Science Reporters Experience First-Hand Science

As part of their science news story investigation, Tincan's Science Reporters' clubs have to dig in to the hard science and engineering behind their issue. At Evergreen Middle School, the girls built Morse code and radio receiver devices to understand the challenges of engineering mining site communications. They observed an ant farm to better understand the challenges of mining tunnel building and then spent a morning at Hi Rel-a local technology laboratory that specializes in materials analysis. Lakeside Middle School in Nine Mile Falls built the same radio and Morse devices, but their goal was to understand the electronics behind cell phones. Their topic-the potential hazards of cell phone radiation-has led them from the electrical engineering project to interviews with a physician and other experts.

Bowdish and Medical Lake Middle School Science Reporters also started with similar hands on experiences but with different goals. Both clubs built generators-a windmill and a hand-crank flashlight-to observe firsthand how turbines work. Bowdish did the activity with an eye on exploring wind farms in the Palouse; while the focus for MLMS was dam removal and salmon populations.

Sacajawea Middle School's topic-the local fireworks ban-required a physics and chemistry lesson so that they could understand the forces behind the fireworks themselves (and by extension the argument that fireworks can be powerful and dangerous). The Sacajawea group experimented with fireworks chemistry-and the compounds that make different colored sparks-as well as setting off Alka-Seltzer rockets to illustrate the forces needed to make an explosion (or in the case of fireworks, the "lifting charge").

Through authentic hands-on experiences designed to go with their topics, the science reporters gain knowledge of their STEM subject matter, gain confidence in their knowledge and make real-world career connections. This program is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

World of JobCraft Changes

World of JobCraft has recently under gone a lot of new and exciting changes. Among those are the paid work experiences we are offering in partnership with Goodwill. WOJ players can choose three career pathways. The first is the hardware pathway where youth get to take donated computers, wipe their hard drives clean, download software and troubleshoot issues to create a fully functioning computer to resell in the Goodwill stores. Next is the E-Commerce pathway. Youth get the opportunity to work out at the Goodwill warehouse learning all there is to know about http://www.shopgoodwill.com. They learn how to process inventory and sell donated items in an online environment. Our last work experience is offered at our partner community center sites where the youth have the opportunity to be a Community Lab Assistant. They learn what it takes to operate and manage a community computer lab. WOJ now has their first round of players placed in the paid work experiences and we are excited to see how they develop.

Library Collaboration Supports Video Equipment Check Out

As part of Tincan's U.S. Department of Commerce BTOP grant, the Spokane Public Library received 24 digital video recorders and accessories for community use. The equipment is organized into "Video Kits" which are available for checkout by teachers, non-profit agencies, and businesses located within the Spokane city limits that have a valid business card. To reserve a kit, a representative of the agency should call the Library at 444-5336 at least 24 hours prior to the desired checkout time. If the agency or business does not have a business card they should also call the circulation department at 444-5333.

Each kit contains 2 Canon Vixia HD digital camcorders with accessories and software discs and 2 shotgun style microphones with cables.  Also available for checkout are 12 telescoping microphone booms, 6 wireless lapel microphone systems, and 24 camera tripods.  The equipment may be checked out for a period of 3 weeks at a time and multiple kits may be checked out as needed.

Like us on Facebook, Find us on Forkfly, Follow us on Twitter --all the options for small businesses to market online can be overwhelming. Tincan's Growing Your Business series is here to help make sense of all the options and what is the best fit for each business. Maintaining an online presence has gone far beyond just having a brochure website.

Johnny Clean has been in business in Spokane since 1965 and they just recently launched their website http://johnnycleanjr.com/ They first came to Tincan for the Growing Your Business with GoDaddy workshop to develop that web site and quickly realized that they needed to pay attention to not only a website but to their overall online presence. Tove Tupper fromKREM2 interviewed Bruce Reynolds, owner of Johnny Clean about his decision to finally get online. Johnny Clean is a great example of one of the businesses who learned to step into the online world with Tincan. Sign up for Tincan's Growing Your Business Workshops