Investigate at Home: Outdoor Scavenger Hunt March 31, 2020
Posted by Sean Musselman in Burlington Community, Science Center.Tags: distance learning, K-5, outdoor learning, video
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With distance learning now picking up steam in Burlington and across the country, Ms. Pavlicek and Mr. Musselman are sharing their “outdoor scavenger hunt” here for all to use and or modify to meet their own learning needs and environment. Our scavenger hunt focuses on participants seeking out different, producers, consumers, decomposers, and other environmental features in their surrounding environment (while practicing proper social distancing of course!)
Outdoor scavenger hunts like this allow children of all ages to practice good observation skills and wonder about the world around them. Here are some tips from Ms. P to get you started:
- Use your senses! (listen, feel, smell, look…but no tasting)
- Take time to look/feel/smell closely
- Pay attention to details-focus on properties (size, color, texture, shape, hardness, weight)
- Roll over a log or rock to observe, but be sure to put it back when you are done
- Remember! Use caution when touching animals. Be kind to all living things and return them where you found them.
There are two versions of our scavenger hunt to meet a range of student ages and learning needs. The link here brings you to both scavenger hunt worksheets and a facilitation guide for coordinating adults. Happy hunting!
MSMS Lego League Teams featured on BCAT News November 5, 2018
Posted by Sean Musselman in Burlington Community, Student Work.Tags: MSMS, news, programming, robotics, technology, video
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Thanks to BCAT for doing this great feature on our FIRST Lego League teams at Marshall Simonds Middle School. The teams, led by Mr. Marino, Mrs. Lynch, Mrs. Shea, and Mr. Walsh are administratively supported by Mr. Musselman at the Burlington Science Center. Their regional competition is scheduled for Saturday, November 17th at Blackstone Valley Regional High School from 8:00-3:00 for those interested in attending!
Sharing Resources and Experiences with “Computerless Coding” at #EarlyEdCon October 15, 2018
Posted by Sean Musselman in Science Center.Tags: Grade K, professional development, robotics, technology, video
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Over the weekend Mr. Musselman shared his experiences and resources with a dozen early childhood educators around developing computational thinking for our youngest learners. His workshop, “Computerless Coding with Young Learners” featured a brief overview around what state and national frameworks say about computational thinking and computer science standards K-12 learning strands before giving educators and opportunity to explore a number of devices the Burlington Public Schools currently have and use at their schools.
PreK and Kindergarten teachers from Burlington to Bourne attended and had the opportunity to explore four different devices, Code and Go Mouse, Cubetto, KIBO, and the junior of them all, the Codepillar!
Teachers appreciated the opportunity to play-test and develop their own understanding of constructing and running “algorithms” using a variety of visual representations each device uses. Many rejoiced when ambitious challenges were completed and everyone felt like they experienced an authentic early childhood learning model, learning by playing!
Modeling Changes to Earth’s Surface: Where Would You Build? April 11, 2018
Posted by Sean Musselman in Science Center, Student Work.Tags: earth science, erosion, Grade 4, human impact, Pine Glen, video
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Pine Glen fourth graders got an opportunity to play waterfront developer during their stream table investigation this week. After creating what was discovered to be a model stream/river and beach, students were given the opportunity to decide where they would build homes on the landform site.
Some went for big risk, big reward while others took a more conservative approach. In the end many realized that the power of moving water was a force to be reckoned with! Along the way they considered how their small scale model might provide evidence for how larger landforms such as canyons and deltas form on our Earth’s surface.
Exploring Circuits with Mrs. Tate’s 6th Graders March 29, 2018
Posted by Sean Musselman in Science Center, Student Work.Tags: electricity, Grade 6, technology, video
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In anticipation of working with Makey Makey sets later next month, Mrs. Tate invited Mr. Musselman in to explore circuits with her 6th grade small groups.
Open investigation was the play of the day with Mr. Musselman sticking to overarching essential questions, “Where does the energy start, where does it go, and how does energy transform as it moves through the electrical system?”
Students troubleshot battery orientation, buzzers that only allowed electrical flow in one direction, and light bulbs of varying resistance and illumination capacity. Successful circuit systems were recorded with their iPads for further reflection.
Mr. Musselman also left electromagnetic hand-crank generators for further investigation of electricity flow and the concept of alternating currents with Mrs. Tate for future classes. We are excited to see what her students come up with when they bring their computer science skills into the equation and start developing programs that can be controlled through their Makey Makey sets.
MSMS Devilbotz Rise and Inspire at Lego League Regional Qualifier November 19, 2017
Posted by Sean Musselman in Burlington Community.Tags: MSMS, programming, robotics, technology, video
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In just their second year the Devilbotz of Marshall Simonds walked away from their FIRST LEGO League regional tournament with hardware, winning the overall Inspiration Award and Judges Award while advancing one of their four teams to the state qualifier next month.
Coached by MSMS science teachers, Jane Lynch, Jourdan Marino and student mentors from the Burlington High Devilbotz, the team was an formidable presence in the stands overlooking the competition fields and in the “Pit.” Burlington red stood out against other teams from Arlington, Andover, Waltham, Belmont, Scituate, and the hosting City of Newton.
“Los Chum Buckets” anxiously watch their robot leave the base!
On the robotics fields, “Los Chum Buckets” and the “Savage Seven” led the team, with their robots performing multiple challenges in one string of code. Elsewhere, Burlington’s all-female, “Diamond Dragons” excelled in the Core Values challenge, where teams work together under tight time constraints to solve an engineering problem. The Diamond Dragons also earned the “Inspiration Award” as well, given to the team demonstrating extraordinary enthusiasm and spirit.
At the end of the tournament, it was team “H2O Flow” that took the top prize for Burlington, earning a trip to the State Qualifier next month and the “Judges Award” for their problem solving perseverance when told they could not use water in their presentation demonstration (but managed excellent scores anyway!)
Throughout the entire competition the teams demonstrated “Gracious Professionalism” toward each other and their fellow competitors. The event ended with a dance party seemingly led by the Devilbotz and Savage Seven’s, “Jackie the Shark.
Congratulations to all of our teams as the MSMS Devilbotz continue to rise in the region as outstanding competitors. Mrs. Lynch and Mrs. Marino were enthusiastic about the great gains the team made this year and hopes to see many return next year when a whole new set of challenges and real world problems await to be investigated and overcome.
BHS Helpdesk Senior Constructs BEF Funded “Augmented Reality Sandbox” June 23, 2017
Posted by Sean Musselman in Burlington Community, Science Center, Student Work.Tags: earth science, technology, video
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After two years of planning, designing, and construction successes and setbacks the BEF-sponsored “Augmented Reality Sandbox” has become a physical reality! Several students from the BHS Helpdesk have put their efforts towards this project, a tool designed to engage and support student learning around earth systems, watersheds, topography, and geologic hazards just to name a few. It has been the work of graduating senior, Eddie Reiss that has brought the project from pen and paper to fruition. During his time in the fall as a HelpDesk member Eddie “speced out” the necessary hardware, investigated different style projectors and sandbox sizes before ultimately falling on the design featured above. In the closing weeks of his tenure at BHS he took on the construction of the project as an individualized learning “internship”. The completion of this project means that with some minor additional work to be completed over the summer hitching the computer to the base of the portable sandbox and running cables up one of the posts, the sandbox will be ready for classrooms in the 2017-2018 academic year! The sandbox will also be featured at the 2017 MassCUE annual conference in the fall.
The Burlington Science Center would like to thank LeRoy Wong for overseeing Eddie’s work over the school year and most importantly the Burlington Education Foundation, or “BEF” for their support of this grant and several other grants over the years that have allowed us to continue to bring innovative tools and curriculum to our K-12 students. To learn how you can volunteer or financially support the BEF visit their website: www.burlingtonedfoundation.org
BHS HelpDesk and Science Center partner to build “Augmented Reality Sandbox” December 9, 2016
Posted by Sean Musselman in Science Center, Student Work.Tags: BEF, earth science, programming, technology, video
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Students, Eddie Reis and Jinzhen “Hugo” Hu have been furiously working to bring a Science Center BEF grant vision to reality. As the holidays approach we checked in with these students to see how far they had come with the future Science Center crown jewel, the Augmented Reality Sandbox!
As you can see, the kinks are still being worked out and the entire project is not yet mobile, but we are confident this project will come to full fruition in the coming months as the technical and structural glitches get worked out. Eddie and Hugo also plan to add in the watershed and precipitation features to the software. The AR Sandbox will be on display and available for students to explore during the Hour of Code week scheduled for the week of December 12th.
Using Models to Investigate Forces & Motion September 27, 2016
Posted by Sean Musselman in Student Work.Tags: forces, Francis Wyman, Grade 3, Grade 4, Memorial, modeling, Mr. Musselman, video
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In anticipation of Rocket Day 2016, fourth graders all over Burlington have been exploring forces and their effect on an objects motion. In a new twist on a tried and true “Tug-of-War” lesson, Mr. Musselman introduced PhET models to classrooms at the Francis Wyman and Memorial schools. Using their iPads, students were able to access the free models and explore the cause and effect relationship between the forces being applied by the tug-of-war participants and the effect on the large cart of candy in the middle. Check out these student pictures and videos to see how students constructed their own understanding of forces and motion through this very cool simulation!
Summer Robotics Students Launch into a World of Programming and Engineering July 29, 2016
Posted by Sean Musselman in Science Center, Student Work.Tags: engineering, Mr. Musselman, programming, robotics, summer program, video
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The Burlington Science Center’s summer robotics program has found its rhythm in its third year of operation. A mix of incoming third, fourth, and fifth graders joined the second session of summer programs at the Memorial Elementary School from July 18th – 28th.
During the first week, students engaged in a series of challenges as NASA Jet Propulsion Lab engineers charged with constructing the next Mars rover. Robots were built to exact “NASA specifications” before being programmed to travel precise distances, take tight corners, use touch and ultrasonic sensors to navigate unexplored terrain and light sensors to detect signs of valuable minerals or follow pre-constructed paths on the colony grounds. Each challenge was scaffolded to challenge the engineers to design robots and programs of increased levels of sophistication.
Along the way our students engaged in questions about what roles could and should robots play in our world both now and in the future. Students created and shared Explain Everything presentations illustrating their imagined worlds in which robots completed chores and cleaned up the environment, expressing both the benefits of a robotized society and the challenges (such as jobs and “money loss” that would be faced as a result.)
Our students’ progress and accomplished feats were documented along the way on the Burlington Science Center instagram page. Check it out directly to see all of the fabulous work captured by our students!
The Burlington Science Center 