention Week, International Coastal Cleanup Day, and World Cleanup Day, so we explored how we can incorporate them and their missions in our homes and classrooms.
Finally, we acknowledged the International Day of Scientific Culture (September 28), which focuses on activities and institutions that provide ways for people to appreciate science as an important part of their lives.
In October we brought back our Science in the News column to check out the success of NASA’s recent planetary defense test run by the Planetary Defense Coordination Office, which hopes to be able to protect the planet from asteroids and comets that orbit the Sun like planets, or other near-Earth objects. We also celebrated National Chemistry Week, which runs from October 16 through October 22, by exploring four chemical reactions that you experience every day.
And, of course, we got spooky with science and explored dark matter—what is it? How do we know it’s there?
November kicked off with National STEM/STEAM Day on November 8, so we explored how and why the day of commemoration began, and why getting STEM/STEAM concepts into people’s (and especially kids’) lives is so important! No blog in November would be complete without tacking one of the month’s favorite themes: food! So we took on the world of gastronomy, the art or science of good eating.
Finally, we touched on one of our favorite topics here at hBARSCI: magnets! Explore the mysteriousness of magnets at home with these four experiments.
2022 ended on a simple note: keep the magic of science alive during the holidays, with four at-home experiments. Thank you for coming along this year, and we can’t wait to share our love of the scientific world with you in 2023!
