![]() ![]() These are included as reminders of what the department has in the way of demonstration pieces. An occasional demonstration is cited which requires only a showing or display of the apparatus, e.g., Types of Magnets. In some cases, departure from this form was deemed advisable for reasons of simplicity and clarity. In general, a list of the necessary apparatus is given, followed by a brief statement of procedure. Each of the demonstrations has a title which conveys the content or nature of the experiment. For example, in the main division of Mechanics a series of demonstrations appears which is more properly labeled Mechanics of Liquids. ![]() Where further division was convenient and helpful, it was introduced. The experiments are, however, grouped according to the usual main divisions of a course in College Physics, namely, Mechanics, Heat, Electricity and Magnetism, Sound, and Light. It is obvious that the sequence of topics studied in the classroom varies with the textbook and the teacher, and this alone precludes any formal order. The demonstration experiments which are presented in the following pages are arranged in no rigid or stereotyped order. I am glad that many of these have survived and are being hosted on YouTube and other media sources for the future edification of a new breed of young scientists.A series of lecture demonstrations in college physics I remember he drove an old blue Chrysler car, which he often drove right onto the campus grounds and hosted several different TV shows where he would indoctrinate younger people into the wonders of science. Something that has stuck with me to this day. He would espouse the classic physicists, like Sir Humphrey Davy, Michael Faraday and Bernoulli, showing how important a knowledge of the history of science was. He was known as a tough teacher, but his lectures and demonstrations were interesting and very mentally challenging. I, too, watched his lectures while I was attending classes at El Camino Junior College. He did have success with Why Is It So? in Australia. Does the pin hole get bigger, smaller, or stay the same size? **I'm still trying to puzzle out this one: you have a metal plate with a pin hole drilled in it. ![]() Wizard, but as a kid, I'd change the channel whenever I saw them. *I grew to like MisterRogers and respect Mr. ![]() His importance in popularizing science is incalculable. There is a foundation in his name that works to get more students to learn about science, but since most of his work was in black and white, and he rarely had a show to his own,*** his demonstrations are hard to find (though there are some Youtube videos). Miller continued his role of popularizing science until his death in 1987. He worked on TV networks in Canada and Australia, as well as on PBS in the States, finding ways to show scientific principles divorced from dry lectures and in an immediate and fascinating way that made you want to run out a learn more. He appeared on The Steve Allen Show and The Tonight Show, performing science demonstrations that were as much entertainment as education. The experiments were pretty basic, but always memorable.įrom Disney, Sumner Miller branched out. Sumner Miller rarely lectured he'd show - and ask you questions as he talked, some of which he left to you to find out the answer**. He would go through his presentations of basic science, pretty much live: you got the feeling he was improvising wildly to give the demonstrations he wanted.Īnd he did a lot of demonstrations. With his wild hair and staccato way of blurting out his presentation in short, sharp phrases, and his boundless enthusiasm, he was perfect for television. Students packed his lectures, and it somehow got the attention of producers at Disney, who marketed him as "Professor Wonderful" and had him do segments on The Mickey Mouse Club and elsewhere. Miller was born in Massachusetts and got his physics degree in 1933 and started teaching physics in various colleges until settling down at El Camino Junior College in California. Julius Sumner Miller, on the other hand, was a mad scientist. Wizard was the MisterRogers of science - nice, somewhat bland, and like your science teacher in school*. Oh, the show was educational enough and Herbert was a successful and earnest popularizer of science. And the king of kid's science programming in the US was Don Herbert ("Mr. Early TV took its role as an educational medium seriously, and that included science education. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |