NSTA podcasts
NSTA currently offers three series of podcasts:
- Lab Out Loud®, a biweekly podcast hosted by science teachers Brian Bartel and Dale Basler, who discuss science news and science education with leading scientists, researchers, science writers, and other important figures in the field. A selection of links and notes accompanies each episode, enabling the listener to dig deeper into the topics discussed.
- Behind the Books, conversations with authors of NSTA Press® books. In these interviews, authors share insights about their work. Whether or not you’ve read the highlighted books, we think you’ll find this podcast interesting, thought-provoking, and helpful.
- Blick on Flicks, reviews of first-run movies and new DVD releases by Jacob Clark Blickenstaff. Prof. Blickenstaff helps turn "bad science" into teachable science for middle level and high school students.
You can subscribe to these podcasts and enjoy them whenever and wherever it’s most convenient for you!
Also of interest …
How does a ballpoint pen work? What does science have to do with Valentine’s Day? What’s different about Einstein’s brain? Listeners will learn the answers to these questions and many more when they tune into Science on the Radio, a 90-second science information segment featuring Marvin Druger, professor of biology and science education at Syracuse University and Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence. Druger is a past president of NSTA.
The Expanding Universe and How to Teach It
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V.M. Slipher
In 2012, the 100th anniversary of a universe-changing scientific discovery slipped by almost entirely unnoticed. It was in September 1912 that astronomer Vesto Melvin Slipher made the first redshift measurement of our neighboring Andromeda galaxy—a discovery that paved the way to the understanding that our universe is expanding. And last month at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, home to that historic discovery, a small group of science historians, astronomers, and astronomy educators gathered to celebrate that event at the Origins of the Expanding Universe conference.
In this NSTA podcast episode, audio producer and sound recordist Diane Hope, PhD, hears from a variety of conference participants on some background to the expanding universe—and gets their suggestions for how best to teach the it (a subject that even Einstein found challenging!) as well as how to best convey the scaling of the universe, our galaxy, and solar system. Suggestions include creative use of common kitchen items, Play-Doh, as well as art and dance.
Participants featured are (in order of appearance): Michael Way (NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York), Karl Glazebrook (Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia), Mary Kay Hemenway (University of Texas, Austin), Deidre Hunter (Assistant Director of Science, Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, Arizona), Daniel Armstrong (Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia), Chris Impey (University of Arizona), and Matt Stanley (Gallatin School, New York University).
Running time: 16 minutes 16 seconds. Recorded and produced by Diane Hope (www.dianehope.com) on Twitter @dihope7 & on SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/diane-hope.
Helpful web links & related material
For younger kids
For advanced students
General reading
- Dava Sobel's last three books—most recently on Copernicus
- Stuart Clark's top 10 most approachable astronomy books
Top 10 astronomy books for kids