Happy Pride Month, friends.  Here are some LGBTQ+ folks who are doing great work in science right now.

John Pham is a molecular biologist.  He is the editor-in-chief of the well-respected science journal Cell.  He has been recognized for the major role he has played in making the journal more inclusive.

Joan Roughgarden is an ecologist and evolutionary biologist.  She is considered to be the most notable trans scientist in American history.  She has engaged in theory and observation of the Anolis lizards of the Carribean.

Jack Andraka created an early testing system for pancreatic cancer when he was just 15 years old.  His sensor system, similar to diabetic test strips, won the Gordon E. Moore award in 2012.

Biologist Rochelle Diamond is the Director of the California Institute of Technology’s Flow Cytometry and Cell Sorting Shared Resource Laboratory.  She has been an activist for LGBTQ+ rights since being forced out of a professional role due to extremely homophobic behavior from a lab colleague.

Gregg Gonsalves is a global health activist and epidimiologist.  He is best known for his work on AIDS and HIV research.

Jeanne Marazzo is an physician-scientist and infectious disease specialist.  She is the sixth director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious disease.  She is considered to be an expert in HIV prevention.

Jay Keasling is a professor of chemical engineering and bioengineering.  He is considered one of the foremost authorities in synthetic biology.

While on the ISS, astronauts spend months in space doing science experiments and maintaining the space station.  But before they become astronauts, everyone on the ISS had another job.  Here are the people who are currently on the ISS and what they did before (and sometimes during) their time as astronauts.

Did you know that your local planetarium probably organizes star gazing parties?  In fact, Clark Planetarium in Salt Lake City has all kinds of cool events going on for kids this summer.  Most of the events take place at the planetarium, and you can check out their schedule here.  But the next Star Party is this Friday at Flight Park in Draper, UT!

This will be an all ages event.  Space is limited, so please register ahead of time with the planetarium!  Keep checking the schedule for more cool activities.  If you aren't local to Utah, see where the nearest planetarium is to you and let us know what they have going on for kids!

Happy summer break, everyone!  We have vacation on our minds (and STAR Camp, of course!).  The ocean is one of Earth's last unexplored frontiers.  The ocean is still a huge mystery to us!  We have only explored about five percent of the ocean.  It is tricky because it is difficult to design technology that can withstand the pressure exerted by ocean water.

Here are some ocean-themed STEM activities that you can try!

Ocean Currents
What you'll need:
9x13 inch glass dish (or something similar)
Ice pack or baggie with ice in it
Food coloring
Water

1. 

Robots are becoming increasingly prevalent in our modern lives.  Here are a few examples of robots and how they are used.
Domestic robots are designed to help with household tasks.  You might be familiar with the Roomba vacuum cleaner.  They've been around since 2002!  Roombas are robots that can be programmed to clean floors, carpets, and rugs.
​Another example of a domestic robot is the Wakamaru robot.  It is designed to be a companion to elderly people who live alone.  It uses AI to monitor its owner's health, behavior, and location.  If it detects a problem, it can contact family members or caregivers!

Medical robots are used to assist doctors with medical procedures.  Some even perform full procedures autonomously!
The da Vinci Surgical System is a widely used medical robot that allows surgeons to perform minimally invasive surgery through tiny incisions in patients' bodies.  Doctors use special instruments and controls built into the robot.  Performing surgery this way reduces the amount of blood lost during procedures, increasing the chances of patients surviving surgery unharmed.

Educational robots are used to help students investigate topics that are interesting to them.  Some are even used to teach kids about robotics and programming!

What is your favorite use of robots in everyday life?

Plants have been used in science for ages.  Evidence suggests that plants have been used as medicine for at least 60,000 years!  Medicinal plants like opium poppies, ephedra, and cannabis have been discovered at ancient archeological sites.

Botanists today study plants and their uses in medicine, genetics, agriculture, climate science, and architecture.  Scientists are studying many different aspects of plant science!  Check out this website to read more about some specific studies that are going on right now.

Click through this slideshow to see some of the plants that are used to make medicines.

Astronomy is the study of the Universe and everything in it.  It's a huge subject!  That includes planets, stars, galaxies, comets, black holes, and so much more.  So what can you do as a kid to start your astronomy journey?

One simple place to start is by stargazing!  Going out when the conditions are right will help you to see more stars.  Try going out when it's not cloudy and there is little to no moonlight.  Try and find a place that is away from house lights, street lights, and headlights, and give your eyes about thirty minutes to adjust to the darkness.

If you want to identify things in the sky, take a star map with you!  What you can see in the sky is going to be different throughout the year, so make sure you find one that will match the season and your location.  If you have a telescope, it can help you find things that are not visible with just your eyes alone.  Take a notebook with you to record what you find.

Also, (and this is important!) don't go out stargazing without your parents!  It is easy to get lost in the dark.

​Have fun exploring the sky and share what you find with us!

Artemis II is scheduled to launch in September 2025.  It represents mankind's return to the moon.  As we wait with anticipation, meet the astronaut who is going to pilot the spacecraft: Victor J. Glover.

Victor Glover, born April 30, 1976, spent his youth wrestling, playing football, and pursuing engineering degrees.  He earned a degree in general engineering from California Polytechnic State University in 1999.  Between 2007 and 2010, he obtained three different master's degrees from three different institutions.  He has a Master of Science in Flight Test Engineering from Air University (United States Air Force) in Edward's Air Force Base, a Master of Science in Systems Engineering from the Naval Post Graduate School, and a Master of Military Operational Art and Science from Air University in Montgomery, Alabama.

Glover is a captain in the United States Navy.  He has been a naval aviator, as well as a test pilot for the United States Air Force.  During his career, he has accumulated more than 3,000 flight hours. His callsign is "Ike", a moniker bestowed on him by one of his first commanding officers.  It stands for "I know everything."

Glover was a crewmember of Expedition 64, where he served as station systems flight engineer on the ISS.  He is married to Dionna Odom Glover, whom he met in college.  They have four daughters.  

Did you know that NASA has several projects going on that rely on help from people like you?  In fact, more than 500 "citizen scientists" have been named as co-authors in scientific publications due to their contributions to NASA's research!  There are currently 43 collaborative projects underway.  You can read about all of them and how to contribute here.  You should also follow @DoNASAScience on X and @DoNASAScience on Facebook.  Here is a sampling of some of the projects.

NeMO-Net
NeMO-Net is a single player iPad game where players help NASA classify coral reefs!  Anyone with a cell phone or laptop can do this project.

Mountain Rain or Snow
Did you know that most weather stations can't tell if it's raining or snowing?  The best observation method is still the human eye!  This project relies on reporting from eye witnesses to support better weather resources and forecasting.  Anyone with a smartphone can do this project.

Landslide Reporter
Landslides occur in all environments and can cause sudden and unexpected damage.  Report landslides to NASA and help their scientists develop a predictive model of where landslides are likely to occur.  Anyone with a laptop can do this project.

Happy Earth Day!  As you know, at the Douglas Space and Science Foundation, we absolutely love planets--especially this one!  In honor of Earth Day, here are some STEM activities that you can do that are all about this planet we call home.

Make recycled paper
Materials:

• scrap paper cut into strips
• blender
  
• sieve
  
• bowl
  
• dish towels

1. Rip your scrap paper into small pieces.
2. Put your strips in a bowl.  Cover with warm water and soak overnight.
3. Put the contents of your bowl in the blender.  Fill the blender half full with water.  Blend to make pulp.
4. Put the pulp in a mixing bowl and mixing with your hands.
5. Put the sieve in the bowl.  Allow the pulp to settle over it.  Gently lift it with a layer of pulp covering it and let the water drain.
6. Put the paper on top of a dish towel.  Place another towel on top and pat off any excess water, then peel the top towel off carefully.
7. Carefully remove the paper from the sieve.  Flip it onto another dish towel, and cover with another towel to dry.
8. Once it is dry, carefully remove the dish towels.  You made recycled paper!

Learn how color affects temperature
Materials:

• black, white, and gray construction paper
• scissors
• three cardboard boxes, all the same size
• rubber cement
• thermometer

1. Cut the white construction paper so that it can cover all side of one of the cardboard boxes.
2. Use the rubber cement to attach the paper to the box as smoothly as possible.  (Try to avoid air pockets between the paper and the box.)
3. Do the same thing using the black and gray construction paper and the other boxes.
4. Place the thermometer inside the white box.  Take it outside and leave it in a sunny spot for 30 minutes.  Record the temperature on the thermometer.
5. Place the thermometer in the shade somewhere near the box (still outside.)  When it has adjusted, record the shady temperature.
6. Repeat these steps with the black and grey boxes separately.
7.  Look at your findings.  Which box was the warmest?  Which was the coolest?  The black box will likely be the hottest and the white box the coolest!

Grow seeds in eggshells
Materials:

• 24 egg shells
• soil
  
• seeds (you can use a couple of different kinds of seeds so you can compare)
  
• water
  
• spoon or small scoop
  

1. Set up your eggshells in the egg cartons and fill with the soil. 
2. Push one seed gently into the soil of each eggshell, making sure the seed is covered with dirt.
3. Use a small spray bottle to dampen the soil. Be careful not to over water.
4. Give the seeds three days to begin to grow.
5. Each day after that, break open an egg shell to observe each stage of seed growth!

Have fun!  If you have another great science project you'd like to share, tell us about it!