Constance Steinkuehler has an interesting job: She researches how kids approach video games.

She found that if they were given a challenging task like managing raids on tough targets, they would spontaneously collaborate, collecting data about the targets, finding out their strong and weak spots, and use that information to attack. They even plotted this information using an Excel spreadsheet and created mathematical models to predict what would happen.

They were learning the scientific method, in a setting that gave tangible rewards for learning.

Intriguingly to the researcher, these were the same students that shunned traditional, boring science courses. She believes schools should embrace games as a way to teach people about science in a way that makes them motivated to learn.

Filed under: science and teaching

In our strangely detached world it can seem like a miracle to build something out of pieces and see it work.

The Navy's Office of Naval Research gave a bunch of robot model kits to students, and they took a month's worth of classes to explore the mathematics, physics and electronics of their new creations.

Then, in the climax of the course, they were able to use a US Navy test basin to check out their creations in action!

This seems like a really great way to get students interested in science.

Filed under: science and robots

The cool time lapse video at the link shows 40 hours of very hard work in Illustrator to create the picture to the left.

If you've ever wondered how an artist works, this is your chance to find out.

Warning: The music is a bit loud, so you might want to turn down your speakers before checking it out.

Filed under: time lapse, illustrator, and Science Machine