Archive for the ‘Explore and Play’ Category
Happy Thanksgiving! Celebrate by eating a Dinosaur!
We love Thanksgiving! The stuffing, green beans and pumpkin pie… mmmmm. But the traditional main course is of course… dinosaur.
“What!?!?” you say! Well watch this video from Nat Geo that describes how the turkey on your dinner table evolved from theropod dinosaurs.
Happy 150th “On the Origin of Species”!
Posted by: Avi in Explore and Play on November 24th, 2009
Celebrate this historic anniversary of one of the most important books of all time by reading select passages of “On the Origin of Species” on the New York Times online.
They Might Be Giants cover Paleontology and Evolution
One of my favorite bands of all time, They Might Be Giants, has just come out with a new album dedicated to covering science called Here comes Science. It is a great album and the first rock album that I have ever heard of that required fact checking.
The album features two songs for those who love dinosaurs and are into evolution:
- “I am a Paleontologist”
- “My Brother the Ape”
I say this is a must buy for kids and adults who love Science and fun music.
Below is the video for “I am a Paleontologist.” Enjoy!
The evolution of whales at the “Explore Evolution” Exhibit
Evolutionary Biologist, Richard Dawkins, gives us a quick explanation of whale evolution at the Explore Evolution exhibit at the University of Nebraska State Museum.
Blast from my Past – Denver the Last Dinosaur
Over at the Smithsonian Dinosaur Tracking Blog, writer Brian Switek, totally blew my mind by reminding me of a cartoon I watched when I was a kid.
Denver the Last Dinosaur was pretty bad and pretty 80’s, but I definitely remember watching episodes of this. I can’t say this show is responsible in any way for my current love of science but it is still fun to look back.
Here is a Brian’s blog post…
Sneak Peek at Molecules to the Max
At Evolvems we love teaching kids about evolution and paleontology, but there are others out there who are creating cool content to teach kids about all sorts of cool science.
I had the pleasure this Memorial Day weekend of seeing a special premier veiwing of the new kids IMAX science movie called Molecularium: Molecules to the Max at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. I was invited by Kurt Przybilla who is a toy inventor and writer on the film, and who I met at the Toy Fair in February.
It was a crazy ride into the heart of matter, zooming in and out to show us common objects and their inner atomic and molecular structures as only computer animation (and some cute characters) can show us. I saw this in regular 2D on a small movie screen, but can’t wait to see it in its full glory as an IMAX 3D production.
Stuff for kids about Paleontology at AMNH’s Ology
As I was poking aroung the American Museum of Natural History’s website looking to plan a trip to visit Ida and the new Extreme Mammals exhibit, I found this site for kids with all sorts of games and activities featuring many of the “Ologys” covered in the museum.
Go to the Paleontology section of the Ology website and have fun!
Amazing deep-sea fish with tubular eyes and transparent head
Posted by: Avi in New Discoveries, Videos on May 24th, 2009
At Evolvems we are always looking for the strangest of the strange creatures on Earth. The types of adaptations that natural selection has produced are remarkable. The barreleye fish (Macropinna microstoma) is possibly one of the weirdest we have run across.
This fish has super sensitive tubular eyes that are embedded inside a clear fluid filled shell that resembles a jet fighter’s cockpit cover. The barreleye lives deep in the ocean and points it’s eyes upward looking for small fish and jellyfish passing above. When prey is spotted, the barreleye is able to swivel it eyes forward to track food, helping guide food towards its small mouth.
Read more about the barreleye and the Monterey Bay Aquarium researchers who are studying it here.
BBC In Our Time Covers the Evolution of Whales
One of my favorite podcasts is BBC4’s In Our Time. The host Melvyn Bragg covers all sorts of interesting topics from science to history and philosophy with a panel of experts. This week he discusses the evolution of whales with three scientists working in the area of genetics and mamalian paleonotlogy. They describe the newest fossil evidence and also go into how scientists are using the DNA of modern animals to learn how we are all related. This fascinating piece also happens to mention on of our favorite creatures – Pakicetus!
Right click link and select “Save target as…” to download and listen to The Whale: A History.
Subscribe to the In Our Time podcast here.
The Seed
A two-minute animated voyage through nature’s life cycle, following the trials and tribulations of a humble apple seed.
The Seed from Johnny Kelly on Vimeo.
The folks over at