Snapshot: 8A Barbie Bungee Jump

Students are always asking,"When will I ever use this?" in math class. I do my best to give them real world contexts for the skills they are learning. In the 8th grade, we began the year learning about linear functions and figuring out how to graph them. To help make these skills real, the students did an activity where they had to use linear functions to figure out how many rubber bands a Barbie required to get the most thrilling bungee jump off QLab 201's balcony (16 feet).  Thrilling was defined as getting as close to the ground without actually touching the ground.  Here is a compilation of shots from our jump day. 

Thank you to Blake Hansen for the video footage and editing.

To see more photos and videos and to read more about the project, see this blog post.

SNAPSHOT: Virtual Field Trip to the Berkeley Lab via Google Hangout

Earlier this week, we learned that Berkeley Lab was hosting a "virtual field trip" on Google as part of a new series of Google+#connectedclassrooms hangouts at the National Labs.

Check out how our scientists use the Advanced Light Source to image microscopic life in 3-D. Tour a clean room at the Molecular Foundry, where scientists create nanoscale structures. And learn what’s possible with one of the world’s most powerful electron microscopes at the National Center for Electron Microscopy, which can see individual atoms. 

The three scientists featured included: Dula Parkinson (beamline scientist at the Advanced Light Source), Deirdre Olynick (staff scientist at the Molecular Foundry), and Jim Ciston (senior staff scientist at the National Center for Electron Microscopy).  We were especially excited to "revisit" with Dula Parkinson since he helped make our recent real-life field trip to the ALS happen!