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Five Reasons Anti-Evolution Measures are a Bad Idea

In 1925, John Scopes, a high school biology teacher, was put on trial in Tennessee for having the audacity to teach evolution to his students. In the 21st century, teachers don't have to worry about being arrested for teaching this fundamental topic in science, and the Supreme Court declared teachi...
April 04, 2011 | By Sarah Zielinski

How to Find Trustworthy Science and Health Information

I can see why some people might long for the good old days, when medical advice came from your doctor, news from your local paper or Edward R. Murrow, and science news from a specialty publication like Scientific American. Today, we're overwhelmed with sources of information, with hundreds of telev...
March 02, 2011 | By Sarah Zielinski

Looking Forward to the International Year of Chemistry

The United Nations has dubbed 2011 the International Year of Chemistry, with the unifying theme "Chemistry—our life, our future."The goals of IYC2011 are to increase the public appreciation of chemistry in meeting world needs, to encourage interest in chemistry among young people, and to generate...
December 30, 2010 | By Sarah Zielinski

Great Science Books for the Little Ones

How do you raise a miniature scientist? Start with books, of course. Below is a list of my favorite children's science books from the past year (if you're looking for other types of kids' books, Smithsonian.com will have our annual list of notables online later this week):Adventure Beneath the Sea,...
December 13, 2010 | By Sarah Zielinski

The Calculus Diaries

Though I was a very good at math in school, I usually found the subject incredibly boring, so much so that I often slept through class (teachers didn't mind as long as I aced the exams). The one exception was a college math course for biologists that gave us real-world problems like figuring out th...
August 31, 2010 | By Sarah Zielinski

Be a Science Fair Judge

Last week I was a judge for the local EnvironMentors Fair (a science fair with an environmental theme). Thirty-one high school students were competing for scholarship money, the chance to compete at the national fair this week and, of course, bragging rights. This was the first time I'd been to a s...
May 17, 2010 | By Sarah Zielinski

A Level Playing Field for Science

I suppose, in a way, I should thank the woman who tried to compliment me when I was in high school by saying that I was too pretty for science. What she was really saying was that girls don't belong in science, and that got me so riled up I'm still ticked off nearly two decades later. But at least ...
March 23, 2010 | By Sarah Zielinski

The Greatest Hits of Science

The American Association for the Advancement of Science hosted its annual festival in San Diego this past weekend. It's a serious scientific meeting complete with plenary sessions, lots of PowerPoint presentations and rows of posters, but it's also a big party for people who care about the big pict...
February 22, 2010 | By Laura Helmuth

The Science of the Olympics

I've always been a fan of the Winter Olympics, but a bout with the flu in 2002 that kept me at home watching TV for a week made me an addict. But it's not just about watching hours of skiing and skating. There's science, too, and it seems to be everywhere this year. Here are some good resources and...
February 17, 2010 | By Sarah Zielinski

Elementary School Teachers Pass on Math Fear to Girls

We know that girls can do math, and be very good at it. But a new study published this week in PNAS shows that some girls in elementary school aren't learning just how to add one plus one—they are learning that girls should be scared of those numbers. Just like their teachers.University of Chicago ...
January 26, 2010 | By Sarah Zielinski

Test Your Science Knowledge

Every two years, the National Science Foundation publishes a huge collection of science statistics, their Science and Engineering Indicators. One of the more depressing sections is the results of their latest survey of science literacy. This is where you learn things like one out of five people don...
January 19, 2010 | By Sarah Zielinski

UPDATED: Small Victory for Science -- Previously: Texas Science Education Stands at the Edge of the Abyss

UPDATE: According to a report from the Dallas Morning News, the Texas Board of Education rejected  restoring the "strengths and weaknesses" proposal by a 7-7 split vote. A final vote will come on Friday, but the vote is expected to remain deadlocked.My freshman year of high school, when the teacher...
March 26, 2009 | By Sarah Zielinski

The Amazing Randi on YouTube

Here at Smithsonian, we’re big fans of the Amazing Randi, not least because he’s a fan of the magazine (he told us so). He’s a professional skeptic (in a good way) and has made a career out of debunking paranormals, faith healers and other frauds. In 1996, he founded the James Randi Educational Fou...
January 15, 2009 | By Sarah Zielinski

Center for Peace and Reconciliation

Colombia Dispatch 10: Education for Demobilized Forces

In exchange for laying down their arms, soldiers from Medellin's armed militias are receiving a free education, paid for by the government
October 29, 2008 | By Kenneth Fletcher

“I always knew strongly who I was and what I was supposed to do,” says Wiki (here at the mouth of the Klamath River on the Yurok Indian reservation in Northern California).

Making the Grade

Yurok Indian Geneva Wiki is helping other young Native Americans "develop their best selves"
October 2007 | By Katherine Ellison

“He’s changed the whole environment,” a fellow educator says of Gonzalez (at Middle School 223, March 2007). Though many of his students come from poor or unstable homes, “he’s shown that all kids can read, all kids can write.”

Organizing Principal

In the South Bronx, Ramón Gonzalez gives a troubled middle school a kidcentric makeover
October 2007 | By Paula Span

Riceville, Iowa, was the unlikely setting for a controversial classroom exercise created by Jane Elliott. She insists it strengthened their character. Critics say it abused their trust.

Lesson of a Lifetime

Her bold experiment to teach Iowa third graders about racial prejudice divided townspeople and thrust her onto the national stage. Decades later, Jane Elliott's students say the ordeal changed them for good
September 2005 | By Stephen G. Bloom

A doctor before she became an educator, Maria Montessori developed strategies and materials that, a century later, are being adopted by more and more classrooms (such as this one in Landover, Maryland).

Madam Montessori

Fifty years after her death, innovative Italian educator Maria Montessori still gets high marks
September 2002 | By Nancy Shute

The Last Schoolhouse

When a handful of senior citizens revisit the school they attended years ago, they become children again
August 2000 | By Rudolph Chelminski

Around the Mall & Beyond

To teach elementary school science, says the ten-year-old National Science Resources Center, there is nothing better than getting young hands on simple experiments to learn more about the world
September 1995 | By Michael Kernan


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