We loved the imagery and education provided in this film. Nature is very unexpected and often ‘spur of the moment’ so we were all completely blown away by the images that the creators caught on film. It left us wondering, how they were able to be at the right place at the right time for filming.
From the spotted salamanders emerging from their burrows in the spring and making their long dangerous journey to the streams, to the (literally) free-falling wood ducklings, this movie will leave you and your children well educated, excited and entertained. My four year old and her friend could not hide their excitement or laughter during many parts of this movie.
This movie is for ALL AGES. We all walked away with a new found appreciation for the wildlife that surrounds us. Your whole family will be more curious and observant of your own backyards, neighborhoods and surrounding park systems over the next four seasons.
DISCLAIMER: I am also an Amazon Associate and may earn from qualifying purchases made from the links in this post at no additional cost to you. I was asked by the author, Diane Propsner, to review her books and so I received a FREE copy of Her STEM Career: Adventures of 51 Remarkable Women ( which I donated to a local school in my area) as well as a FREE proof copy of How She Discovered Engineering.
The author of the books Her STEM Careerand How She Discovered Engineering, Diane Propsner, reached out and asked me to review her STEM books. Both of her books were written for middle school girls to further their interest in the STEM careers. She personally became interested in STEM careers in middle school.
Although they were written with that age group in mind, even older girls and women would be delighted with these books. As someone in the 30+ club, I enjoyed them both so much!
Both books are interesting, engaging, educational, exciting and empowering. Her STEM Career, in particular, incorporates a wonderful variety of STEM careers – such as careers in engineering, healthcare, research, business and software. Each woman’s story is personable, impressive and the stories behind their successful career paths are commendable. How She Discovered Engineering introduces eight additional female engineers and how they became interested in engineering as well as their career paths and where they are today. This book serves as a wonderful first mentor to the girl that may want to discover an engineering career path.
These books would be a wonderful addition to a school STEM library as a resource for students interested in STEM fields and teachers that are teaching STEM subjects.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. To honor it, I was very fortunate to a interview Dr. Sunita Mathew who is a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist.
A Psychiatrist is a specialized physician within the medical field that diagnoses, prevents and treats mental illnesses. Dr. Mathew specializes in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, which generally focuses on children, adolescents and their families.
In our interview, Dr. Mathew provided some interesting insight into her career, career path and her thoughts on the stigmas that still exist surrounding mental health. See our interview below:
Q: How would you describe your medical specialty to a child?
A: I’m a “thinking” type of doctor. I help people who have problems with their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
Q: What field(s) of psychiatry do you specialize in? How would you briefly describe it to a child? What kinds of conditions do you treat?
A: I specialize in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. I help kids who have difficulty controlling their emotions or behaviors. I commonly treat depression, anxiety, impulse control disorders, attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), bipolar disorder and learning disorders.
Q: How would you describe a ‘mental illness’ ?
A: Mental illness can be an expression of a common emotion that becomes extreme or significant enough to impact or disrupt one’s quality of life.
Q: How would you describe the differences between a psychologist and psychiatrist to a child?
A: A psychologist is a trained professional that can diagnose various emotional and behavioral disorders and treat with specific targeted therapy. A psychiatrist is a trained medical doctor that can diagnose and treat mental illnesses with the option of prescribing medication interventions. The two fields often work together for the best outcomes.
Q: How and why did you choose psychiatry as your chosen field? Do you have a specific memory or event that happened in your life that helped you choose your career path?
A: I started developing an interest in Psychology and how the human mind works in college. In medical school, I had my first exposure to Psychiatry with my required clinical rotations. I just happened by chance to be placed on a rotation that had a lot of exposure to Child and Adolescent Psychiatry along with Adult Psychiatry. In addition to working with the pediatric population, I enjoyed working with the nurses and psychiatrists that chose to dedicate their careers to work with children. Once I was exposed to this specialty, I tried to keep an open mind as I rotated in other specialties but I always came back to Child and Adolescent Psychiatry as my first choice.
Q: Growing up, what were your favorite subject(s)?
A: Math, Psychology, Sociology, and Anthropology.
Q: What did you study in college and how / why did you choose it/them? What made you decide to pursue medical school?
A: In college, I was pretty sure I wanted to go to medical school, so I took all the core pre-med course requirements like Chemistry, Physics and Biology. I majored in Psychology and Sociology because I found the subjects very interesting. Both Psychology and Psychiatry were careers that I had considered in college. I decided to pursue medical school because I felt that there were some disorders that could benefit from medication interventions and I wanted to have that option when treating.
Q: Do you feel that your studies in college are helpful to you in your career now? How or why?
A: Yes. I feel that my varied studies gave me a unique perspective. My science background helps me approach a case with analytical and critical thinking and my background in psychology and sociology has given me perspective on human behavior.
Q: When and how did you become interested in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)?
A: Around middle school is when I started getting interested in doing science experiments and lab reports. In high school, I really enjoyed competing in science fairs.
Q: In your opinion, what are some of the most important attributes or characteristics that a psychiatrist must have to be successful?
A: Being non-judgmental, open-minded, empathetic, patient, attentive, and good listening skills are all good attributes to have as a psychiatrist. Sometimes a lot can be said non verbally.
Q: What is the most rewarding part of your career?
A: When I see treatment significantly improve my patients’ lives.
Q: What has been the most challenging part of your career?
A: Hearing some of the bad stuff children have gone through. I have met some children who have gone through some unimaginable circumstances in such a short period of their life. That’s hard to process and take home with you.
Q: What is one of your most fun, exciting or even embarrassing memories in your career?
A: When the kids make me laugh! Sometimes finding humor in a stressful situation can make all the difference.
Q: What would your advice be to parents and educators to help their children build confidence and interest in the STEM?
A: Don’t limit your kids if they have an interest, even if you think they might not be able to grasp it. Give them the tools to grasp it.
Q: What do you wish others knew about your profession that is commonly misunderstood?
A: I feel there is a great deal of people still out there that don’t know the difference between a Psychiatrist and a Psychologist or therapist. We all have important roles in mental health, but they are different.
Because May is Mental Health Awareness Month, I asked Dr. Mathews some more specific questions regarding her opinions on some topics still surrounding mental health:
Q: What is the biggest stigma around mental health, that you wish would go away in society and what would be your response to it? How can we get rid of this stigma?
A: I feel that a big stigma that prevents people from getting help is the fear of being judged or treated differently. I think when more and more people, particularly in the public eye, share their stories about mental illness it normalizes it and lessens the stigma.
Q: How would you suggest parents explain “Mental Health” to their children?
A: I usually tell my patients that there is mental health and physical health. Sometimes you need to treat your mental health just like you would if you had high blood pressure or diabetes or a broken leg. There is no shame in mental illness, it is not your fault or anything you did.
Q: If someone reading this blog thinks that they, a friend or family member may be struggling with a mental illness, what should / can they do? What should their first step be?
A: Talking it over with their primary care physician can be a good first step. Also, calling their insurance’s behavior/mental health line might be helpful in navigating the system and figuring out where to start. If it’s an emergency where safety is an imminent concern then calling 911 or getting them to the nearest ER is where you need to go.
Q: If you had to ‘prescribe’ one thing to society to help all of us with our mental health or thoughts around mental health, what would it be?
A: Everybody is going through something at some point in their life, being kind and non-judgmental can go a long way in their recovery.
Thank you so much to Dr. Mathew for your time and allowing me to interview you for my blog.
Thank you to one of my avid supporters and readers of my blog (you know who you are!) for helping me get in contact with Dr. Mathew. She is truly impressive.
I hope that you enjoyed this STEM career interview. If you have a specific profession in mind that you would like to learn more about! You can leave me a note here, on my social media pages or email me at momgineeringthefuture@gmail.com.
Last week, I shared some of my top favorite STEM Education Museums and Centers across Ohio. Here’s what I shared on my Facebook and Instagram accounts in case you missed it!
National Museum of the United States Air Force: Located just outside of Dayton, Ohio.
The museum is located just outside Dayton, Ohio at the Wright Patterson Air Force Base. This museum has the oldest and largest military aviation collections in the world. It’s pretty incredible. I personally loved being able to view the World War II collection to see the types of planes that my Grandfather flew in during the war. I also loved seeing some of the former Air Force One planes. Very unique and incredible collection. And it’s FREE admission!!!! Go check it out!
Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal: Located in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio.
The museum is located in downtown Cincinnati and is a one stop for everything science, history and architecture. It just completed an entire remodel last Fall. This is truly one of my favorite buildings in Ohio.
Inside you will find the newly renovated and designed Museum of Natural History, the Cincinnati History Museum, the newly opened Neil Armstrong Space Exploration Gallery, the Omnimax theater and the Holocaust and Humanity Center and the local children’s museum, not to mention numerous special exhibits throughout the year.
The art deco design of the building itself is a wonder in itself that’s worth exploring. If you haven’t been there, it’s time to make a trip and check it out. While you’re in Cincinnati, taste some local favorites like Graeters ice cream located inside the museum! If you make it there during Christmas time, check out the incredible train display!
COSI: Located in Columbus, Ohio
The museum is located in Columbus, Ohio. It is likely if you’ve been to Columbus, you’ve been there too. It is very well known throughout the state.
They have wonderful science demonstrations and incredible changing exhibits that are mostly designed in house at the museum. We personally love the little kidspace (pictured). My kids have spent over two hours here. It’s a great one tank trip from Cleveland and Cincinnati. If you’ve been there, what are some of your favorite memories?
Cleveland Museum of Natural History: Located in Cleveland, Ohio
I love the Wildlife Center and Woods Garden at this museum. In this area, you can view 5 diverse ecosystems found in Ohio, along with the animals that are found there. Each animal was found as part of rescue and rehabilitation efforts and none of them are able to be released back into the wild so they call the museum habitats their home. Along the paths you’ll find surprising built in play areas for kids to explore.
We also love the Planetarium and Observatory. They offer wonderful and educational kids shows on space and the cosmos.
Inside the museum some of our favorites are the Earth quake demo and the gems collections as well as, Balto. If you haven’t been there, consider checking it out the next time you are in Cleveland.
The Great Lakes Science Center: Located in Cleveland, Ohio.
It’s one of my favorite Cleveland, Ohio museums and it is located right on Lake Erie.
They offer the BEST STEM Education programs and exhibits that I’ve found in this area. My space loving 4 year old loves the Nasa Glenn visitor center. We also love the entire second floor with tons of fun experiments for kids and adults alike, as well as the children’s area.
Their exhibits are top notch! We’ve seen Trains, Grossology and now Vroom! We walked away with a wealth of knowledge everytime.
We always find great quality experiments and learning opportunities like the one above that we saw recently to explain matter.
The Cleveland community is fortunate to have such a wonderful resource in this area. Check them out on your next trip to Cleveland. You won’t leave disappointed, but likely a bit more curious!
What are you waiting for? Go check them out! Where should I go next?
The Great Lakes Science Center did it again – they created another outstanding, fun and educational exhibit for kids and adults alike to explain how automobiles are designed, manufactured and serviced. VROOM! A Car Adventure is excellent!
The entrance to Vroom! At the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland Ohio.
Our Favorites:
As we entered the ginormous space, my kids first ran towards the tall multi-track called Physics Playground. Children (and adults – yes, of course I had to try it out too) can race cars down several tracks with loops, turns and jumps! It’s very exciting and fast paced fun and entertainment like I’ve never seen before.
The Physics Playground
The second place my kids explored and LOVED was the Automotive Care Center where they could work on ‘Mom and Dad’s Car’. My daughter was wearing a long dress, but that didn’t stop her from diving in to work on the tires, muffler or re-fill the fluids. My youngest explored the fun tire holes surrounding this exhibit.
Other fun areas included Tots Garage and the Aerodynamics wall. There are two areas for designing and racing your own vehicle – one designed for toddlers called Tots Garage and another area with wooden pieces and tires for bigger kids and adults. At the aerodynamics wall, my children could visually see how air flows around various shaped objects. My oldest found it interesting that vehicle designers evaluate the aerodynamics of vehicles for fuel efficiency (so they don’t need as much gas).
You can also test your skills and speed against an arm robot, named Lenny, which is a duplicate used in the automotive factories. My children laughed so hard at the celebratory dance after each time the robot won!
The area that I personally enjoyed the most was The Future of Car Tech section. This area had an example of airless tires and the LiDar sensor that is used to help self-driving cars navigate.
LiDar Sensor Technology screen inside the new exhibit.
My Thoughts:
This exhibit helps visualize many aspects of car design and servicing. We easily spent 3 hours exploring this space and we could have spent even more time. It is designed for all ages of children and adults. There is so much more to this exhibit that I didn’t add to this post.
We left the exhibit with plenty of knowledge on vehicle design, technology and functionality. I wished that there would have been more on vehicle manufacturing. There’s scores of science and engineering at vehicle manufacturing and assembly plants – i.e. the science behind paint color and appearance alone is a whole science in itself. However, this exhibit did not disappoint us at all and we will recommend it to everyone that we know!
The most impressive part for me about this exhibit was that it was built in house by the Great Lakes Science Center – it is truly one of a kind. We loved it.
Vroom over to the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland Ohio and go check it out for yourself!!!
DISCLAIMER: I am an Amazon Associate and may earn from qualifying purchases made from the links in this post at no additional cost to you.
This past week, we experimented with some peeps in the kitchen! Many of the experiment ideas, I was able to find by just searching the internet, but we also improvised. In the cases where I followed experiments exactly, I included their links for reference to ingredients and recipes.
Young children love experimenting… their entire day truly is just experimentation – so less structure is better and it’s more fun when introducing new concepts to them. We usually do the experiment together (it must be short for attention span) and then I give them plenty of time to explore and test on their own with whatever is left.
This experiment didn’t turn out like slime… I would consider the texture to be more like taffy. It even tasted a little like taffy! (This might have happened because we had one less peep than the recipe calls for…) But it was fun for the kids to watch what happens to peeps in the microwave and also mix all the ingredients together to see the texture of the peep change. They played with it a little but both were more interested in tasting it.
I asked them to form a hypothesis – if the peep would sink or float and why. We all seemed to agree that the peep would float because it had air pockets – similar to the fruits and vegetables that we tried. We tested the hypothesis to see if we were correct and we were.
I then allowed them to try sinking the peep. So they dunked it and pulled it apart… I would say they got a little crazy at this point and the peeps turned into chunks of white on top and powdery colored water. They threw the peep slime in the bowl and it sank! My four year old pointed out that the corn starch eliminated the air pockets which caused it to sink.
Dissolving Peeps:
Lastly, we decided to dissolve a peep. I personally selected white vinegar because it was an ingredient we would soon we using in egg coloring. I also assumed that if any liquid would dissolve a peep from our kitchen it would be that one. You could also try oil, water or any other liquids in your kitchen.
We formed a hypothesis again. My four year old thought that the white vinegar would dissolve the peep. I told her that I did NOT think that it would dissolve the peep. We put the peeps in the white vinegar solution and observed them for several days. Initially, within the first hour, the white vinegar turned a yellow color from the sugar dissolving away on the bottom of the peeps but the peep itself didn’t dissolve.
My four year thought I had won, but we decided to wait a few more days to see what might happen. Over the course of those days, the peeps did in fact begin dissolving in the white vinegar slowly. The peeps became smaller, began tearing when I picked them up and they were also sinking. My four year old was so excited that her hypothesis was correct. This was a great way to teach her that sometimes your tests have to take longer than you expect them to in order to get a desired result.
DISCLAIMER: I am an Amazon Associate and may earn from qualifying purchases made from the links in this post at no additional cost to you.
Also, be sure to measure the size of your Easter basket and compare it to the items listed below to ensure proper fit. All items would fit in a large size Easter basket.
With Easter (and probably many birthday parties) quickly approaching, you might be left wondering, what to get for your kids. Here’s a list to help those looking for S.T.E.A.M. themed (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) gifts that could fit inside of an Easter basket.
Memberships to Local Museums, Centers and Parks: My kids love going to the local Zoo, Science Center, History Museum, MetroParks, Aquarium, etc. These would be perfect gifts to explore and appreciate S.T.E.A.M. Membership cards or registration forms fit perfectly inside an Easter basket.
Membership to Mail Delivery Activities or Magazines that specialize in STEAM:
We hold two memberships through Kiwi Co. They ship age appropriate hands on science and art projects each month. My girls love them! Click here to get 60% off your first crate!
(Disclaimer: I earn $10 off a future order for every Kiwi Co. crate ordered through my link above.)
(Disclaimer: I have not personally reviewed all of the subscriptions above but I have researched the reviews of others, so please be sure to complete your own research before purchase to ensure they are appropriate for your child. My children have personally enjoyed Highlights and National Geographic.)
My Recommended S.T.E.A.M. Toys: Check out my list below as well as my Complete List of STEM Buy for Kids Under 12 that I posted right before Christmas for additional ideas.
Bee-Bot (AA Battery Powered with Batteries Included) – Bee-Bot’s are robot’s designed to introduce the concepts of coding and problem solving to young children. Children use the arrows to code the robot to move and turn, then press GO and they watch it move. Children and adults can set up obstacle courses and allow kids to determine how to code the Bee-Bot. We do not have one of these at home, but we’ve played with them at our local science center and love them. A similar toy that we have at home is the Code-a-Pillar.
Awesome Science Experiments for Kids: 100+ Fun STEM / STEAM Projects and Why They Work – This book is filled with many easy to do home science experiments. We received this book as a gift for my daughter’s birthday and we’ve tried out many of the experiments. The experiments are easy to follow, use common household items and give great explanations to the science behind the experiment for kids and adults to understand easily.
Learning Resources LER2779 Jumbo Eyedroppers, Set of 6 with Stand – These eyedroppers are fun for use in the bath tub. We’ve also used them for our home science experiments. They are great for fine motor skill development and when pretending to be a scientist!
Play-Doh Party Bag Dough, 15 Count (Assorted Colors) – Play-Doh is a great tactile toy that allows for endless hours of exploration, design and creativity. I picked this party pack because the size of the play-doh containers are definitely small enough to fit into an Easter basket.
Summer Gardening Tools– What is better in Spring time than getting outside and working in the garden. My children LOVE working in our garden. They love digging for worms and planting seeds and plants. Gardening is an excellent way to teach your children and immerse them in nature.
