HMS Beagle Science Blog

First Science Quiz Bowl - Follow-Up

2011-03-03T06:44:00.004-06:00

As some of you will no doubt know, we tried something new last Monday. With help from River's Bend Restaurant and Bar (in the old Parkville Power Plant), that night was the innaugural Science Quiz Bowl.

Some forty people turned out (not bad for Parkville on a Monday night) to answer questions in twelve different categories of science knowledge. Teams were composed of families, students, interested adults, and even the Parkville Chamber of Commerce (which managed a respectable third place)! The winning team, from Park Hill South high school, scored their game-winning finish by knowing (surely not guessing) that one of the elements responsible for the green of an emerald is chromium (the other, according to Mindat, is vanadium, which some of you will know is responsible for the blue-green color of the mineral cavansite). We apologize to everyone who guessed "copper" - actually, it was more of a trick question than originally anticipated.

We'd like to thank everyone who came out, and we hope that everyone had a great time, and possibly even learned something. Watch our Facebook and Twitter feeds for more information for the next time!

Thoughts on Darwin Day, 2011

2011-02-12T09:10:00.002-06:00

Every year on this date, many scientifically-minded people enthusiastically celebrate the life and work of at least one world-famous scientist, namely Charles Robert Darwin, born 12 February 1809.

If they are also rather historically-minded, they will probably also cite the seemingly remarkable coincidental nearness of the birth of the sixteenth U.S. president, Abraham Lincoln (indeed, an entire book, Adam Gopnik's Angels and Ages compares their two lives at some length). Mineralogists and geologists will doubtless also wish to include American mineralogist, geologist, zoologist, and author of the landmark System of Mineralogy, James Dwight Dana into their commemorations on this day, although he was born four years later, in 1813.

These celebrations are, in and of themselves, a good thing. They encourage scientific and historical literacy. They raise awareness of important figures in history (and, like him or not, few people knowledgably contest Darwin's contributions to the history of science). They open up a world of opportunities for discussion.

This year, however, things have gone a step further. As reported, particularly in a number of secular and humanist sources, Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) put forward a bill calling on the U.S. Congress to officially recognize February 12 as Darwin Day. This notion, to some scientific rationalists, might give pause. here is Representative Stark's quote on the matter:

"Darwin's birthday is a good time for us to reflect on the important role of science in our society,” Stark said. “It is also a time to redouble our efforts to ensure that children are being taught scientific facts, not religious dogma, and to fight back against those who seek to undermine the science of climate change for political ends."

The only qualm that I have with that statement is the choice of the day. Ensuring that children - and adults - are taught fact rather than dogma is imperative. Honesty and truth in assessing the real dangers of climate change are vital. But bearing in mind the current Republican majority, and their apparent aversion to science and apple jingoism, does approaching a group who often have a knee-jerk hostility to the name "Darwin" and suggesting that it might be good to have an official Darwin Day seem like a good idea? Did we mention that he was British? So, really, is this the best use of our time and resources?

Don't misunderstand me: I enjoy and wholeheartedly support the panoply of unofficial, ad hoc, and totally off-the-cuff Darwin Day activities that are on offer these days. Seemingly in the past decade or so these events have sprouted like fungi in a fairy ring, and it has been a great thing to see. But should Darwin's birthday be the focal point of pro-science, pro-reason public displays? Should we, in fact, put Darwin's birthday specifically up on a pedestal?

Currently, America has no official National Science Day, or Week (at least, not one that I can find). Some other countries, like India, do, which resulted in some confusion when the Beagle's first Science Quiz Bowl was being planned (it's on 28 February, more information here). The National Science Foundation does sponsor other events, and there are many unofficial and regional or local science fairs, science Olympiads, and quiz bowls, but there apparently hasn't been a proper National Science Week in America since 1999. So does that make Darwin Day the best de facto substitute?

On the one hand, it's an appealing notion: to take part in an international celebration of science, on the same day, all around the world. And, again, don't misunderstand: I know, without any shred of doubt, that the facts of the natural world and the applied weight of multiple areas of science as we now understand them unequivocally demonstrate the veracity of evolutionary theory, and that Darwin and Wallace were the first to fully see the first glimmers of that truth. I also know that a single pre-Cambrian rabbit (to paraphrase J.B.S. Haldane) would undermine it at a stroke, and that such a find would present fascinating new challenges, but I honestly don't have any reason to suspect that it will ever happen.

But I wonder what Darwin, that quintessential exemplar of the retiring and private man, would have thought of being the focus of so much admiration, celebration, and the like. I suspect that he might have been amused, but that, more likely, he would have been mortified. And I suspect that he might have had some of the same objections that I have to celebrating his birth in this way: it smacks a bit of deification. It seems to elevate a single man above the accumulated knowledge of the field that he revolutionized. does that mean that it's a bad idea? Again, I wonder, and this is all little more than conjecture. Fodder for discussion. Food for thought.

Could we better celebrate science as a whole on another day? Pi Day (14 March), maybe? Moon Landing Day (20 July)? DNA Day (based on the publication date of Watson & Crick's paper, 23 April)? There are many possibilities, and I sometimes wonder if the best answer isn't to simply make every day a day to celebrate science. Or perhaps better still: when we don't use some aspect of science and the resulting technology in our daily lives, those can be the days when we can also take time off from our recognition of the fundamental importance of science, and discovery, and free enquiry unfettered by political whims and denialism, in all of our lives.

Resurrection of the Blog

2011-02-03T07:21:00.003-06:00

It's been too long since there has been a posting on the Beagle's science blog. Apart from the fact that we've done many, many regular updates on the Beagle's Facebook group, and on our Twitter feed, there's no real excuse for this other than lack of time, maybe even a touch of laziness. So let's try again... hi! Welcome to the H.M.S. Beagle Science Blog.

At the moment, we're in the midst of a nasty cold and snow snap in the American Midwest, in what has been called one of the biggest and most widespread snow storms to hit the United States since the 1950s. In case you were wondering, for the Kansas City metro area, temperatures of minus six degrees Fahrenheit (-21 deg. C) are not considered normal. Not to put too fine a point on it, it has been an interesting few days.

As life returns to normal, we can return our focus to the news: big news, especially, from the beyond our world, out into space. The Kepler mission has come in with big results, including yesterday's announcement of multiple candidate Earth-like planets, and the announcement of a six-planet system, for now known as Kepler-11 ( Science Daily link | BBC News ). Phil Plait of Bad Astronomy is decidedly enthusiastic as well, and he's not alone.

So... a lot going on. Watch the blog for longer articles, more commentary, and keep up with us elsewhere too. Website updates, new and exciting things, and lots of really weird, wild stuff is all in store. Stay tuned!

Praise for the Beagle from a Customer

2010-04-19T14:09:00.004-05:00

Carol & I received a letter (yes, that's right, a letter...the hand-written kind...in the mail!) from a mom. She was thanking us for our efforts with the First Lego League robotics team we fielded this year: The Crash Test Smarties. Anyway, in her letter she closed with this, "In pursuit of the truth in Science and Mathematics, you two are paving the way for a better and more enlightened future for our kids."

We sincerely hope that all of our customers feel this way. This makes all the hard work worth while.

==JFK==

Pure Silver, Anyone?

2010-04-16T13:48:00.005-05:00

I'm mulling over the possibility of offering an intense workshop to teach DIY silver recovery, reclaimation and refining. I have a technique that I have used, and taught to others, that allows one to relatively easily recover and reclaim silver from coins, jewelry, silver plate, etc. and to refine it into a state of up to .999 purity. This three-nine purity is the same as what one gets when purchaining silver bullion whether in the form of 1,000-oz ingots or 1 oz. bars and rounds (coins). If there is enough interest I will set up dates that will work for everyone.
Please tell us at the Beagle if you're interested.

And, BTW, we will be offereing a limited supply of pure silver bars and rounds at the Beagle.

==JFK==

Updates All Over...

2010-04-03T10:22:00.005-05:00

There are many, many things going on at the Beagle right now, and I thought that I'd take a minute here to lay out a few of them for you, faithful reader:

New look website: the H.M.S. Beagle website has been updated to make it easier to navigate and use. If you have questions, comments, or problems, let me know via email - I've got a second generation of improvements planned, but this framework had to go in place first.

Social Networking: we've expanded our presence on Facebook and Twitter. The Twitter updates also fold neatly back into both the main website and this blog (they're over there on the right). Follow us on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook, and keep up with all of the latest happenings at the Beagle. And make certain that you let us know if you became a fan, read the blog, or saw the main website after clicking through our advertisement on Facebook - it'll help us to keep track of how effective those adverts are!

Workshops, Workshops, Workshops: under the Events / Activities tab on the website, you'll find all of the things that we're doing, including the Events Calendar, with all sorts of useful information; updates on our Astronomy-related activities, including Star Parties, Telescope Basics Workshops, and Star-Hopping Workshops; additionally, we have Workshops in Chemistry, Electronics, Robotics, Rocks & Minerals, and Rocketry planned for the summer, take a look at those listings as well!

Fossil Digs: we're very, very excited about our upcoming Fossil Digs, including our First Trilobite Jam in Delta, Utah this July, and our usual Science Club fossil digs in June. Make sure that you plan to attend, and let us know via email if you have questions!

Special Events: right now, we're delighted to be planning a party on a Sunday, 11 April 2010 for Yuri's Night, and international celebration of manned spaceflight (sadly, I'll be out of town for this, but I'm hoping we'll get to swing by the one in San Francisco). The Beagle's Yuri's Night fun will include a showing of "October Skies", free rocket launches (bring your rocket!) in association with the Kansas City Rocketry Association (KCAR), and an evening of star-gazing with Leif! All of this fun is free for the whole family (weather permitting, of course); check out our Special Events Page for more information.

So that's what we've been doing, instead of writing blog entries... There's a great deal going on at the Beagle, and we hope that you'll stop in, sign up, and support us in continuing to provide great science-based activities in the Kansas City area!

MSNBC: UFOs over Cleveland?

2010-03-15T23:10:00.002-05:00

Typical of the ignorant mis-comprehension of the mundane workings of the natural world, the mainstream media (MSNBC specifically) turn to a pseudo-scientific hack to explain something that he doesn't understand and therefore implies that it must be something "other-worldly."

And my response sent to "Contact us-MSNBC.com": "I just saw a report from MSNBC about "UFOs" over Cleveland. The "expert" you had on to talk about the lights doesn't know anything about the night sky. What you could have done was had someone on who knows something about lights in the sky. An astronomer, even an amateur astronomer, could have told you that this light is the planet Venus, which is in the western sky right now for a couple of hours after sunset. When it gets close to the horizon it appears to flicker and change colors when its light refracts as it passes through Earth's atmosphere. The next time you want to "get to the bottom" of a mystery maybe you could consult a scientist instead of a crank."

Just a hint to UFO hunters: if an object appears in the sky at the same time every night, travels across the sky at the same rate as the stars around it, and sets in the west, it just might be an astronomical object.

"Polonium Halos" in Granite

2010-03-08T16:31:00.004-06:00

As often happens we get visitors to the Beagle that like to try out their knowledge on us "sciencey" types. A gentleman was looking at Polly in our front window this afternoon. When I told him it was a nearly complete fossil of an adult Psittacosaurus that was 125 million years old, he replied, "you don't really believe that do you?" I allowed as to the fact that I neither discovered the fossil nor dated the fossil itself, but was confident that it had been properly dated most likely based on several factors. He than said, "how do you explain the fact that granite contains polonium, since polonium has a half-life of only a few seconds?" I replied that I didn't have to explain it, but I did tell him that polonium has isotopes that range in weight from 194 to 218 and the natural isotopes have half-lives ranging from 0.145 seconds to 102 years.

After he left I did some data mining on-line and found a short article that is spot on point:

"Creationist Robert Gentry has argued that ring-shaped discoloration (halos) in primordial granite rocks are the result of damage from alpha-particle emission by radioactive isotopes of the element polonium (Po). Since radiogenic polonium has a very short half-life (usually measured in fractions of a second), Gentry argues that, if granite takes thousands to millions of years to form as mainstream geology believes, any polonium originally present would have decayed away long before the granite could have formed and could not have produced these (halos). Therefore, he feels that their existence is evidence for an instantaneous and recent creation of these granite rocks, and by extension the Earth. The following articles point out the flaws in Gentry's argument.
"Polonium Haloes (sic)" Refuted
Professional geologist Tom Bailleul takes a second look at Gentry's claimed polonium (halos), arguing that there is no good evidence they are the result of polonium decay as opposed to any other radioactive isotope, or even that they are caused by radioactivity at all. Gentry is taken to task for selective use of evidence, faulty experiment design, mistakes in geology and physics, and unscientific principles of investigation and argument style.
Evolution's Tiny Violences: The Po-Halo Mystery
Amateur scientist John Brawley investigated Gentry's claims directly by studying local rock samples, and concluded that there is no good evidence that these "polonium" (halos are actually produced by polonium at all, as opposed to longer-lived radionuclides such as radon or uranium."

This was taken from: http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/po-halos/.

Participate in Midwest Precipitation Measurements

2010-03-08T10:47:00.005-06:00

We are on a weekly email blast from Earth Gauge which keeps us updated on the global climate change situation. The following item arrived today and I thought many of you would find it interesting and would want to participate:

Parkville, MO
Link: http://www.earthgauge.net/2010/march-madness-2

Earth Gauge: March Madness
It’s March Madness for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) – they want to see how many volunteers sign up this month to measure precipitation in their backyards. CoCoRahS is a nationwide network of citizen scientists who are measuring and mapping precipitation in their communities. CoCoRaHS volunteers help to provide quality rain, hail and snow data used by the National Weather Service, hydrologists, emergency managers, city utilities, engineers, ranchers and farmers, teachers and a range of other interest groups.
Viewer Tip: CoCoRaHS is in all 50 states! Sign up to become a Volunteer Observer with CoCoRaHS in your state to help this network grow. You can volunteer to measure precipitation as an individual or as part of a community or school group. Check out http://www.cocorahs.org/ to learn more.

(Sources: Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network. www.cocorahs.org; “About Us,” http://www.cocorahs.org/Content.aspx?page=aboutus)

Let us know here at the Beagle if you do, in fact, decide to participate. Additionally, why not post you findings here and/or on our FaceBook page?

Rock Tumblers Redux: Looking at the Stages of Tumbling

2010-02-10T17:31:00.007-06:00

Several weeks ago, I posted an entry to the blog about how to work with your new rock tumbler (this of course assuming that you had received one at some point). Six weeks into my own experimenting with rock tumbler, I'm back with a few lessons and things that I've gleaned from my own experience, which I hope will be helpful to you.

Tumbling is typically a multi-week process, depending on the materials that you choose and the kind of polish that you are hoping to achieve. The choice of materials is important, as tumbling something rather hard with things that are soft will tend to result in the soft things being smashed down into tiny bits. To be certain of the hardness of the materials with which you are working, it's essential to have either a good rock & mineral field guide (I've got about a half dozen), all of which will give you the hardness of most anything you are likely to be tumbling, as presented by the Mohs Scale of Mineral Hardness, which ranges from 1 (talc), to 10 (diamond). If you pick up a field guide and it doesn't have this basic information, put it back on the shelf and find something else. You can also use online resources to determine the hardness of your material: the most thorough of which I am aware is Mindat, which is currently a free site (although with a free registration you can have access to more features). Even with care taken in selecting which minerals and rocks you tumble, you should still expect for anywhere from a quarter to half of the volume to disappear into your slurry bucket.

Polish is also a consideration: some people will like their stones to have different lustres, so it does come down to individual taste. Personally, I want to see just how brilliantly reflective I can make some materials, so I am experimenting with a range of stone.

Assuming that you are indulging in a basic four week-long process, you will also want to choose your grits with care. Before I'd started working with a tumbler again - after a gap of many years - I had expected that four standard grits made of silicon carbide would be sufficient, and hadn't really understood the importance of the pre-polish and polish phases. I can now tell you that these are crucial (this probably should have been self-evident). The pre-polish and polish phases, both accomplished in my case with very fine aluminium oxide polishes, are essential... if you want your tumbled stone to shine, that is.

Time is also an important variable. Your tumbler should come with a guide, or you can find them on the web with relative ease (also in my last post). On my first attempt through the whole of the process, I allowed at least a week for each tumbling stage. This may have been overkill, but on the other hand, I was recently told of a man who left his rough in the final polish phase for something on the order of six weeks! This is probably unnecessary, at least at first. Follow the guides to begin with, until you will get a sense of which materials will require longer than others in the various stages. Again, this often comes down to personal taste.

One thing that is somewhat annoying is that, for the cleaning phase, the use of Ivory Snow flake detergent is often recommened, at least in North American guides. Unfortunately, this product no longer exists. However, if you can't find another plain, pure, unscented soap, the workaround is simple: find a bar of Ivory Snow soap (which does still exist), or any other basic unscented Castille-type soap (Pure & Natural also comes to mind), and use an old cheese grater to make your own flakes. It may help to dry the soap out a bit first - put it in a warm, dry place for a few days, then grate. You will now have soap ideal for use the cleaning phase of tumbling.

Rock tumbling seems, in the shiny new digital 21st century, like something of an anachronistic pursuit, and perhaps it is. But it is also one which connects us with the realities of making something, of doing something, rather than simply paddling around in the virtual pool. Hopefully, you will take as much enjoyment from it as I am.

New Merchandise from Tucson - Part 2

2010-02-05T09:45:00.006-06:00

We have been able to purchase some exceptionally nice Lamna species teeth as well as Megalodon teeth while here in Tucson. The latter are very nice indeed in that they vary considerably in color rather then being just the run-of-the-mill black. For the Lamna teeth one must always look for the cusps on either side of the main tooth. If the cusps are missing the tooth isn't as valuable.

The Lamna teeth are almost always white to a light tan in color and are very sharp!

The Megalodon teeth are the right in these pictures and the Lamna are directly above on the left.

Below, on the left are teeth from the mosasaur species globidens. These were shell-crushing aquatic reptiles that died out 65 million years ago. Most of you are familiar with the more common mosasaur teeth we sell, but these are entirely different and much rarer.

Below on the right are ammonites from Madagascar. These have been polished to expose the sutures that marked the separations between the internal air spaces the animal used for buoyancy.

Finally, we have also been acquiring some minerals specimens, and for the first time we have purchased some polished quartz crystals about 1.5" to 2" long. These are pictured below.

New Merchandise from Tucson

2010-02-04T17:30:00.006-06:00

Here are some photos of the merchandise we have acquired here in Tucson. First we bought some fossil fishes from the venerable, jolly and highly knowledgable Bob Finney. We bought three larger plates and 65 unprepped 4" to 6" "singles". The latter will be put in our Fossil Prep kits we. The former are pictured here; the first is a triple plate with two Knightia and a Diplomystus:

The above place is ~18" x ~14". Next is a 12" x 12" plate with a large Diplomystus:

Finally, we acquired a very nice Mioplosus and preditory perch that lived in the lake 55 million years ago. This plate is 12" x 8":

Those of you who really like Fossil Lake fishes from Wyoming should stop by the Beagle next week to see these pieces in person.

Where we stay in Tucson during the TGMS

2010-02-02T10:09:00.005-06:00

For those of you who have not visited our the home of our friends, Joe and Cheri, in Tucson we wanted to show it to you. We have enjoyed Joe and Cheri's hospitality for 6 years during our visits to the Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil show. In fact, it was Joe and Cheri's insistence that we stay with them and visit the show back in early 2004 that first brought us here.

Anyway, to take a look, visit this web site: www.longrealty.com/AZ/Tucson/85718/homes-for-sale/5441-E-Gleneagles-Dr-46575313, and take a virtual tour of their home, which is now for sale. Any of you wishing to purchase a new home in beautiful Tucson could certainly do far worse.

We'll be on our way again today for more exploring and buying. Keep watching for information on the new merchandise we will be acquiring.

Also, please post any comments, especially if there is something in particular you would like for us to acquire.

Let's take a trip to Utah to collect Trilobites

2010-02-01T18:21:00.006-06:00

Well, while here at the Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Show Carol and I found a group through which we can offer a trip for 10 to 12 persons to dig for Trilobite fossils in Western Utah. We'll have lots more information here, as well as on our web site, but the important thing is, "all fossils discovered during the (dig) belong to the person who discovers them! (n)o mater how rare or valuable they may be." We want to offer this trip to our Beagle Society and Science Club members and families first.

Those of you who went on the Great Montana Dinosaur Hunt will recall that we could not keep anything that was of significance to the permit holder. However, just like that trip, HMS Beagle will be handling all of the trip details including lodging, meals, access to the collecting site (over 300 sq. miles) and more. There will be bonfires each evening, fantastic scenery (the West Desert of Utah), workshops on digging techniques and field curation of specimens, and at leaast 20 different species of Trilobites can be found on this largely unexplored land.

The two gentlemen in the picture are Jake Skabelund and Jason Cooper. They will be the hosts for the dig. Let us hear from you if you think you will be interested in this experience.

Science Gifts Unwrapped: the Microscope

2010-01-27T09:53:00.005-06:00

Here's a nice daydream for you. You've been given a microscope for the holidays, for your birthday, for St Swithin's Day... whatever the occasion, you've got a terrific gift on your hands. So now what do you do?

Science writer Natalie Angier put her view on the matter in this way in her excellent book, The Canon:

"Another fail-safe way to change the way you see the world is to invest in a microscope. Not one of those toy microscopes sold in most Science 'n' Discovery chain stores, which, as Tom Eisner, a professor of chemical engineering at Cornell, has observed, are unwrapped on Christmas morning and in the closet before Boxing Day... it wasn't until my daughter received a dissecting microscope as a gift, and we began using it to examine the decidus of everyday life, that I began yodelling my hallelujahs. A feather from a blue jay, a fiddlehead fern, a scraping from a branch that turned out to be the tightly honeycombed housing for a stinkbug's eggs. How much heft and depth, shadow and thistle, leap out at you when the small is given scope to strut..."

-- page 24

Almost any microscope will open up a world of wonder and amazement for you, if you give it a chance. Life on earth, after all, began with the very, very small. Much of what goes on in the world around us, and indeed passes unnoticed, is a result of processes taking place at the level so minute that human eyes require mechanical aid to see it. What is the largest and most successful class of living organism on the planet? If you said bacteria, then you're exactly right.

There are a few simple things to remember, before you even get started:

The microscope is only as good as its parts. By this, I mean that if you buy the inexpensive microscope with plastic optics and expect to be able to see wonderful things through it, you're probably in for a disappointment. It's not a universal law, as there are some good inexpensive 'scopes out there, but basically, you do get what you pay for. And I mean that in the nicest possible way.

Bells and whistles are good. You will find that the more flexibility that your microscope offers you, the more possible uses you will likely find for it. Interchangeable eyepieces and objectives, binocular / dissecting versus traditional design, multiple light sources with a rheostat, adjustable stages, compatibility with digital camera add-ons - these are just some of the things to consider. You'll want to get the most out of your microscope, so why not make it as flexible as possible?

Consider what you don't know. Then get a book. Two books, even. Books will give you some great ideas for basic sorts of experiments, and serve as a guide to the basic equipment that you'll need to go with your microscope.
Here are some possible books to consider, from the shelves at the Beagle...
- Star Levine's The Ultimate Guide to Your Microscope - colourful and well-illustrated, with lots of discussion of technique and the fundamentals of microscopy. Indispensible, especially for younger readers.
- Richard Headstrom's Adventures with a Microscope - I'm a huge fan of Dover Books, and this is a wonderful reprint. Don't let the fact that it's almost 70 years old fool you - this is a great book, filled with lots of practical exercises and possessed of a quirky, idiosyncratic style. Headstrom also wrote Adventures with a Hand Lens, which I heartily recommend.
- Georg Stehli's The Microscope and How to Use It - another Dover book; the discussion of microscope technology will interest anyone who likes to know about the history of science, but it is somewhat dated now. The rest of the book, however, is again full of practical, sensible suggestions for projects and explorations with a microscope.

Attend a class. Even audit a local university-level biology class, or look for a workshop (we've got one in the planning stages at the Beagle, watch this space for details). If you studied biology at university, or way back in high school, you'll want a refresher course.

Slides: making your own, buying prepared. Personally, I think it's good to do both. You can get a basic slide preparation kit from us, or put together your own, suited to your own interests and requirements.

It's your microscope: do what you want to do. The possibilities of the micro world open up just as readily as do those of the macro world with a pair of binoculars or a telescope: don't miss your chance to see all things miniature.

The Galileo Project

2010-01-25T10:58:00.002-06:00

The International Year of Astronomy may be over but the celebrations of Galileo continue. This Sunday, January 31, at 4pm, The Friends of Chamber Music present Tafelmusik -- The Galileo Project: Music of the Spheres at the Folly Theater, 300 W 12th St., Kansas City, Mo. This concert will include NASA/Hubble Space Telescope images, live narration, and even some music by Galileo's father, the famed lutenist and music theorist Vincenzo Galilei.

In addition to the music and images, there will be a lecture beginning at 2:30 on "The Life and Inventions of Galileo," featuring facsimile copies of first edition books by Galileo courtesy of Linda Hall Library.

For more information check out http://www.chambermusic.org/Default.aspx?tabid=137

For tickets go to http://www.chambermusic.org/Default.aspx?tabid=194&CategoryID=2&List=1&SortField=ProductNumber%2cProductName&Level=1&ProductID=49

What We're Reading

2010-01-18T22:34:00.003-06:00

You could imagine that we're a bookish lot, and to a great extent that is true. One of us, of course, is fond of claiming that he has no time for anything but work or school, but personally I suspect that such a statement is really just a cover for various nefarious activities. Nevertheless, it remains true that we tend to read a lot, each in our own areas of interest and speciality.

One thing that we are reading, however, is Michael Faraday's 1861 classic, The Chemical History of the Candle. Originally presented as a popular lecture, the Chemical History is a beautifully clear and cogent introduction not only to Victorian chemistry and physics, but to the fundamentals which we still must understand 150 years later. Clearly, cogently written and accompanied by a range of experiments, this book represents some of the best of 19th century popular science.

And further, these are experiments which cry out to be performed. Some of the demonstrations and illustrations are remarkably simple. Relying upon simple experimental tools, Faraday's demonstrations are just as impressive today as they would have been in the 1850s and 1860s.

At one point, we had considered attempted to re-stage Faraday's lecture, with a significant number of the demonstrations intact. It would take time and effort, but I think that it would be a great deal of fun and highly informative (aside from which, I'd love an excuse for a round of snap-dragon). Interested? Leave us a comment and let us know if you'd like to see and hear the words of Michael Faraday given new life.

The Elements and How to Keep Them

2010-01-16T20:37:00.003-06:00

Most days, I could go either way when it comes to a certain popular web video site. I have subscribed to some people who post regularly, but I tend to lose interest after a while. In most cases. Not, however, in the case of the University of Nottingham's The Periodic Table of Videos (their main site is here). These videos are genuinely worth your time, even if you don't have the slightest interest in chemistry.

A case in point: their most recent posting, which really deserves a look:

Additionally, around the holidays, this was one of my personal favorites:

Personally, I think these videos are amusing, intelligent, and fascinating. But that's one person's opinion. What's your view? Post it in the comments.

Interested in starting your own collection of elements, but don't have the $2,000 mentioned in the video for even the basic set? You can at least dip your toe in the shallow end - check out those available from the Beagle, by following this link to the webstore:

Native Elements

And if you have your own element questions, don't forget that there's at least one person at the Beagle with more than just a little chemistry knowledge...

High School Students' Science Alliance Update

2010-01-15T08:09:00.007-06:00

I've asked David Dunalewicz, our roving high school correspondent / part-time lackey (don't worry, David, I'm a lackey too), to provide his impressions on "how it went", with regard to the High School Students' Science Alliance meeting which was held last Monday. He's provided this assessment:

"The recently formed High School Students' Science Alliance had their very first meeting on January 11th. We had a very nice turnout, and we got a lot decided about how the group will operate in the future. Those in attendance engaged in a discussion on one of the Beagle's favorite scientists-Charles Darwin-and enjoyed a one hour insight into his fascinating life, and how his observations and research completely changed science forever. We are happy to say that this meeting was a very successful start to the Science Alliance, and we look forward to expanding the group in the future."

This being an undertaking largely by-and-for the high school set, it's a Facebook-driven sort of thingy. So be sure to take a look at the HSSSA (surely there's an entertaining acronym there somewhere) group, or to check out the Beagle's own large-looming Facebook entry, and find out what's going on. You can also email us at the Beagle, or check the Beagle's website. After all, it's what all the really cool* kids are doing...

Congratulations to David and everyone involved, and here's to hopes for many more successful meetings to come!

* "cool" here defined as "those who almost definitely will not have a future career involving frozen slabs of ground beef". Not strictly an OED definition, but you get the point.

Science Club for January: Mr Electricity

2010-01-12T13:02:00.005-06:00

This month at HMS Beagle, Science Club members will be in for a treat when they come to see Mr Lightning (also known as Steven Siegel) put on a demonstration of all things electric. Come and see a Tesla coil, a bicycle-powered light, spark generation, and much more!

Looking for a related gift idea? Here are some relevant sections on the Beagle's webstore, have a browse...

Books - Physics

Books - Physics - Kids

Electricty & Electronics

Remember, HMS Beagle's Science Club presents new and compelling topics in science every month for school-aged students. To find out more, check out our Science Club Meetings page or email us for more information. Please remember that we do ask for reservations in order to ensure that we have sufficient space for participants: email us at the link above to reserve your spot!

The Hubble Space Telescope in Action

2010-01-08T07:50:00.003-06:00

With a hat tip to the BBC's The Big Picture which featured this photo, here is another of those brilliant Hubble images for you to enjoy...

From the article:

"The image shows a rich tapestry of 7,500 galaxies stretching back through most of the universe's history. The closest galaxies seen in the foreground emitted their observed light about a billion years ago. The farthest galaxies, a few of the very faint red specks, are seen as they appeared more than 13 billion years ago, or roughly 650 million years after the Big Bang. This mosaic spans a slice of space that is equal to about a third of the diameter of the full Moon (10 arcminutes)."

Follow the link to Hubblesite.org for the full details and a chance to download larger, higher-quality versions of this image.

New Symphony of Science Video

2010-01-07T12:55:00.006-06:00

I saw the following video posted over at Pharyngula, and thought that it would be worth bringing to the attention of the Beagle's blog followers. It features three great names in science, David Attenborough, Jane Goodall, and the still much-missed Carl Sagan, voices modulated and set to music. I don't know how you feel about these things, but I think they're quite moving and brilliant...

Enjoy. For more, please check out Symphony of Science, especially if you haven't seen the early videos.

Science Gifts Unwrapped: the Rock Tumbler

2010-01-03T19:41:00.004-06:00

I haven't done much with a rock tumbler since I was a child, when one of my father's brief enthusiams led him to play with one and to try and interest me in it as well. For whatever reason, I wasn't patient enough to be interested as a child, but, having worked around them and explained them to people for a year and a half, now, I found myself wanting to try one out for myself.

Strangely enough, therefore, one appeared under the tree for me this year, and once the haze of new gifts had worn off, I found myself eager to set the tumbler up and get it going. A little more than a week later, here's what I have to report.

The tumbler that I received, the Lortone Model #33B (Beagle Webstore | Lortone site), features two three pound capacity rubber drums, which are rotated on a direct-drive chassis. The practical result of this is that you can either double your tumbling capacity over the Model #3A, or you can have two batches at two differing stages of polish running at the same time. Not clear yet? Don't worry, it will be.

Set up is a breeze with a tumbler, but it pays to have thought out your tumbling process, just a bit. First thing out of the box, you'll want to have some oil for the bearings on your tumbler. Lortone recommends oiling the bearings (the four points where the spindles intersect with the tumbler housing) before you start, and then once for every thirty days of operation afterwards.

You'll also want to have a space which is sufficiently remote from the rest of your home that the noise won't be distracting. The rubber-barrel direct-drive tumbler is quiet, but it's still audible enough that it won't be something you'll want in your bedroom. Laundry rooms, basements, or garages are the typical sites. Make sure that you have a level surface, like a workbench or table, with easy access to electricity. You'll also want ready access to water. I don't have any taps in the basement, so until I can come up with a better idea that doesn't involve my having to attempt anything resembling plumbing, I've got a number of buckets - for clean water, and rinse water. And remember - although I'm going to say it again later - NEVER put the water / slurry / waste from your tumbled barrels down your home plumbing. EVER. Why? The slurry, when poured out, tends to solidify into something with roughly the consistency of concrete, particularly at bends in the piping. Find another place to pour it out: it's that simple.

While I'm on the subject of slurry, I've heard it claimed that it's possible to reclaim at least some of the grit for re-use after tumbling. I'll have to report back on this, but at the moment, I'm somewhat at a loss to see exactly how that might be done. Perhaps washing it and then pouring the debris off through filter paper? If you've done this, drop your suggestions in the comments, otherwise I'll re-post when I've tried it.

But back to the subject. Now that you've prepared a work area, and oiled your tumbler, it's time to fill the barrel(s) and get weaving. There are plenty of sites out there, as well as books, that cover this. I'd just add that you need to be absolutely certain that your barrel is sealed. If it isn't, and it starts leaking, things can get very messy very quickly, and your batch won't be properly tumbled.

Choose your rough with care, but feel free to experiment. There's no wrong way to tumble rocks and minerals, and the only way to learn what works in each situation is to make a few mistakes. I started with one of the Beagle's batches of high quality tumbling rough, which is turning out to be a great mix of amazonite, tiger's eye, carnelian, chrysoprase, unakite, rose quartz, amethyst, and others, but you can start wherever you like, with whatever you like. I added the rough to the tumbler, then added the coarse silicon carbide grit and water to the appropriate level. Think of grits like sandpapers - beginning coarse, and then increasingly fine. Then start the tumbler.

Rock tumbling takes time. But you knew that already, right? The first cycle, depending on the hardness of the materials, can take between five and ten days. You should really check every day or two, to make certain that you have no leaks, and that you do not have any build-up of pressure in the barrel. Dip out a stone or two just to see how things are going - even after a few days, you should start to see smoothing of the rougher edges. After seven days, I removed the rough in my first barrel, rinsed it, emptied out the slurry, rinsed and dried the barrel, then recharged the barrel and added the next finer round of silicon carbide grit. The rough was already significantly smoothed and shaped. Filled with water, the process continues, with a second new barrel, beginning again with the coarsest grit, this time with a batch of rough corundum, agate, and hessonite garnet.

That's the process so far. Repeat according to directions, and watch your rough turn into attractive, decorative, and interesting tumbled stones. It's easy, if time-consuming, but the results will delight both you and your friends. So try out your new tumbler, and see what treasures you can produce!

There are sites out there to help you, too, as well as books. Rock Tumbling Hobby, and Rock Tumblers for example, both provide some excellent tips and good information. One other thing that they will mention which I must also say again: NEVER put your slurry down your household pipes. Not in the kitchen, the bathroom, the lavatory or directly into the mains drain. Find a place outside instead, preferrably somewhere that you can observe the accumulation over time, to see why this is such an important point. I'll be watching mine with interest (after things thaw, that is).

Happy tumbling!

Valuable Local Fossil Site Needs Your Help!

2009-09-05T16:56:00.002-05:00

This is an e-mail we received from one of our very good customers:

Hello Paleo fans. A recent visit to the Worthenia site at I-635 and H(ighway)9 revealed to me that the site is rapidly being overgrown by seedlings of the notorious honey locust tree. This is an ominous developement, as this means that in about 2 years the seedlings will form a near impenetrable thicket, complete with long thorns. This site is one of our member`s favorite collecting locations. The site is highly valuable education wise, as it is a fine first collecting site. I first considered returning with a weed eater, but, I think the hardy seedlings would rapidly regrow. Does anyone have a large capacity sprayer they can use? I just have a small unit that won`t finish the job with one filling. I think I would want to do this quickly, as this may not be legal. Please e-mail me, or call me if you can help, or if you have advice. 816-781-5719 Ron

Mineral Identification Workshop: Follow-Up and Bibliography

2009-08-18T13:33:00.001-05:00

While we're on the subject, thanks to everyone who came out for the mineral identification workshop on Saturday, 8 August. We had a lively time and I hope that everyone got something out of it. If you missed it, and are interested in attending a future session, let us know in the comments or by emailing me. I felt that we could have covered more experimentation and less discussion, but as this was the first time out, I wasn't sure how time would ultimately play out. Future sessions will have more direct work of identification, and a lot more discussion of reactions and the chemistry that governs them. It will give me an excuse to do more reading and practising, after all...

In the meantime, here's the bibliography from the workshop. This is by no means every book out there; rather, it is just a selection of what I used in putting together some of the tests and gathering the necessary background material.

Bibliography

Audubon Society. Audubon Society Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1978.

Landauer, J. Blowpipe Analysis. Second, Revised Edition. Translated by James Taylor. Bradley, IL: Lindsay Publications, 1984.

Lewis, J. Volney and Hawkins, A.C. A Manual of Determinative Mineralogy with Tables, 4th Edition. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1931.

Peck, Donald B. Mineral Identification: A Practical Guide for the Amateur Mineralogist. Tucson, AZ: The Mineralogical Record, 2007.

Pellant, Chris. Rocks and Minerals (Smithsonian Handbooks). New York: Dorling Kindersley, Inc., 2002.

Pough, Frederick B. A Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals, Fifth Edition. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1988.

Sinkankas, John. Gemstone and Mineral Data Book. New York: Collier Books, 1972.

Vanders, Iris and Kerr, Paul. Mineral Recognition. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1967.

Useful Websites and Journals

Mindat.org

Mineralogical Record Magazine

Rock & Gem Magazine

Rocks and Minerals Magazine

WebMineral.com

Thanks again, and happy rock hunting!

Philosophy of Science Presentation: Bibliography

2009-08-18T12:59:00.002-05:00

Thanks again to everyone who came out last night for Ginger Nedblake's presentation on the Philosophy of Science. Mystery noises aside, it seems as though a good time was had by all.

As promised, the rest of this entry is part of Ginger's bibliography from the presentation. Email us if you have questions, or post them in the comments. Thanks!

Free Resources

Mid-Continent Public Library has a link for cardholders to online back copies of Philosophy of Science journal

The Linda Hall Library of Science and Technology - Peirce Studies

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - the site includes an RSS feed for new/updated entries

Partial Bibliography

An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science by Rudolf Carnap

Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder - The Introduction to Philosophy course you wish you had.

Godel, Escher, Bach: and Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R. Hofstadter

Philosophy of Science: A Very Short Introduction by Samir Okasha (part of the Oxford Very Short Introductions series - watch for them in the store!)

A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell - a classic

Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge by Edward O. Wilson

Finally: Challenge Your Own Assumptions: Examples

Animal Liberation by Peter Singer

The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty by Peter Singer

Thanks again to everyone, and we'll see you next time!

What is this?

2009-08-10T18:15:00.007-05:00

Okay everyone; what is this? If you think you know and can not only identify this piece of laboratory apparatus, but can fully explain for what it is used and how it works, then we will give you 10% off any one, in-stock item in the store (telescopes and microscopes excluded). The discount may be used for on-line purchases.

To claim your discount be the first to email (1) a correct identification, (2) a short explanation (a single sentence should suffice) of its use and (3) a description of the labeled parts, in the illustration, and their purposes to jfk@hms-beagle.com. I will be the sole judge of the completeness of the answers. Your answer must be receive no later than midnight, Monday, the 17^th of August, 2009.

The winner will be notified by return email. The details of how to claim the discount will be in that email. Good luck.

==JFK==

Platte County's Parks & Recreation Sales Renewal Passes!

2009-08-10T13:08:00.003-05:00

We wish to thank all of our customers and clients who patiently listened to us and read the literature we stuffed into your bags in the weeks and days leading up to the vote last Tuesday (August 4^th) that affirmed the County's request to renew the sales tax for parks and recreation. As we explained to you, both one-on-one and in our various meetings in the store, we think that this is great for Platte County and Parkville and should help us proceed with our stated plans of building an astronomical observatory south of English Landing Centre. We're very glad that you listened and that you voted.

==JFK==

Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Kids Do!

2009-07-04T13:31:00.003-05:00

We at the Beagle are firm believers that every child is born a scientist and will remain a scientist until exposed to someone or a setting that turns them against a life of scientific exploration. Children should be expected to explore, experiment and question. To this end we want to know if there are students, parents and/or teachers out there that would like to participate in a series of workshops in which we explore some of the "dangerous" experiments and demonstrations that are always intriguing and exciting, but which shouldn't be done without a lot or foreknowledge and appropriate planning and safety preparation. If you are interested please post a comment and contact us for a follow-up on our plans.

Make: KC

2009-07-03T18:26:00.002-05:00

Join us for an organizational meeting for
Make: KC
Tuesday July 14, 2009
6 pm to 7 pm: Maker Show and Tell
7 pm to 8 pm: Organizational Meeting

Do you enjoy creating new inventions or taking things apart to see how they work? Maybe you’ve seen some of the Do-It-Yourself projects but you’re not sure how to finish certain parts. This is an opportunity for tinkerers, inventors, makers, artists, and crafters to share your knowledge and inspiration with others from young to old in a family friendly atmosphere. We are planning for this meeting to include some show and tell projects using Arduino microcontrollers, as well as organizational topics and planning for future events as we launch this new group.

The meetings will be held at H.M.S. Beagle, 180 English Landing Drive, Parkville, MO. We have already had interest expressed by the editors of Make Magazine, and it looks like we can expect their wholehearted support.

HMS Beagle Awarded "Coolest Business in K.C." for 2nd Year

2009-06-23T09:40:00.002-05:00

We just received notification that H.M.S. Beagle was awarded the "Coo;est Business in Kansas City" for the 2^nd year in a row. The award is given out by KC Magazine. We will once again be tooting our own horn for the next year. Thank you KC Magazine, the editors and publisher.

Vertebrate Fossils in the U.S.

2009-03-13T09:53:00.006-05:00

All:

I am a member of the Association of Applied Paleontological Sciences, and I am hoping to find support amoung the readers of this blog for help in defeating or removing a provision that was wedged into the recent Omnibus Land Management Act of 2009 in front of Congress. Please read on:

As you may have heard, the Omnibus Land Management Act 2009 was defeated in the House on Wednesday. This act is not part of the stimulus program, nor is it a spending bill. It will adversely affect those of us who hunt, collect, trade and sell vertebrate fossils outside of an academic setting. Just because the House of Representatives defeated it for now, our work is far from over. It will be presented again, as early as next week, and it is imperative that we contact those Representatives that voted Yes and inform them of the big problems with the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act (PRPA), a very small part of this 1000+ page bill. I'm pretty confident that most of the folks in Congress have not read this entire bill and are voting based on the small part of it they want to see passed. That's no excuse and we need to help them be responsible stewards of our country. Tracie Bennitt of Triebold Paleontology, Inc. was personally able to change the vote of her representative in Colorado, Doug Lamborn, by showing him the problems with this bill. Please take action NOW and contact your representative. Here are some talking points for your call, fax, email or letter.

S22 Subtitle D (page 495 of 1248) PRPA Highlights:
The bill requires a federal permit for fossil collecting on federal lands; there is NO exception for casual collectors and permit is still required, and without one a casual collector will be subject to the penalties outlined below:
It requires that ALL vertebrate fossils found on federal lands are the property of the U.S. Government.
Establishes civil and criminal penalties for some fossil activities that are quite commonplace. Local boy scouts and college students could be arrested.
The criminal penalties are felonies in some situations. Child abusers and rapists get off easier than this! And for picking up a fossil?
The federal government is given the powers of asset forfeiture for vehicles, equipment, and fossils collected in violations of these new restrictions.
The bill also contains a provision to condemn private land with funds seized under this act. Your personal property could be taken if the government thinks it's in their best interest! (See United States Code Chapter 44 Title 18) This is in the gray area and we all know how the government can operate in the gray.
Locality data will not be released. This is against all scientific principles of sharing knowledge.
There are still no provisions for the sale of fossils by commercial dealers. You can grind them up into gravel, but not collect and sell them. There has never been an opportunity for commercial collectors to come to the table to present reasonable alternatives for collecting, although the Secretary of the Interior instructed all interested parties, academic, amateur, professional and government to sit down and map this out.
The direct effect of PRPA will be to exclude the majority of those who are currently collecting fossils on federal lands from being able to do so. This will reduce the fossils available for museums and classrooms. The vast majority of amateurs are not operating for profit. Those of us that are will continue to be unable to collect on federal lands. You can get a permit for just about anything else, forest products, wildlife, gas and oil, timber harvest, mining etc. but not to collect fossils. One can even get a permit to go onto federal lands (= public lands) to dig up rocks and crush them into gravel for profit The academic community cannot collect them all and would rather see them turn to dust than show up in a private collection or pay fair market value for someone else collecting it.

So, I urge you to act today. We did make a difference on this vote, but next time round they only need half to pass. Please help.
Now is the time to write your local federal representatives, and let them know where you stand on the bill. Most congressmen have a toll free number listed in your phone book, and on their web sites.

If your not sure how to contact you representative, follow this link; http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102503382295&e=001HBcfHdc5woMJC96tz0phuMrwo1i697R4fr2gdWWL0Iv3oOoDx68_zOwjOfCp5FfCV0v_69WEhdQRNnnz4mhaKuc7vIxNvkv7t_LdVdGdFZ17NNLdp64C6OYGepj-uMPT
Senate votes - see Colorado
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102503382295&e=001HBcfHdc5woPfNrjV_dHCvM_TFmyvYcNqohFBNeVwDV4s2Gl6TpsTsat3gTGcC301hxBByqVi49KBTSVdkNrApm4NBQ9qF11x_zDMuYHI9B3rZNMRWVHrbMOaU7sKzc67Dy7lA-Z2I8ym_ZbdBJ0k5bmOceoxYs4G
House Votes -- by member names: Lamborn, Coffman, Markey, Salazar, Polis, DeGette, Perlmutter
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll117.xml

Thanks to Tracie Bennitt of Triebold Paleontology, Inc. for preparring the bulk of this posting. I hope you will help in this endeavour and contact your representatives. If you do so by e-mail please c.c. (or b.c.) me at jfk@hms-beagle.com.

==JFK==

member AAPS

EuroTool lapidary & jewelry working tools

2009-03-04T14:42:00.003-06:00

By the time you read this post we will be awaiting our first shipment of EuroTool tools and equipment for lapidarists, jewelers and hobbyists. This will be another line from a local, Kansas City area, company, and they join Garmin, Donnegan, Ken-a-Vision, and Midland Radio as the lines we carry that are made in our area.

Very soon now these new items wil be on our shelves and in our on-line catalog.

==JFK==

Correcting an error...

2009-03-04T14:21:00.003-06:00

This past Saturday we had the last monthly session for our Science Club members in the 4th through 8th grade on Charles Darwin. During that session I misspoke and created an error that, I am sure. led to a misunderstanding of my point about relatedness among species. My point was intended to be about the well-known cichlid fishes (Family: Cichlidae) of Lake Victoria in East Africa. Prior to the 1980's there were known to be several hundred species of small, mostly in-shore cichlids in the lake. By that time, however, the introduction of the Nile perch (Lates niloticus) had started to take a noticeable toll on the endemic fishes and their total numbers as well as the number of species began to drastically disappear.

This kicked in high gear a world-wide effort to stop the species loss, and the Victorial Species Survival Plan (VSSP) was instituted whereby zoos and aquariums and private individuals were to hold in captivity, for the purposes of captive breeding, select species whose offspring would them be reintroduced into the lake.

Studies of the genetics of a group of fourteen, obviously distinct, species of these colorful fishes led to the discovery that there were fewer genetic differents among those fourteen species than there were (are) between any two individual humans, and all humans are of the same species!

My error came about when I substituted the word more for the word fewer.

==JFK==

No More Copernican Theory

2009-02-26T08:23:00.002-06:00

I received official warning today from Cardinal Bellarmine that I am not to teach or defend the Copernican Theory whereby the Earth moves around the Sun.

--Galilei
26 Feb 1616

Yay! No Moon!

2009-02-19T17:36:00.004-06:00

This is a great weekend for observing as the light of the moon won't be washing out all the deep sky objects.

Starting in the solar system, though, we can observe Venus in the southwest after sunset. It's the brighter-than-any-star star-like object. Just about any telescope will show you what phase Venus is in.

Around midnight Saturn is high in the sky. It's hanging around the back legs of Leo right now. It's a fairly bright star-like object, a little cream-colored. Just about any telescope will show you the rings around Saturn. But this year the rings are nearly edge-on, so look for a thin line or ring around the planet.

A little later than Saturn, this year's bright comet (so far), Comet Lulin, is still brightening. From a dark location, I've read, you can see the comet with the unaided-eye. Lulin will be brightest the night of 23-24. Will it be bright enough to see with the unaided-eye from Parkville?

This is the time of year for observing open clusters. On Taurus' back is the Seven Sisters, or the Plieades. To the unaided-eye it looks like a very tiny Little Dipper. In even the smallest of 'scopes it looks like a swarm of stars.

North of Orion in the constellations of Gemini and Auriga are four of my favorite star clusters, all of them Messier objects (so they're fairly bright). M35 in Gemini is a star cluster I call the Soccer Ball because it sits at the feet of Castor, one of the twins of Gemini. Three clusters lie right in a row northwest of M35. These are M36, 37, 38 all in southeastern Auriga. A small to modest-sized 'scope will bring all of these into view.

Clear skies and enjoy.

Our Telescope

2009-02-19T16:08:00.002-06:00

About 10 months ago a rumor came to our ears that a spyglass had been made by a certain Dutchman by means of which visible objects, although far removed from the eye of the observer, were distinctly perceived as though nearby. About this truly wonderful effect some accounts were spread abroad, to which some gave credence while others denied them. The rumor was confirmed to me a few days later by a letter from Paris from the noble Frenchman Jacques Badovere. This finally caused me to apply myself totally to investigating the principles and figuring out the means by which I might arrive at the invention of a similar instrument, which I achieved shortly afterward on the basis of the science of refraction. And first I prepared a lead tube in whose ends I fitted two glasses, both plane on one side while the other side of one was spherically convex and of the other concave. Then, applying my eye to the concave glass, I saw objects satisfactorily large and close. Indeed, they appeared three thimes closer and nine times larger than when observed with natural vision only. Afterward I made another more perfect one for myself that showed objects more than sixty times larger. Finally, sparing no labor or expense, I progressed so far that I constructed for myself an instrument so excellent that things seen through it appear about a thousand times larger and more than thirty times closer than when observed with the natural faculty only. It would be entirely superfluous to enumerate how many and how great the advantages of this instrument are on land and at sea. But having dismissed earthly things, I applied myself to explorations of the heavens. And first I looked at the Moon from so close that it was scarcely two terrestrial diameters distant. Next, with incredible delight I frequently observed the stars, fixed as well as wandering, and as I saw their huge number I began to think of, and at last discovered, a method whereby I could measure the distances between them. In this matter, it behooves all those who wish to make such observations to be forewarned. For it is neccessary first that they prepare a most accurate glass that shows objects brightly, distincly, and not veiled by any obscurity, and second that it multiply them at least four hundred times and show them twenty times closer. For if it is not an instrument such as that, one will try in vain to see all the things observed in the heavens by us and enumerated in further "blogs." Indeed, in order that anyone may, with little trouble, make himself more certain about the magnificatoin of the instrument, let him draw two circles or two squares on paper, one of which is four hundred times larger than the other, which will be the case when the larger diameter is twenty times the length of the other diameter. He will then observe from afar both sheets fixed to the same wall, the smaller one with one eye applied to the glass and the larger one with the other, naked eye. This can easily be done with both eyes open at the same time. Both figures will then appear of the same size if the instrument multiplies objects according to the desired proportion. Now let us review the observations made by us during the past 2 months, inviting all lovers of true philosophy to the start of truly great contemplation....

-- Galilei

(Translated by Albert Van Helden, University of Chicago Press, 1989)

What's Up This Weekend?

2009-02-05T14:43:00.002-06:00

An Astronomical Challenge

How many astronomical objects are visible in the daytime sky? There's the sun of course. And the moon, sometimes. Can you think of anything else?

How about Venus? In the night sky, at certain times of the year, only the moon outshines Venus. But does that mean Venus is bright enough to see in broad daylight? Many people are surprised to find out that the answer is yes.

It's difficult to see in the daytime sky and it takes practice or luck to do it, but I'm going to try to help you with a trick that I've been using recently to find Venus -- even at two in the afternoon. Right now, Venus is about 44 degrees from the sun. This is a little more than the width of two hand spans at arm's length. Actually, it's about 18-1/2 inches from the sun as measured by a yardstick held at arm's length.

Now using the sun to find things in the daytime sky can be bad for your eyes, so use the corner of a building or something to block the sun. Hold the yardstick up to the object blocking out the sun. Venus will be at about a 10 o'clock position relative to the sun. Venus will be a pale point of light in the sky, so it will be difficult to see at first. If after searching around about 18-1/2 inches from the sun you don't see Venus you may want to hunt in that area of the sky with binoculars. Do NOT point the binoculars in the direction of the sun. If you are a child, get your parents help.

Happy hunting! If you still can't find Venus, feel free to stop by the store some clear afternoon Tuesdays - Saturdays and I'll help you out.

Astronomical Message

2009-02-03T18:16:00.003-06:00

In this series of "blogs" I propose great things for inspection and contemplation by every explorer of Nature. Great, I say, because of the excellence of the things themselves, because of their newness, unheard of through the ages, and also because of the instrument with the benefit of which they make themselves manifest to our sight.

Certainly it is a great thing to add to the countless multitude of fixed stars visible hitherto by natural means and expose to our eyes innumerable others never seen before, which exceed tenfold the number of old and known ones.

It is most beautiful and pleasing to the eye to look upon the lunar body, distant from us about sixty terrestrial diameters, from so near as if it were distant by only two of these measures, so that the diameter of the same Moon appears as if it were thirty times, the surface nine-hundred times, and the solid body about twenty-seven thousand times larger than when observed only with the naked eye. Anyone will then understand with the certainty of the senses that the Moon is by no means endowed with a smooth and polished surface, but is rough and uneven and, just as the face of the Earth itself, crowded everywhere with vast prominences, deep chasms, and convolutions.

Moreover, it seems of no small importance to have put an end to the debate about the Galaxy or Milky Way and to have made manifest its essence to the senses as well as the intellect; and it will be pleasing and most glorious to demonstrate clearly that the substance of those stars called nebulous up to now by all astronomers is very different from what has hitherto been thought.

But what greatly exceeds all admiration, and what especially impelled us to give notice to all astronomers and philosophers, is this, that we have discovered four wandering stars, known or observed by no one before us. These, like Venus and Mercury around the Sun, have their periods around a certain star notable among the number of known ones, and now precede, now follow, him, never digressing from him beyond certain limits. All these things were discovered and observed a few days ago by means of a glass contrived by me after I had been inspiered by divine grace.

Perhaps more excellent things will be discovered in time, either by me or by others, with the help of a similar instrument, the form and construction of which, and the occasion of whose invention, I shall first mention briefly, and then I shall review the history of the observations made by me.

(HMS Beagle note: Galileo translated by Albert Van Helden, Sidereus Nuncius or The Sidereal Messenger, University of Chicago Press, 1989)

What's Up This Weekend?

2009-01-31T07:57:00.003-06:00

Saturn and an Interplanetary Traveler

I hope you have had time to get out and watch the moon pass Venus the last couple of evenings. The sky has been absolutely beautiful.

This weekend you might want to start following a couple of solar system objects. The first is the planet Saturn. Over the next five months, you can see Saturn rise and move across the sky earlier and earlier. Also over those five months, Saturn's rings will "open up" from it's current nearly edge on view.

Right now, Saturn rises before 9 p.m. Give it a couple of hours to get high enough for good observing and take a peek through stabilized binoculars or a telescope. Through even a small telescope there will be no doubt that you are looking at Saturn. It will look like someone slipped a photo behind the eyepiece, rings and all. Through a telescope look for the second largest moon of the solar system, Titan, hanging around near Saturn as an orange-ish "star." Saturn looks like a cream-colored bright "star" below the tail of the constellation of Leo the Lion.

It seems that every year a comet passes Earth and flirts with becoming visible to the unaided eye. This year isn't any different. A couple of Chinese comet hunting teams found this year's comet, Comet Lulin. In February it should reach unaided-eye visibility as seen from a reasonably dark location. Whether it gets that bright, it already looks obvious in binoculars or a telescope as a fuzzy object. (Typically comets look better in the wide field of view of binoculars.) Start watching Comet Lulin now and watch it brighten and move across the background of stars. The comet glides through the constellation of Libra the Scales for the next couple of weeks on its way to a rendezvous with Saturn. Here's a map of the comet's progress through Valentine's Day.

Till next time, clear skies.

Meet the Beagle All Over Again

2009-01-30T11:49:00.003-06:00

Let's take a moment for a quick entry now, to tell you about what's going on at the Beagle.

First, 2009 is a big year for science. In the event that you've somehow missed it, it is not only the International Year of Science, but the International Year of Astronomy. There are a lot of important anniversaries that fall in 2009, and we're hoping to add our efforts to those of the friends of science around the world.

Secondly, if you're already a Facebook user, you can now join the Beagle Society group on Facebook. We're posting upcoming events to the group, and trying to get everything in place there so that you can be updated on all the latest happenings with the Beagle as you would be with your long-lost high school friends. You can also comment on our Wall, upload photos, and do all of those Facebook things that you enjoy the most. The Facebook updates will not replace the regular email updates, but we're hoping to extend our reach with a little bit of additional publicity in a different medium.

John and Carol will be at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show in the next few weeks, looking for what's best and brightest, or at least, what's interesting and affordable, from the world of minerals, rocks, fossils, beads and the like. The trip to Tucson is something of a busman's holiday, but it allows them to get out of town for a bit, and, as the colloquial wisdom has it, a change is as good as a rest...

Our online store is growing rapidly, and will eventually include everything that you will find in our physical store. You can visit it here at HMS Beagle Online. We're adding descriptions to items as rapidly as possible, but unfortunately there's no easy way to describe 10,000 items (give or take) from the two-line truncated descriptions in our point-of-sale system. Our goal is for the site to be an effective surrogate for an in-store visit. For those of you wondering, we chose to use PayPal as our primary payment means in the interests of everyone's security. PayPal has a proven track record in conjunction with eBay, and we're sure that a lot of you already have PayPal accounts. Of course, if you're still cautious about paying in this way, we'll also accept your payments through the post or in person, and you can select the Walk-In delivery option if you want to shop online and then come to collect your purchases, or the site will automatically quote you rates for UPS or US Postal Service shipping. If you haven't already taken a look, please do, and let us know what else you might like to see there.

And finally (though we're somewhat late in expressing this), we want to extend our warmest thanks to everyone who has supported the Beagle in 2008. Thanks to you, we have had what could in these economic climes be considered a good year, and January has also shaped up thus far to be on a par with our expectations. We have a lot of exciting things planned for 2009, and hope that we can continue to rely on your patronage and support. As always, if you have any questions, please drop us a line or post in the comments.

Best wishes to everyone for an educational and enrichment-filled 2009!

Astro Bites

2009-01-23T21:44:00.003-06:00

A lot of interesting things have come my way through the Intertoobs this week, so I thought I'd just list them for your astronomical web surfing pleasure. After all, the weatherpeople are calling for cloudy skies all weekend in the Kansas City area.

1.) Good news! The Kansas legislature is considering a bill to protect and clean up Kansas' night skies (in other words, an anti-light pollution law). It looks like a pretty good bill to me. If you live in Kansas, and you think it looks good too, contact your reps in Topeka and let them know.

2.) "One stop shopping" for planning your observing sessions at NASA.

3.) A la Jeff Foxworthy, there's a new group on Facebook called "You know You're an Astronomer When..." I don't do Facebook so I won't be joining the group, but the group's front page has a pretty good list of things that might indicate you're an astronomer.

4.) Tuesday morning (1/27) from 10:05 to 10:25a.m. the International Space Station will be talking to schoolchildren in Parnell, MO via ham radio. I'll be listening. If you have a 2-meter ham radio or a scanner you can listen too on or around 145.800 MHz. Remember to account for the doppler effect. The frequency will be higher as the ISS approaches and lower as the ISS moves away. If you can't listen you can watch on NASA TV.

5.) And last, but not least, some actual observing... Check out a thin crescent moon approach Venus Thursday evening (1/29) and then be on the opposite side of Venus the next evening.

Till next time...Clear skies!

What's Up This Weekend?

2009-01-16T13:51:00.002-06:00

This weekend two wanderers and a hunter take center stage.

The first wanderer is the planet Venus. If you've seen a very bright "star" in the south-southwest after sunset in the past few weeks, then you've seen Venus. Through even a small telescope you should notice that Venus has just passed dichotomy. This is when Venus looks half-lit, like a first-quarter moon. Earth, Venus, and the Sun make nearly a right angle this weekend and we are looking at the day- and night-side of Venus simultaneously.

Our other wanderer is the planet Saturn, just about everyone's favorite. Saturn rises in the east about 10 p.m. and in an hour is well-placed for telescopic observing. Even the smallest telescope will show Saturn's rings, usually. I say "usually," because about every 15 years we cross the ring plane of Saturn. This is one of those years and the rings appear very thin. The rings are still visible, though, so take a look and compare your views in the next few years to see the rings "open up" again.

Traveling with Saturn is a large retinue of moons. Many of these can be seen in backyard telescopes. Its most famous moon, Titan, is the second largest moon in the solar system -- after Ganymede. Titan can be seen -- even in small telescopes -- as an orange-ish "star" near Saturn. The moon Rhea can be seen in telescopes larger than 60-mm in diameter. Tethys and Dione can be seen in telescopes 150-mm and larger.

Due south after sunset this time of year is the large constellation of Orion the hunter. Orion's most striking feature is his three "belt" stars that form a diagonal running from northwest to southeast. If we continue to move southeast from Orion's belt we run into the brightest star in the night sky, Sirius, which is also the brightest star of the constellation Canis Major the big dog. Moving back through Orion's belt and to the northwest we run into Aldebaran, thr brightest star in the constellation of Taurus the bull. Moving past Aldebaran we run into an open star cluster known as the Seven Sisters or the Pleiades. The Pleiades cluster is often confused with the little dipper because of the shape made by its brightest stars. But the Pleiades cluster is microscopic compared to the actual Little Dipper in the northern sky. And last, but not least, if we move south from the left-most star in Orion's belt we see a fuzzy star. In binoculars or a telescope we discover that this fuzz is in fact the Great Orion Nebula, a gigantic cloud of dust and gas where stars are currently being born.

Do yourself a favor and take a look at these marvels this weekend.

What's Up This Weekend?

2009-01-08T22:58:00.002-06:00

This weekend provides an excellent opportunity to witness one of the wonders of the night sky. I'm talking about the star Algol in the constellation of Perseus.

The cool thing about Algol is that it consists of two stars, a bright primary and a dim secondary. Even cooler, Algol is what astronomers call an eclipsing binary. The dimmer star, which orbits only five percent as far from its companion as Earth does the Sun, passes in front of the bright one every 2.867...days. This makes Algol's brightness dip nearly 70 percent from magnitude 2.1 to magnitude 3.4. From light-polluted, suburban skies Algol can go from a respectably bright star to seemingly not there at all.

Algol is the prototypical eclipsing binary system and provided a terrific laboratory for astronomers to study stellar masses, dimensions, and luminosity; which in turn allowed better distance estimates between stars in our galaxy. And we get to see this wonder take place every few days from our own backyards.

Algol's eclipse starts about 11:07 p.m. Saturday night (CST). Mid-eclipse occurs at 12:07 a.m. Sunday. And it should all be over about 1:07 a.m. Sunday. The constellation of Perseus will be high in the west-northwestern sky at that time. Algol lies nearly mid-way between The Pleiades star cluster and the constellation of Cassiopeia.

Announcing a Guest Blogger...

2008-12-20T16:50:00.006-06:00

Starting next month we will have out first guest blogger through a special arrangement, through space and time, with the University of Padua, a Tuscan physicist, the father of modern observational astronomy, Galileo Bonaiuti de' Galilei. Sr. de'Galilei will be posting to our blog during the International Year of Astronomy. Blog readers may post questions and comments to Sr. de'Galilei and ask him about his work in mathematics, mechanics and astronomy. Sr. de'Galilei will be blogging about his recent and on-going work and his methods as well as any discoveries he might make.

In addition, we expect in February to have another guest blogger. This person shares a birthday with Abrahan Lincoln and with our own Carol Kuhns. Watch here for more information

==JFK==

A Triple Conjunction

2008-12-01T17:59:00.004-06:00

This triple conjunction photo is courtesy Bob Riddle [briddle@kcmsd.net]: the waxing crescent Moon, Venus, and Jupiter form a striking grouping shortly after sunset in Lee's Summit Missouri.

You Mean I Could Be Paid for That?

2008-12-01T10:57:00.003-06:00

Hey kids, you know how your mothers and fathers say: "If you work really hard, and study, and don't spend all of your time playing, you could have a really good career"? Parents, you've said that to your kids: I know that I've said it to mine (more than enough, as they will tell you)...

But bearing in mind the popularity of our LEGO^TM sets and our Mindstorms NXT sessions at HMS Beagle, here's a link to a story on the BBC News website about a man who makes his living building new LEGO creations. He's one of the designers behind Legoland Windsor, in west London.

It's a fascinating story, and reminds us all that some of the best jobs come from the dreams that we had as kids, including jobs in the sciences... and jobs where you get to spend the day playing with LEGO.

National Center for Science Education

2008-11-20T16:27:00.004-06:00

The posting on our blog of the contents of an e-mail we sent to a local (as yet unnamed) science teacher at Park Hill High School has attracted the attention of the National Center for Science Education. They have complemented us for the way we are handling the situation. It should be noted that as yet the teacher in question has not responded to our e-mail to him, but that an official in the Park Hill School District did respond favorably to an e-mailed copy of the blog posting.

We still are hopeful that we will hear from the teacher before long and we will post the results here.

==JFK==

On-line Catalog is up and Running

2008-11-17T09:51:00.003-06:00

We invite you to visit our new on-line catalog. We think you will be pleased with the presentation. The only real glaring problem is the overwhelming lack of photographs and proper shipping weights for the majority of the merchandise offered. These will all be corrected over time. In the meantime we will insure that all orders are handled promptly and accurately. Since chemicals have always been the most popular items ordered through the on-line catalog that category of merchandise is the first one we have completed.

Teachers, don't forget that we give discounts and do not charge sales tax (if we have your district's tax exemption number on file).

==JFK==

Mom and Pop?

2008-11-16T19:08:00.003-06:00

In case you've missed it, we're pleased to report that HMS Beagle has been featured in an article in today's Kansas City Star. Be sure to go and take a look. It's a story about exceptional local businesses (also defined by the article as "mom and pop" shops), and we're pleased to have been on the list. Thanks too go to reporter Joyce Smith for her thorough and diligent coverage.

Creationism being taught in Park Hill High School?

2008-11-15T12:24:00.005-06:00

This is the content of an e-mail sent, today, to a science teacher at Park Hill High School. For the time being we are keeping the teacher's name confidential:

Your students are reporting to us that you are offering a non-scientific alternative to how plant and animal species evolved on earth. Many of them are quite disconcerted with what seems to be a blatant attempt to subvert scientific fact and theory with unfounded speculation, mythology and beliefs. Since we have not personally heard your presentations we cannot accurately judge what you are, in fact, presenting or what your approach to teaching science is. If there is even a whiff of creationism or intelligent design being offered as a legitimate alternative to science in your classes then that would go against the basis of the recent Dover decision in Pennsylvania (Kitzmiller v. Dover, 2005, Judge John E. Jones presiding).
If you feel that you are being wrongly characterized and that what we have had reported to us is in any way off the mark we invite you to contact us and perhaps we can sit down and discuss the situation. In addition, we hereby offer our services as guest speakers to your classes to present a valid exposition of evolutionary science. What we usually start with is a discussion of what constitutes a theory and why theories are what science is built upon.
If you have never visited our store we hereby extend a special invitation. As you may have heard we give discounts to teachers when they are buying for the classroom and, of course, we have your district’s tax exempt number on file so we do not charge sales tax. Our own daughter is an alumnus of Park Hill High School and during her time there she got a good founding in science and eventually became a geneticist. Now, we are told that in your classroom the students are being told that there is proof that humans lived at the same time as dinosaurs (we would like the opportunity to present to your class(es) that there is no such proof).
We will be initiating a discussion on our Science Blog on this subject and, of course, everyone is invited to comment. As patrons of the Park Hill district we are quite concerned about what we consider to be a startling revelation about, at least, one part of this award-winning district. If any of what we have heard is true we will work tirelessly to do what we can to correct and reverse it. The Park Hill students deserve to be taught science and how science works.
We would like to give you an opportunity to respond to our concerns, or if appropriate to have your peers and supervisors respond. For now we have only contacted you about this matter, and we hope you will take the opportunity to discuss this with us soon.
Thank you for your time and consideration.

Comments? Please!

Our Visitors

2008-11-07T10:37:00.005-06:00

I have found this information very interesting and intriguing. The latest 10 visitors to this blog have come from the following locations:

United States: Kansas City, Kansas

United States: Prairie Village, Kansas

Germany: Langenzenn, Bayern

United States: Kailua Kona, Hawaii

Philippines: Philippine, Benguet

United States: Kansas City, Missouri

Canada: Guelph, Ontario

United States: Raritan, New Jersey

United States: Argyle, Texas

Philippines: Philippine, Benguet

It would be great to know who these folks are. It would be even better if some, or all, of them would post comments.

==JFK==

Nickel Sensitivity Testing Reagents Available

2008-10-29T17:48:00.002-05:00

There must have been a recent news story or a blog posting on hypersensitivity to nickel. The reason I say this is because in the past two weeks we have seen and heard from perhaps a half-dozen people asking about nickel test kits. As a result we have added a new solution to our chemical line, Dimethylglyoxime Solution in a 25 mL bottle. This solution, or reagent, turns pink in the presence of soluble nickel.

The same reagent can be used by meteorite hunters and collectors to test their specimens for nickel. For meteorites one first places a drop of 10-36% hydrochloric acid on the specimen and allows it to react with the specimen's surface for about 1 minute. Next the acid is swabbed from the specimen with a cotton swab and a drop of the dimethylglyoxime solution is placed on the swab. If nickel is present, even at very low levels, the swab will turn pink.

This same sort of test can be done with jewelry and other metalic articles suspected of containing nickel. Care must be taken, of course, when working with the concentrated hydrochloric acid.

==JFK==

Other blogs of interest

2008-10-29T17:37:00.004-05:00

Here are a couple of other blog sites that may be of interest to our readers (please let us know):

Our Parkville MO (ourparkvillemo.blogspot.com) is a blog about H.M.S. Beagle's hometown, Parkville, Missouri.

Aquariculture (aquariculture.blogspot.com) is a blog for professionals and hobbyists with an interest in the art, science and technology of aquarium and pond keeping.

==JFK==

Wear a "Science" Pin

2008-10-27T10:57:00.004-05:00

We have but a few days left before the election of the century. I have been wearing my cloisonne AAPS (Association of Applied Paleontological Sciences) pin. When asked about it tell people, "its a campaign button." "Who's it for?," they ask. "Its for the pro-science science candidates and against those candidates who are anti-science," I reply. Of course, I have to carefully explain, to many, who the candidates are that are against science and who the ones are that are for it. This often elicits some surprise or alarm or disbelief, but more and more I am finding folks know exactly who the candidates are.

The cool thing is we should be able to wear our pro-science pins and buttons, with impunity, into the polling places. It seems to me that we can even proudly wear our pro-science teeshirts to vote. None, except those in the know, will be the wiser! There will be a secret communication that others will recognize. When you see someone proudly displaying their pro-science stance on election day nod your head slightly and lay your finger aside your nose.

==JFK==

Honoring those who serve

2008-10-24T15:11:00.006-05:00

It came to my attention today that firefighters were to be honored at an upcoming holiday celebration in town. Now, I simply don't know of anyone who can deny that firefighters are true heroes (unlike hypersteroidal baseball players or over-paid running backs who can't keep their noses out of cocaine). However, it occurred to me that even before they were firefighters they were students. They had teachers at some point in their lives. Some of those teachers were scientists. Where would firefighting be without teachers and scientists? Firefighters drive to work in chariots of engineering wonder. Where would they be without teachers, scientists and engineers?

Let's look at scientists (this is, after all, a science blog). Now, I don't mean to slight teachers, because even though we're all born scientists far too many have had the flame of science snuffed out prematurely by a few boring, uninterested, frightened, unqualified and ill-prepared teachers. Those of us that became the scientists we are today, however, had several teachers along the way that kept the sparks fanned and pushed or guided us. I think many of us will agree that those teachers simply are not paid enough and are often under appreciated (especially by some of the very ones they're trying to teach). The thing is, good teachers like good firefighters are heroes, and they're successes and failures are often in front of us daily. After all, politicians are always ready to use teachers, either positively or negatively, as the point of departure for their self-serving discussions.

So, back to scientists. I know for a fact that scientists are both underpaid and under appreciated and far too often are made out to be villains by the rest of the populace. Politicians typically don't pay us much mind except when they want to ridicule us for have our hands out for government support for what they call "pork." Or, when they vehemently disagree with us for our dire predictions, because we all know that along with becoming a politician, that most have at least a college degree in some physical science. Or not.

Recently, there have been the political global climate change deniers who point out that climate scientists are some of the worst feeders from the public trough. That these scientists are only investigating global warming so they can squeeze more money from the government and other public coffers. Some say these same scientists only release the most dire predictions and the worst possible news to keep them in their jobs by scaring the snot out of the public and their elected officials.

Let me see, here. Does any thinking human really believe that there are scientists who live like high-profile sports stars, or like conniving politicians, or like dishonest and lying financial managers, or like rock stars? I'd like to see a list of the 100 most wealthy scientist on earth. Who would be on such a list? Surely, if the right-wing nuts are to be believed, most, if not all, the NASA scientists would be on that list. Hey, maybe the immoral stem cell researchers will be on the list. Most definitely the scientists who are studying global climate change will all be on such a list.

Now it is true that some pitiful few scientists do achieve rock star-like status. The vast majority do not. The vast majority do their jobs, just like firefighters and teachers, for the love of it and they receive relatively insignificant wages. The next time your sitting around in your committees trying to think of some deserving group of people to honor please consider scientists.

This morning's science club demonstrations.

2008-10-23T17:12:00.004-05:00

As was promised here are the directions for two of this morning's Science Club demonstrations:

(1) Nitrogen triiodide explosion: This one is very simple and involves mixing two chemicals together. What is needed is (a) at least 10 grams of elemental iodine crystals, (b) 25 mL of ammonium hydroxide, 28% solution (CAUTION: ammonium hydroxide solution is caustic and poisonous if swallowed, it has a highly disagreeable odor, and can cause severe burns to the skin and eyes. Use only with very good ventilation (e.g. out doors). If skin contact occurs wash with plenty of running water; if eye contact occurs wash for at least 15 minutes with running water and contact a physician.), (c) a small (1 - 2 fl.oz.), clean bottle with a tight-fitting plastic cap and (d) a stainless steel spatula.

Using the spatula carefully transfer the iodine crystals into the clean bottle and immediately add the 25 mL of ammonium hydroxide. Cap the bottle and shake for about 30 seconds. Set the bottle aside for about 1 hour then you're ready to give it a shot!

To cause the nitrogen iodide to explode simply use the spatula to remove a small amount of the brown material from the bottom of the bottle and smear it onto a paper towel or newspaper and allow it to dry in the air. Once it is completely dry any disturbance to the material will cause and endothermic explosion. Another application is to smear the material onto a sidewalk or driveway.

Any stains that result from residual iodine can be easily removed with a few crystals of sodium thiosulfate, wetted with water and worked into the stain. The same will remove any iodine stains from clothing or skin.

For long-term storage be sure to keep the brown material in the bottle always covered with liquid. It is safe when wet. Once the initial reaction, in the bottle, has occurred, about half of the liquid can be discarded (down the drain is okay) and the bottle refilled with ordinary tap water. This will lessen the odor impact of the ammonia when opening the storage bottle.

(2) Sodium acetate crystal tower: You will need: (a) 160 grams of sodium acetate trihydrate, (b) 100 mL of pure water , (c) a 400 mL glass beaker or another suitable PYREX container with a pouring spout, (d) a 250 mL Erlenmeyer flask, (e) a #6 solid rubber stopper, and, if needed, (f) a lab balance for accurately weighing the sodium acetete, and (g) a 50 mL graduated cylinder for accurately measuring the water. In addition, for the purposes of heating the solution to a microwave oven, set to high, will work well. (CAUTION: Use proper precautions for handling very hot containers!)

Place the 160 grams of sodium acetate (be sure to save back a couple of crystals for later use) into the beaker and add exactly 30 mL of water to the beaker. Place the beaker in the microwave oven and heat it until all the solid sodium acetate is dissolved. There can be no undissolved crystals, or the solution will quickly crystalize before you can do the demonstration. While the solution is heating take about half of the remaining pure water and rinse the Erlenmeyer flask and drain it, but do not dry it. Also rinse the rubber stopper and place it in the mouth of the flask.

After the solution has been made, and there are no undissolved crystals on the bottom of the beaker, carefully pour the hot solution into the flask. At this point is is very important that the solution is gently poured into the flask such that none of the solution is poured down the inside of the flask wall. Be a gentle as possible to prevent splashing of the solution inside the flask and to prevent bubbles from being formed as the solution is poured. When the solution has been poured into the flask carefully insert the rubber stopper and set the flask aside to cool. DO NOT SHAKE the flask!

Place the crystals you save back in the middle a shallow dish or dessert plate. Once the solution has cooled to room temperature unstopper the flask and carefully and slowly pour the solution onto the crystals. You will notice that when the solution first hits the plate it will solidify and spread out a little. Keep pouring, slowly, and watch the tower of crystal grow upward. be careful to not allow the growing tower of crystals to touch the lip of the flask otherwise the solution remaining inside the flask will quickly crystallize.

The crystal tower is safe to touch, but be careful that there may be some hot spots on its interior. When finished you can put the crystals back into the beaker and start all over. Only this time there is no need to add any more water, just reheat in the microwave to fully liquify.

3rd Annual Rocket Science Day in Parkville

2008-10-06T14:23:00.005-05:00

English Landing Centre, West Parking Lot, Parkville, MO, 4 October 2008: With over 200 people in attendance during this annual "October Skies" event; it was the largest since the Beagle opened. This year the Kansas City Association of Rocketry (KCAR) again provide the expertise and equipment to launch over 100 rockets. Gene Nowaczek of Raytown, MO, had his record-setting Piper 8 rocket on display for the crowds, and he handled all questions about its exceptional flight of 35 miles in altitude.

A local Boy Scout troop sold hot dogs and refreshments and a local Cub Scout troop did a competition and demonstration of string-guided rockets. The Parkville Police Department had their Identa Kid tent set up and created identification cards and pictures of the kids at the event. Prizes of special event tee shirts, rocket engines and rockets were given to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd places in two difference challenges in three heats. At the end of the challenge heats the KCAR guys launched some flying saucers.

Space Pirates Update

2008-09-28T17:05:00.003-05:00

Lots going on. We are quite busy around here. All of our scheduled testing is happening. We recently returned from Detroit and had an eventful and ultimately successful round of testing. The troubles ranged from minor stuff like flood related detours stealing our sleep and poison ivy oil on the steering wheel, to a tracking system that was overwhelmed by the brightness of the very LASER it was meant to direct, and... a fire.

OK, I will start with the fire. A dust cover adjacent to the LASER path was overheated by reflected LASER light. This led to a cascading failure resulting in an impressive amount of black smoke and a tiny little fire. It is a rookie mistake made by us rookies. That ended day 1 of testing but the team pulled it together while the frustrated and exhausted captain went to sleep. They cleaned all the soot off of the high power optics and had us up and running only a little bit into day 2. Yes, another all-nighter for the cause. Good thing too, as on day 2 we found a solution to the overwhelmed tracking system and finished off our scheduled testing.
These are exactly the kind of problems that this type of controlled testing is meant to reveal, it's just that having them does not exactly make me happy. The final result is that all of the other critical performance metrics were square on the numbers. We beamed power a short distance with a laser and ran our climber's motor with it.

The competition has been delayed. Yes, this is the third time. But the facility that Spaceward is working on looks to be an excellent place for the competition. And we had hit crash schedule to keep with former date of Nov. 7th. So I have to welcome the delay. The new date has not been set but December and January both look to be out.

We leave this week for long range testing with the real LASER. We have a rather hairy to do list in the next couple of days to get all the systems together. This test should reveal any last, hidden weaknesses in our systems. We are still wrestling with some other issues, so we are not done by any means but I will feel much better when we have hard data on power conversion at the full KM range.
On a personal note my oldest and second largest customer's owner died unexpectedly of a heart attack. Alan was the guy that got me started in the career that I have today. I will be quite busy filling in for some of his duties and training his son to be the new general manager. Again, I have to welcome the competition delay. And if you ever find yourself wondering if you should call 911 when your having chest pains, I hope you risk saying yes rather than no. I will miss him. Most research projects would consider this upcoming test the end result. But in the Space Elevator Games it is just one step along the way and is a big part of what differentiates this challenge from a "Lab" experiment.

Brian Turner
Captain
KC Space Pirates

October Skies

2008-09-28T13:24:00.001-05:00

October Skies
3rd Annual Rocket Science Day in Parkville
Saturday, October 4 - 10 am to 2 pm
English Landing Drive Parking Lot
Displays, static burn of high powered rocket motors, rocket launches and challenges with prizes!
Bring your own rockets to launch!

Gene Nowaczek will have his famous rocket and launch pad on display and he'll be available to sign autographs.
Check our website - hms-beagle.com - for details!

New entomology supplies coming

2008-09-19T17:55:00.005-05:00

The Beagle has several new entomology supplies coming. These include aerial nets and sweep nets as well as new bug collection displaying options. We will also be offering a new type of killing jar. We expect these new supplies by the first of October, so keep us in mind for your bug collecting needs.

No black holes today.

2008-09-19T09:52:00.006-05:00

Well, the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) was switched on and guess what? No black holes resulted. That must be a BIG letdown to the folks and organizations that fought to never allow it to be turned on.

Of course, maybe a black hole was created and we were all instantaneously sucked into it and came out the other side in a different, but parallel universe. Are you feelin' it? Does everything seem back to front and left to right?

DNA and one's voting patterns

2008-09-18T11:31:00.001-05:00

Louisville, KY, June 25-28, 2008: As reported in the July 25th issue of Science (page 486), researchers studying same sex identical and fraternal twins have found a compelling link between one's genetics and ones voting patterns. The article states, "fresh evidence (has been) produced that DNA also has a hand in the intensity of someone's partisan attachment and even in whether someone bothers to vote."

Reference: Science, vol 321, page 486, 25 July 2008

KC Space Pirates

2008-09-18T11:31:00.000-05:00

I encountered one of the Beagle's customers this morning at the Conoco in Parkville. He said that the KC Space Pirates have completed their trip to Detroit where they tried out their new LASERs and other equipment in an effort to get a working space elevator. Their web site (which includes a blog) is http://kcspacepirates.com/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/.

Sex reversal in a cichlid fish.

2008-09-17T09:58:00.000-05:00

University Park, Pennsylvania: In their article, "Behaviorally induced sex reversal of Metriaclima cf. livingstoni (Cichlidae) from Lake Malawi," researchers Jay R. Stauffer, Jr. and Renea A. Ruffling describe a rare event. While sex reversal is a well-known and well-documented phenomenon among marine reef fishes, the same cannot be said for freshwater fishes. In their experimentation utilizing wild-caught M. cf. livingstoni (captured while SCUBA diving off the Mazini Reef in Lake Malawi) were held in tanks with one male and multiple females. This is a typical aquarium setup familiar to thousands of cichlid aquarists around the world.

M. cf. livingstoni are typical mbuna from Lake Malawi, they are maternal mouthbrooders, and the males will spawn with as many ripe females as they can entice. In their experiments the aquariums (75.5 L (= 20 gallons) in volume) were divided into equal compartments with sealed-in clear Plexiglas panes. The single male was placed on one side and the females remained on the other side in each tank. The males in each tank could see the females, and vice versa, but there was no physical contact between the sexes in the tanks. The populations were manipulated in different tanks and in subsequent trials. The resluts were that a total of three previously confirmed females acquired males secondary sexual characteristics. In one of the trials a reversed females sucessfully fathered three large broods of fry. In a second trial another brood of fry was fathered by a different sex-reversed female.

The full citation is Copeia 2008, No. 3, 618-620, Stauffer and Rufling. Reprints can be requested from Jay R. Stauffer, Jr., Pennsylvania State University, School of Forest Resources, 420 Forest Resoirces Building, University Park, PE 168802 (e-mail: vc5@psu.edu).

Beagle Society meeting; a friend passes.

2008-09-17T09:27:00.001-05:00

Parkville, MO: Monday evening, 15 September, 2008, the evening was beautiful, the presenter, Gene Nowaczyk was gracious and informative but the turn out was sparse. Gene had a computer presentation of his work with civilian rocketry, his company Payload Specialties, and his launches at Black Rock, Nevada. Mr. Nowaczyk did state that his seven consecutive world altitude records were unconfirmed, but no one doubted his veracity and all were suitably impressed.

Mr. Nowaczyk will have his rocket on display at the Beagle's 3rd annual Rocket Science Day on October 4th. That even will be in the west parking lot from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm and is free to all. Bring your rockets and the local amateur rocketry society, KCAR, will be running the range and will handle safety and rocket inspections. There will be tents set up for repairing and building rockets and the Beagle will be open for anyone needing engines or other supplies. All rockets will be limited to B size engines or smaller. The event has some new participants and there will be displays and exhibits. At the launch pad there will be contests and challenges.

On a very sad note, one of our first Beagle Society members and a proud owner of one of the Beagle's custom chemistry sets, Dennis Bingham, has passed away. Dennis died this past Sunday. He is survived by his wife Ann and their children and grandchildren. Dennis will be missed and mourned by his friends in science.

3rd Annual Rocket Science Day...Its FREE!

2008-09-06T17:08:00.000-05:00

Time is drawing close for the Beagle's third annual Rocket Science Day, "October Skies". Just like last year it will be on the first Saturday of October; that's the 4th, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. As always the event and participation in it is free.
Not seen in these parts since the first Rocket Science day, Gene Nowaczyk will be appearing with the rocket with which he set the world's altitude record for unmanned, parachute-recovered rockets. Gene will have his rocket and launch pad on display and folks can get his picture and an autograph. Gene will talk to attendees about his next attempt which is to fly an unmanned rocket into outer space and recover it. That rocket will carry aboard some artifacts from the Beagle which we hope to have on display at the store when Gene returns then to us.
The local amateur rocketry group, KCAR, will once again be running the show. They will supervise the launch area and range safety and will approve all rockets from participants who wish to have their rockets launched. Again, no rocket motor larger than a B size will be allowed from the participants. This is to ensure the best chance of recovery after launch.
Participants will have work space available to them in two tents so they can build and repair their rockets, or make last minute changes. There will be contests, challenges, give-aways and lots to see and many other rocket scientists to meet.
There is no age limit to participate. Last year the youngest was 5 years old and the oldest was 85. Join us in the west, gravel parking lot in English Landing Centre; come early to get a good parking space (parking behind the Beagle's building is also available).

DID YOU KNOW?

2008-09-06T16:16:00.000-05:00

Did you know...the Beagle has numerous samples of chemical elements ranging from lithium (Li) the lightest metal to bismuth (Bi) the heaviest of the non-radioactive elements? The element samples are packaged in one-tenth gram-atomic weight sizes. For lithium that's less than 0.7 grams to more than 21 grams for bismuth. Those who collect chemical element samples should enjoy our large selection.
Of course, sodium and potassium samples are the Beagle's biggest sellers with magnesium powder close behind.

HELP WANTED

2008-09-03T18:55:00.000-05:00

H.M.S. Beagle has lost a valuable employee as of yesterday. Tara (many of you know her) has gone to work at the Kansas City Zoo; they have gotten a real asset by hiring her. Anyway, the Beagle is looking for a person to work part-time. This person must have a science back ground, but it isn't necessary that they have a specific degree. A student in the sciences will usually fit the bill. While we don't have a specific field of expertise for which we're searching, someone versed in geology and/or biology would be great.
We need someone to work Tuesday, Thursday and Friday evenings as well as Saturdays. These are the minimum needs, more hours can usually be given as the season and business dictates.
We need a person who is out-going, friendly, cheery, condifent, well-spoken and clean. Non-smokers are preferred. We will provide all necessary training. The usual identity requirements as well as references (which will be checked) will be needed. Please contact the Beagle at clk@hms-beagle.com or call us at 816-587-9998. You may fax a resume to 816-587-9997.

2008-08-29T17:24:00.001-05:00

Hmmm...It appears as if Sen. McCain's pick for veep may be a creationist. This link, http://scienceblogs.com/afarensis/2006/10/27/intelligent_design_and_the_ala/, was received from Jason Grill (who we saw last night at the Obama watch party at O'Dowd's in Zona Rosa). Check it out, and please post your comments here. We'd like to hear what you have to say.

HMS Beagle Science Blog: Home Laboratories Under Attack?

2008-08-18T18:41:00.000-05:00

HMS Beagle Science Blog: Home Laboratories Under Attack?

Here's a link to the Beagle website's pdf that concerns the care and feeding of a home laboratory. Please understand that this is an on-going publishing project and that the document at the end of this link is subject to regular and frequent updating: http://www.hms-beagle.com/PDFs/HomeLaboratory3.pdf

Home Laboratories Under Attack?

2008-08-17T15:14:00.000-05:00

That's right, it seems home laboratories may be coming under attack, at least in some parts of the US, and we don't mean underground, clandestine meth labs. We mean legitimate, amateur, home experimentor's laboratories. Here's the text from a recent post on the Make Magazine blog (http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/08/home_science_under_attack.html?CMP=OTC-0D6B48984890):

"The Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports that Victor Deeb, a retired chemist who lives in Marlboro, has finally been allowed to return to his Fremont Street home, after Massachusetts authorities spent three days ransacking his basement lab and making off with its contents.
Deeb is not accused of making methamphetamine or other illegal drugs. He's not accused of aiding terrorists, synthesizing explosives, nor even of making illegal fireworks. Deeb fell afoul of the Massachusetts authorities for ... doing experiments.
Authorities concede that the chemicals found in Deeb's basement lab were no more hazardous than typical household cleaning products. Despite that, authorities confiscated "all potentially hazardous chemicals" (which is to say the chemicals in Deeb's lab) from his home, and called in a hazardous waste cleanup company to test the chemicals and clean up the lab.
Pamela Wilderman, the code enforcement officer for Marlboro, stated, "I think Mr. Deeb has crossed a line somewhere. This is not what we would consider to be a customary home occupation."
Allow me to translate Ms. Wilderman's words into plain English: "Mr. Deeb hasn't actually violated any law or regulation that I can find, but I don't like what he's doing because I'm ignorant and irrationally afraid of chemicals, so I'll abuse my power to steal his property and shut him down."
In effect, the Massachusetts authorities have invaded Deeb's lab, apparently without a warrant, and stolen his property. Deeb, presumably under at least the implied threat of further action, has not objected to the warrantless search and the confiscation of his property. Or perhaps he's just biding his time. It appears that Deeb has grounds for a nice juicy lawsuit here.
There's a lesson here for all of us who do science at home, whether we're home schoolers or DIY science enthusiasts. The government is not our friend. Massachusetts is the prototypical nanny state, of course, but the other 49 aren't far behind. Any of us could one day find the police at the door, demanding to search our home labs. If that day comes, I will demand a warrant and waste no time getting my attorney on the phone.
There's a word for what just happened in Massachusetts. Tyranny. And it's something none of us should tolerate."

As you know H.M.S. Beagle is all about home laboratories and giving support and encouragement to parents and students who want to explore the sciences at home. Please post your thoughts and opinions. We think that we should be encouraging our law makers to take the same stand on the support and encouragement of home laboratories. Stop and think for a moment of all of the home schoolers, to mention one important group, who have set up and performed experiments at home for their children. We recently tutored a home-schooled high school student in chemistry. We helped with the "book" part of the lesons and his parents did all the "lab" part at home.

New Chemicals for Experimenters

2008-07-28T10:30:00.000-05:00

At The Beagle we're always getting in new products and we add new chemicals to our BenchMark branded chemicals nearly every week. These new chemicals are added, in part, to meet a demand we have from our customers and in part to make available new chemicals for experimenters. This week have added these new chemicals:

Sodium Polyacrylate ("Water Lock"), 40 grams

Stevia Leaves Extract, 85% Sweet Powder, 15 grams

Potassium Hydroxide, 5% w/v Solution (for mushroom identification), 25 mL

Iron (II) Sulfate, 10% w/v (Ferrous Sulfate) Solution (for mushroom identification), 25 mL

Cotton Blue, 5 grams

Aniline Blue, 5 grams

Sodium Polyacrylate ("Water Lock") is most often used in classrooms to show how a small amount of a solid can absorb relatively enormous volumes of water and still remain as a solid. This is the material used in disposable diapers, a soil additive to lock in water and prevent its rapid evaporation from flower pots, and as a culture medium (mixed with other chemicals) for soilless growing of plants.

Stevia Leaves Extract is a substance derived from Stevia rebaudiana an annual plant that has a sweet constituent in its leaves and stems that is being studied as a replacement for sucrose (cane sugar) as well as for synthetic sweetners such as aspertame.

Potassium Hydroxide, 5% w/v Solution and Iron (II) Sulfate, 10% w/v (Ferrous Sulfate) Solution are both used by professional and amateur mushroom hunters to identify certain types and species of mushrooms. When a drop or two of either of these solutions is placed on selected parts of a mushroom color changes occur that are indicative of different types of mushrooms.

Cotton Blue and Aniline Blue are both biological stains and by adding these two products to our line we now have a fairly extensive range of such dyes in both the dry from and as solutions.

A word about our chemical products' purity: The BenckMark brand chemicals are usually repackaged from A.C.S. Reagent grade chemicals. In addition, the solutions we package are made from reagent grade chemicals and totally deionized water. However, some of our chemicals are repackaged from technical grade bulk. In particular our Potassium Nitrate (Saltpeter) is a technical grade material. From time to time our customers have commented on the differences in performance between our products and a supposedly identical product from a different supplier. Recently one of our customers who recycles gold and platinum told us a tale of how his partner had switched from our Zinc, Powder to another brand when precipitating platinum. He said the process bubbled up and produced a froth with unusual foreign substances in it and the entire batch was ruined. While we don't usually guarantee any given chemical we sell for a particular use, we can advise our customers on the suitability of most of our chemicals for a particular use.

Jason Grill and Evolution

2008-07-14T11:25:00.001-05:00

A notice from state representative Jason Grill was received via e-mail today. In it he states he is hosting a town hall-style meeting at Park University this coming Wednesday July 16th. It is to be at 7:00 pm at Park University's McCoy Meetin' House (8700 Northwest River Park Drive, Parkville, MO 64152). I will try to be there.

Earlier this year, the actor Ben Stein presented a screening of his anti-science movie Expelled to the state's governor and some state legislators, mostly Republicans, in the capitol building. Stein's purpose was to boost his view that evolution should not be taught in the state's schools. By Stein's own admission, he doesn't fully understand evolution. I hope to convince Rep. Grill that events such as these are real threats and that he needs to display a stiff backbone when challenged by some Republicans' desires to officially water down the teaching of science in Missouri schools and insert the teaching of supernaturalism. Specifically, he needs to be encouraged to stand up against those in the House who want to bring in the teaching of creationism/intelligent design instead of the scientific theory of natural selection. I have specifically offered to assist him and his staff in preparing for the expected onslaught against reason and logic by the superstitious.

To help you understand the issue, it is always a good idea to understand the scientific side. There are so many misconceptions out there that they can be likened to a whack-a-mole game. As soon as one is hammered down another pops up elsewhere. A customer came in the Beagle yesterday and saw an Astronomy magazine cover about the Big Bang. He turned around and said, "the Big Bang, huh?, That's about evolution right?" I informed him that the Big Bang theory had nothing to do with evolution and quickly explained how the former was a theory about how the early universe formed and the later was about how life on earth has changed over time and that neither theory was about how life on earth began.

On our website you can find the paper "Some facts about evolution" that may be useful to those wanting to learn more on the subject.

Digging for Fossil Leaves

2008-06-19T10:31:00.000-05:00

One of our activities this month at the Beagle is a fossil dig, in conjunction with Scott Hageman and Brian Hoffman from the science faculty of Park University and a local paleontologist. Over the coming weeks, we will be digging for fossil plants from the Pennsylvanian era (approximately 280-325 million years ago), in a bluff behind the University, just a few minutes from downtown Parkville.

There are more than a dozen species of plants to be located in the limestone, sandstone, and mudstone layers which sit on the hill behind the Park campus. As part of a river delta or floodplain 300 million years old, clumps of vegetation were washed toward an inland sea by ancient rivers, and some of the decaying plant matter was preserved through fossilization. There is also a chance, although quite remote, of a fossilized trackways, the footprints of tiny early reptiles (or possibly amphibians) preserved in the neighboring sandstone layers. More likely are fossils from insects which lived during this time, particularly wings and occasionally complete bodies of cockroaches.

The majority of the fossils, though, are from a variety of species of ferns and trees which grew in the swampy expanses and shallow seas of the central United States (of course, the land masses were gradually shifting and changing, with seas rising and falling, during this period). If you'd like to see some of the fossils you will be looking for, you can find examples of them (in this case, from a site devoted to fossils in West Virginia) here.

If you are a Beagle Science Club member and would like to participate, there are - as of this writing - spaces available for the Wednesday, June 25 and Wednesday July 2 sessions. The dig will last from 9am to noon each day. Parents are strongly encouraged to accompany their children. To make reservations, please contact the Beagle on 816-587-9998.

Additionally, if you're considering coming along, here are somethings that you should know:

The hill is in shade in the morning, but the sun rises over the trees by late in the morning - wear sunscreen!

Our friends, the ticks, are particularly bountiful this year - wear insect repellent (and check yourself out afterwards)!

Here's the full list of materials you might want to bring:

Insect repellent and sunscreen.

Hats, gloves, and boots: the site is muddy, and you will be digging in mud to get to the fossil-bearing layers.

Water or something to drink.

A notebook and pen.

A rock hammer (optional).

A chisel or large flat-head screwdriver (to pry layers apart).

A small garden shovel or trowel.

Tissue paper or paper towels to wrap specimens.

Small sacks or a box to carry your finds.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Welcome to the Blog!

2008-06-01T13:56:00.000-05:00

Hello, and welcome to the blog of HMS Beagle, your store for science adventure, located in Parkville, Missouri. You can visit our website here, or come and see us in person if you happen to be in the area.

We are a store devoted to science education and advocacy, located just northwest of downtown Kansas City, Missouri off MO-9; 15-20 minutes north of Overland Park (I-635 to MO-9); 20 minutes east of Leavenworth (MO-45 to MO-9); 15-20 minutes northeast of the Kansas Speedway and The Legends (I-435 to MO-45 to M)-9); 15-20 minutes south of Kansas City International Airport (I-29 to MO-45 to MO-9); 30-45 minutes south of St. Joseph (I-29 to MO-45 to MO-8); 4½ hours west of St. Louis (I-70 to I-435 to MO-210 to MO-9); and 3½ hours east of Wichita (KS Turnpike to I435 to MO-45 to MO-9). We stock a wide variety of educational, investigational and entertaining items related to science.

In coming entries, we will have a variety of comments and discussions of science including issues of the day, events in history of scientific importance, as well as updates on what is going on in the store, and new events and special activities that are coming up.

Thanks for stopping in, keep reading and post your comments!