Most of you are probably too young to remember but there was a time before television, and even before movies. Yes, really! Back in those days adults routinely attended the theatre not only to view plays, operas, ballets and other high art, but also to view “low brow” entertainment in what were called vaudeville houses. An evening of vaudeville involved a running slate of different “acts”  doing short on stage stints in succession and typically included a variety of entertainment from song and dance teams to comedy acts, jugglers, magicians and ventriloquists. Going to see a “show” was a hugely popular entertainment evening for generations.

If you read this blog often you will know I listen to NPR a lot. Today was no exception. At lunchtime I was out to pick up a sandwich and got stuck listening to a pair of interviews on Fresh Air with Terry Gross that concerned education in the United States. The first was a fascinating interview with former Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch, explaining what changed her mind on No Child Left Behind, school vouchers and charter schools. 

Kids love animals! No escaping that one. A visit to the zoo is a beloved experience for all kids. And it's a great part of their education, too.

Just for fun today, nothing about school assemblies, or science assembly programs or portable planetariums at all. 

OK, now here is some great news! According to a recent report, (http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/20/transparent-photovoltaic-cells-turn-windows-into-solar-panels/?smid=tw-nytimesscience&seid=auto) scientists have now developed a way to create transparent photovoltaic cells! This means ordinary windows can now be turned into solar panels without losing the ability to allow visible light to pass into a building. So your the windows in own home will soon be able to help you reduce your electric bill! And think of all the windows in a large high rise office building! 

I really love what we do! Bringing an excitement about science to kids through awesome science assemblies is exciting in itself! Seeing their faces filled with awe and knowing we had a part in creating that awe is a wonderfully fulfilling feeling!

Google recently awarded $12 million in grants to a group of science museums. (http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2011/04/google_commits_12_million_to_b.html)

In December of 2009 NASA launched an interesting vehicle. Entitled Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer or WISE, this satellite entered a polar orbit and began scanning the skies, collecting images taken at four infrared wavelengths of light. WISE captured more than 2.7 million images of various objects from distant galaxies to close by asteroids.