The Dr. Dad's PH3 is an award-winning program that teaches science to upper elementary school students:

• emphasizes hands-on science exploration,
• encourages the development/use of critical thinking skills
• presents positive role models
• demonstrates science-oriented careers
• encourages science as a career path for girls.

Host Steve Tomecek, a.k.a. "Dr. Dad," is the Executive Director and founder of Science Plus, Inc. Steve is a geologist and science educator who has served as the Associate Director for the Science Museum of Long Island and as the Science Program Supervisor for the New York Hall of Science. Steve has worked as a Science Instructional Specialist for the New York City Board of Education and has been an instructor at both The New School for Social Research and the New York Botanical Garden.

Stretching a Point and Bouncing Back

Main Ideas:

• A polymer is any material made from a repeated sequence of molecules.
• Natural polymers come in many different forms and can be either organic or inorganic.
• Synthetic polymers are very versatile and can be extremely strong and lightweight.

Chewing the Fat Plastic (62k) Lesson Plan

Sink, Float or Boat

Main Ideas:

• Objects that are more dense than water tend to sink.
• Objects that are less dense than water tend to float.
• If an object displaces its own weight in water, it will float regardless of its density.

Displace In Your Face (60k) Lesson Plan

Generating Some Interest in Electricity

Main Ideas:

• When an electric current runs through a wire, a magnetic field is generated.
• When a magnet is moved past a coil of wire, an electric current is generated.
• An electric motor can be turned into a generator simply by mechanically turning the coil.

Go With the Flow (104k) Lesson Plan

Good, Good, Good Vibrations

Main Ideas:

• In order to make a sound, something has to vibrate.
• In order for sound to be broadcast over the air via radio waves, it must first be converted to electrical impulses.
• The further you are from either a sound or a radio source, the weaker the reception.

What's Your Pitch? (95k) Lesson Plan

Hello, Are You There? (93k) Lesson Plan

 

What Goes Up

Main Ideas:

• When a gas is heated, it expands and its pressure increases.
• When a gas cools, it contracts and its pressure decreses.
• When a gas is compressed, its volume decreases and its temperature increases.
• When the pressure is decreased, a gas will expand rapidly and the temperature will decrease.

What a Gas! (94k) Lesson Plan

Let the Sunshine In

Main Ideas:

• Insulation can be used for keeping heat in or out of a structure.
• The surface color of an object can control how much heat energy it absorbs.
• Thermal mass can control how long it takes a structure to either heat up or cool down.
• Fluorescent lights use less electricity and produce less waste heat than normal incandescent lights.

Slime Time, Big Time!

Main Ideas:

• Oil is a valuable resource which must be transported from its point of origin to its point of use. During transport, spills may occur.
• Oil spills may cause severe problems for local flora and fauna, disrupting both food chains and fragile habitats.
• The visible part of an oil spill is only one aspect of the problem. Damage is caused by microscopic oil droplets trapped in soil and water.
• Mechanical cleaning procedures have a limited effect on cleaning spills. In order to remove the "hard to get" oil, bio-remediation techniques have proven successful.

Beginning to See the Light

Main Ideas:

• When light travels from one transparent material to another at an angle, it bends.
• Lenses can be used either to concentrate light or spread it out.
• Using different lenses and therapies, visual problems can be corrected.

Radical Rays (101k) Lesson Plan

Winging It!

Main Ideas:

• In order to get an object that is heavier than air to fly, you must first create lift.
• Lift can be created by changing the angle of attack of an airfoil (the wing or rudder of an aircraft).
• Bernoulli's principle explains how lift is achieved in most aircraft.
• The same principles that create lift in a wing also apply to objects such as kites, frisbees, and boomerangs.

Hey Bernoulli... Need a Lift? (116k) Lesson Plan

Building Their Lives Away

Main Ideas:

• Many members of the animal kingdom build structures that may be used for protection, to store food and to rear their young.
• In most cases, animal architecture is the result of an innate behavior, but in some cases, animals have to "learn" to build their homes.
• Animal structures are found in virtually every type of environment and are constructed using a wide range of materials.

A Place Called Home (72k) Lesson Plan

The Dynamics of Dirt!

Main Ideas:

• Soils are quite variable in terms of their nutrient content, moisture conditions and ability to sustain plant growth.
• In order to have a productive garden, soil conditions must be just right.
• Different plants have different needs for survival and are limited by nutrients in the soil as well as by climatic conditions.

You Are What You Eat!

Main Ideas:

• All living things need energy to survive. Food contains energy in the form of calories. Calories measure how much heat energy is contained in food.
• Food contains a variety of different molecules that promote different functions in the body. Good nutrition involves balancing these different molecules for maximum efficiency.

• Fats are molecules that require complex chemical reactions to break down in the body. Too much fat intake can lead to a variety of medical problems.

You Are What You Eat (96k) Lesson Plan

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