Welcome to Junior Research Academy for the Environment where our student participants become Environmental Health Investigators! Where we live and what surrounds us constitutes our environment. In these spaces, there are things that affect our health. Examples include, smog from cars that causes air pollution can affect your breathing, and a loud noise may affect…
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It's Nobody's Fault But Your Own If You Miss This Week's STEM @ Home!
This week is all about plate tectonics, the foundation of both modern geology and the surface of our planet! The idea of plate tectonics was a long time coming but in the late twentieth century it became clear that every part of geology and our world’s ecology was tied, at least partly, to the movement…
Junior Research Academy for the Environment
Calling all middle school students in the St. Louis Metro East! Do you want to learn more about your environment and participate in fun, hands-on science? Come be a scientist with us! Working alongside Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) scientists and graduate student researchers, we will collect and explore environmental data that relates to your…
Student Summer Research: Soils Part 2!
This week’s blog post features two research projects from students during our summer program. Both of these students studied metal concentrations in soils, specifically lead. First Research Project Introduction The first project began with a curiosity of lead levels in the soil surrounding a school in southwest Illinois. The student surveyed the area for…
Have You Heard? This Week's STEM @ Home Is All About Sound!
BOOM! BONG! KNOCK! RING! Sounds are everywhere. Some sounds are loud, some are quiet, some are pleasant, and some are irritating or even dangerous. This week students will learn how to measure sound using a smart phone app, how different materials affect those measurements, how music produces pleasant sounds by creating perfect intervals, and how…